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They do not know what the future holds,
    and no one can tell them ·what [or when it] will happen.
No one ·can control the wind [L has power over the wind to restrain the wind]
    or ·stop his own [L power over the day of] death.
No soldier is ·released [discharged] ·in times of war [during the battle],
    and evil does not ·set free [rescue] ·those who do evil [L its owner].

Justice, Rewards, and Punishment

I saw all of this as I ·considered [L gave my heart to] all that is done here ·on earth [L under the sun; 1:3]. Sometimes people harm those they control.

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Since no one knows the future,
    who can tell someone else what is to come?
As no one has power over the wind to contain it,
    so[a] no one has power over the time of their death.
As no one is discharged in time of war,
    so wickedness will not release those who practice it.

All this I saw, as I applied my mind to everything done under the sun. There is a time when a man lords it over others to his own[b] hurt.

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Footnotes

  1. Ecclesiastes 8:8 Or over the human spirit to retain it, / and so
  2. Ecclesiastes 8:9 Or to their