Ecclesiastes 8:7-13

Common English Bible

⁷ because no one knows what will happen, and no one can say when something might happen. ⁸ No one has control over the life-breath,^[a] to retain it, and there’s no control over the day of death. There’s no release from war, and wickedness won’t deliver those who practice it.

⁹ I observed all of this as I paid attention to all that happens under the sun. Sometimes people exercise power over each other to their detriment. ¹⁰ Then I saw the wicked brought to their graves, with people processing from a holy place,^[b] while those who had lived honestly were neglected in the city. This too is pointless.

¹¹ The condemnation for wicked acts isn’t carried out quickly; that’s why people dare to do evil. ¹² Wrongdoers may commit a hundred crimes but still live long lives. But I also know that it will go well for those who fear God, for those who are reverent before God. ¹³ But it will not go well for the wicked; they won’t live long at all because they aren’t reverent before God.