Ecclesiastes 8:7-13
New International Reader's Version
7 No one knows what lies ahead.
So who can tell someone else what’s going to happen?
8 No one can stop the wind from blowing.
And no one has the power to decide when they will die.
No one is let out of the army in times of war.
And evil won’t let go of those who practice it.
9 I understood all these things. I used my mind to study everything that’s done on earth. A man sometimes makes life hard for others. But he ends up hurting himself. 10 I also saw sinful people being buried. They used to come and go from the place of worship. And others praised them in the city where they worshiped. That doesn’t have any meaning either.
11 Sometimes the sentence for a crime isn’t carried out quickly. So people make plans to commit even more crimes. 12 An evil person may be guilty of a hundred crimes. Yet they may still live a long time. But I know that things will go better with those who have great respect for God. 13 Sinful people don’t respect God. So things won’t go well with them. Like a shadow, they won’t be around very long.
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