Ecclesiastes 8:7-13
Christian Standard Bible
7 Yet no one knows what will happen(A) because who can tell him what will happen? 8 No one has authority over the wind[a] to restrain it,(B) and there is no authority over the day of death;(C) no one is discharged during battle, and wickedness will not allow those who practice it to escape. 9 All this I have seen, applying my mind to all the work that is done under the sun, at a time when one person has authority over another to his harm.
10 In such circumstances, I saw the wicked buried. They came and went from the holy place,(D) and they were praised[b] in the city where they did those things. This too is futile. 11 Because the sentence against an evil act is not carried out quickly,(E) the heart of people is filled with the desire to commit evil. 12 Although a sinner does evil a hundred times and prolongs his life,(F) I also know that it will go well with God-fearing people,(G) for they are reverent before him. 13 However, it will not go well with the wicked,(H) and they will not lengthen their days like a shadow,(I) for they are not reverent before God.
Read full chapter
Ecclesiastes 8:7-13
Holman Christian Standard Bible
7 Yet no one knows what will happen(A) because who can tell him what will happen? 8 No one has authority over the wind[a] to restrain it,(B) and there is no authority over the day of death;(C) there is no furlough in battle, and wickedness will not allow those who practice it to escape. 9 All this I have seen, applying my mind to all the work that is done under the sun, at a time when one man has authority over another to his harm.
10 In such circumstances, I saw the wicked buried. They came and went from the holy place,(D) and they were praised[b] in the city where they did so. This too is futile. 11 Because the sentence against a criminal act is not carried out quickly,(E) the heart of people is filled with the desire to commit crime. 12 Although a sinner commits crime a hundred times and prolongs his life,(F) yet I also know that it will go well with God-fearing people,(G) for they are reverent before Him. 13 However, it will not go well with the wicked,(H) and they will not lengthen their days like a shadow,(I) for they are not reverent before God.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Ecclesiastes 8:8 Or life-breath
- Ecclesiastes 8:10 Some Hb mss, LXX, Aq, Theod, Sym; other Hb mss read forgotten
The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible®, and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers, all rights reserved.
Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers, Nashville Tennessee. All rights reserved.