Ecclesiastes 8:7-13
English Standard Version
7 For he (A)does not know what is to be, for (B)who can tell him how it will be? 8 No man has power to (C)retain the spirit, (D)or power over the day of death. There is no (E)discharge from war, nor will wickedness deliver those who are given to it. 9 (F)All this I observed while applying my heart to all that is done under the sun, when man had power over man to his hurt.
Those Who Fear God Will Do Well
10 Then I saw the wicked buried. They used to go in and out of (G)the holy place and were (H)praised[a] in the city where they had done such things. This also is vanity.[b] 11 Because (I)the sentence against an evil deed is not executed speedily, (J)the heart of the children of man is fully set to do evil. 12 Though a sinner does evil a hundred times and (K)prolongs his life, yet I know that (L)it will be well with (M)those who fear God, because they fear before him. 13 But it will (N)not be well with the wicked, neither will he prolong his days like (O)a shadow, because he does not fear before God.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Ecclesiastes 8:10 Some Hebrew manuscripts, Septuagint, Vulgate; most Hebrew manuscripts forgotten
- Ecclesiastes 8:10 The Hebrew term hebel can refer to a “vapor” or “mere breath”; also twice in verse 14 (see note on 1:2)
Ecclesiastes 8:7-13
New Living Translation
7 Indeed, how can people avoid what they don’t know is going to happen? 8 None of us can hold back our spirit from departing. None of us has the power to prevent the day of our death. There is no escaping that obligation, that dark battle. And in the face of death, wickedness will certainly not rescue the wicked.
The Wicked and the Righteous
9 I have thought deeply about all that goes on here under the sun, where people have the power to hurt each other. 10 I have seen wicked people buried with honor. Yet they were the very ones who frequented the Temple and are now praised[a] in the same city where they committed their crimes! This, too, is meaningless. 11 When a crime is not punished quickly, people feel it is safe to do wrong. 12 But even though a person sins a hundred times and still lives a long time, I know that those who fear God will be better off. 13 The wicked will not prosper, for they do not fear God. Their days will never grow long like the evening shadows.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 8:10 As in some Hebrew manuscripts and Greek version; many Hebrew manuscripts read and are forgotten.
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
