Ecclesiastes 8:13

Ecclesiastes 8:13 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)But it shall not be well with the wicked, neither shall he prolong his days, which are as a shadow; because he feareth not before God.
• New International Version (NIV)Yet because the wicked do not fear God, it will not go well with them, and their days will not lengthen like a shadow.
• English Standard Version (ESV)But it will not be well with the wicked, neither will he prolong his days like a shadow, because he does not fear before God.
• New King James Version (NKJV)But it will not be well with the wicked; nor will he prolong his days, which are as a shadow, because he does not fear before God.

Context of Ecclesiastes 8:13

11Because the sentence against an evil act is not carried out quickly, the heart of people is filled with the desire to commit evil. 12Although a sinner does evil a hundred times and prolongs his life, I also know that it will go well with God-fearing people, for they are reverent before him. However, it will not go well with the wicked, and they will not lengthen their days like a shadow, for they are not reverent before God. 14There is a futility that is done on the earth: there are righteous people who get what the actions of the wicked deserve, and there are wicked people who get what the actions of the righteous deserve. I say that this too is futile. 15So I commended enjoyment because there is nothing better for a person under the sun than to eat, drink, and enjoy himself, for this will accompany him in his labor during the days of his life that God gives him under the sun.

Ecclesiastes 8:13 word by word

וְטוֹב֙ לֹֽא־יִהְיֶ֣ה לָֽרָשָׁ֔ע וְלֹֽא־יַאֲרִ֥יךְ יָמִ֖ים כַּצֵּ֑ל אֲשֶׁ֛ר אֵינֶ֥נּוּ יָרֵ֖א מִלִּפְנֵ֥י אֱלֹהִֽים׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• But it shall not be wellטוֹבţôb · pleasantH2896
• with the wickedרָשָׁעrâshâ‛ · wickedH7563
• neither shall he prolongאָרַךְ'ârak · to prolongH748
• daysיוֹםyôm · dayH3117
• as a shadowצֵלtsêl · shadowH6738
• because he fearethיָרֵאyârê' · afraidH3373
• not beforeפָּנֶהpânîym · face: beforeH6440
• Godאֱלֹהִים'ĕlôhîym · GodH430

Cross-references for Ecclesiastes 8:13

• Job 18:5Yes, the light of the wicked is extinguished; the flame of his fire does not glow.
• Job 20:5the joy of the wicked has been brief and the happiness of the godless has lasted only a moment?
• Job 21:30Indeed, the evil person is spared from the day of disaster, rescued from the day of wrath.
• Psalms 11:5The Lord examines the righteous, but he hates the wicked and those who love violence.
• Isaiah 57:21There is no peace for the wicked,” says my God.
• Malachi 3:18So you will again see the difference between the righteous and the wicked, between one who serves God and one who does not serve him.
• Matthew 13:49So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will go out, separate the evil people from the righteous,
• John 5:29and come out — those who have done good things, to the resurrection of life, but those who have done wicked things, to the resurrection of condemnation.
• Psalms 55:23God, you will bring them down to the Pit of destruction; men of bloodshed and treachery will not live out half their days. But I will trust in you.
• Isaiah 30:13this iniquity of yours will be like a crumbling gap, a bulge in a high wall whose collapse will come in an instant — suddenly!
• 2 Peter 2:3They will exploit you in their greed with made-up stories. Their condemnation, pronounced long ago, is not idle, and their destruction does not sleep.
• Ecclesiastes 6:12For who knows what is good for anyone in life, in the few days of his futile life that he spends like a shadow? Who can tell anyone what will happen after him under the sun?
• Job 7:6My days pass more swiftly than a weaver’s shuttle; they come to an end without hope.
• Job 14:2He blossoms like a flower, then withers; he flees like a shadow and does not last.
• Psalms 39:5In fact, you have made my days just inches long, and my life span is as nothing to you. Yes, every human being stands as only a vapor.Selah
• Psalms 144:4A human is like a breath; his days are like a passing shadow.

Commentaries on Ecclesiastes 8:13

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 13But it shall not be well with the wicked - Let not the long-spared sinner presume that, because sentence is not speedily executed on his evil works, and he is suffered to go on to his hundredth transgression, God has forgotten to punish. No, he feareth not before Good; and therefore he shall not ultimately escape.Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 9-13Verses 9-13 Solomon observed, that many a time one man rules over another to his hurt, and that prosperity hardens them in their wickedness. Sinners herein deceive themselves. Vengeance comes slowly, but it comes surely. A good man's days have some substance; he lives to a good purpose: a wicked man's days are all as a shadow, empty and worthless. Let us pray that we may view eternal things as near, real, and all-important.Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 12-13Injustice is temporary and does not disrupt God's plans for justice (Ecclesiastes 3:16–17; 12:14). In the end, wickedness does not succeed.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1313. neither shall he prolong--not a contradiction to Ec 8:12. The "prolonging" of his days there is only seeming, not real. Taking into account his eternal existence, his present days, however seemingly long, are really short. God's delay (Ec 8:11) exists only in man's short-sighted view. It gives scope to the sinner to repent, or else to fill up his full measure of guilt; and so, in either case, tends to the final vindication of God's ways. It gives…Read the comment

Topics related to Ecclesiastes 8:13

• Impenitence
• Punishment
• Wicked (People)

In the dictionaries

• God
• god, false god, goddess, idol, idolater, idolatrous, idolatry
• Discern
• Discharge
• Feel
• Hasty
• Heart
• Set
• Death
• Prolong

Commentaries on Ecclesiastes 8

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings