Ecclesiastes 8:11

Ecclesiastes 8:11 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil.
• New International Version (NIV)When the sentence for a crime is not quickly carried out, people’s hearts are filled with schemes to do wrong.
• English Standard Version (ESV)Because the sentence against an evil deed is not executed speedily, the heart of the children of man is fully set to do evil.
• New King James Version (NKJV)Because the sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil.

Context of Ecclesiastes 8:11

9I saw all these things that happen on the earth. I thought about them a lot. I thought about the things that happen on the earth. I saw that people sometimes use their power to hurt other people. 10I also saw that some wicked people receive honour after their death. Those wicked people had gone in and out of the holy place. People praised them in the city where they had done evil things. This also is difficult to understand. People who are guilty should receive their punishment quickly. If that does not happen, other people also want to do evil things. 12People who do lots of wicked things may live for a long time. But if someone respects and obeys God, they will surely enjoy a good life. 13Wicked people will surely not enjoy a good life. Their lives will be like a shadow that quickly disappears. They do not respect God, so they will not live for a long time.

Ecclesiastes 8:11 word by word

אֲשֶׁר֙ אֵין־נַעֲשָׂ֣ה פִתְגָ֔ם מַעֲשֵׂ֥ה הָרָעָ֖ה מְהֵרָ֑ה עַל־כֵּ֡ן מָלֵ֞א לֵ֧ב בְּֽנֵי־הָאָדָ֛ם בָּהֶ֖ם לַעֲשׂ֥וֹת רָֽע׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Because sentenceפִּתְגָּםpithgâm · edictH6599
• against an evilרָעָהra‛ râ‛âh · distress: evilH7451
• workמַעֲשֶׂהma‛ăώeh · deedH4639
• is not executedעָשָׂה‛âώâh · to make: doH6213
• speedilyמְהֵרָהmehêrâh · hasteH4120
• therefore the heartלֵבlêb · heartH3820
• of the sonsבֵּןbên · son: childH1121
• of menאָדָם'âdâm · manH120
• is fully setמָלֵאmâlê' mâlâ' · to fillH4390
• evilרַעra‛ râ‛âh · bad: evilH7451

Cross-references for Ecclesiastes 8:11

• Exodus 8:15But when Pharaoh saw that the trouble had gone, his mind became hard again. He refused to listen to Moses and Aaron. The Lord had said that this would happen, and it did!
• Job 21:11Their children run and play. They jump like young lambs.
• Psalms 10:6He says to himself, ‘There will be no trouble for me. Nothing bad will ever happen to me or to my children.’
• Psalms 50:21You did all these things, and I said nothing. So you thought that I was as bad as you are. But now I am warning you! I will tell you clearly what you have done wrong.
• Isaiah 5:18It will be very bad for you people who are always deceiving others. You cannot leave your sins behind, like someone who pulls a cart with a rope.
• Isaiah 26:10If you are kind to wicked people, they will never learn to do what is right. They continue to do wrong things, even in a land where people are honest. They do not see that you are great, Lord.
• Jeremiah 48:11The Lord said, ‘Moab's people have lived in peace since they first became a nation. No enemy has taken them away to a foreign land as their prisoners. They have been like the wine in a bottle that nobody has moved. Nobody has poured it into another bottle, so its taste and smell have never changed. Moab has always been the same.
• Matthew 24:49Then he begins to hit the other servants. He eats too much and he drinks too much. He meets with other people who become drunk.
• Romans 2:4Remember that God is very kind and patient with us. He waits a long time before he punishes us. Do you not think that that is important? You should understand that God is giving you a chance to change. He waits patiently, so that you may turn away from wrong things.
• 2 Peter 3:3The first thing that you should understand is this. In the last days of this world, some people will laugh at you because you believe in God. These people will do whatever bad things they want to do.
• Jeremiah 42:15If you say those things, then the Lord has a message for you, you people who remain in Judah. The Lord Almighty, Israel's God, says, “If you decide to go and live in Egypt, I will cause you to have the same troubles there.

Commentaries on Ecclesiastes 8:11

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 11Because sentence - פתגם pithgam, a Divine decree or declaration. This is no Hebrew, but a mere Chaldee word, and occurs only in the later books of the Bible - Esther, Ezra and Daniel, and nowhere else but in this place. Because God does not immediately punish every delinquency, men think he disregards evil acts; and therefore they are emboldened to sin on. So this longsuffering of God, which leadeth to repentance, is abused so as to lead to farther…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. 9-11In this world, unfairness often wins. It can be frustrating when bad people seem to succeed.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1111. The reason why the wicked persevere in sin: God's delay in judgment (Mt 24:48-51; 2Pe 3:8, 9). "They see not the smoke of the pit, therefore they dread not the fire" [South], (Psa 55:19). Joab's escape from the punishment of his murder of Abner, so far from "leading him to repentance," as it ought (Ro 2:4), led him to the additional murder of Amasa.Read the comment

Topics related to Ecclesiastes 8:11

• Depravity of Man
• God Continued...
• Heart
• Impenitence
• Punishment
• Security
• Wicked (People)

In the dictionaries

• Discern
• Discharge
• Feel
• Hasty
• Heart
• Set
• Ecclesiastes, the Preacher
• Synagogue, the Great

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