Ecclesiastes 8:14

Ecclesiastes 8:14 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)There is a vanity which is done upon the earth; that there be just men, unto whom it happeneth according to the work of the wicked; again, there be wicked men, to whom it happeneth according to the work of the righteous: I said that this also is vanity.
• New International Version (NIV)There is something else meaningless that occurs on earth: the righteous who get what the wicked deserve, and the wicked who get what the righteous deserve. This too, I say, is meaningless.
• English Standard Version (ESV)There is a vanity that takes place on earth, that there are righteous people to whom it happens according to the deeds of the wicked, and there are wicked people to whom it happens according to the deeds of the righteous. I said that this also is vanity.
• New King James Version (NKJV)There is a vanity which occurs on earth, that there are just men to whom it happens according to the work of the wicked; again, there are wicked men to whom it happens according to the work of the righteous. I said that this also is vanity.

Context of Ecclesiastes 8:14

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. But this is something else that is difficult to understand: Sometimes righteous people suffer in the way the wicked people deserve. And sometimes wicked people enjoy the good things that righteous people deserve. I think that this is difficult to understand. 15So I think that we should enjoy our lives. People should be happy to eat, drink and enjoy their lives. That is the best thing for them to do. It will help them to enjoy the work that they do during their lives. That is the life which God has given them on the earth. 16I tried very much to become wise. I wanted to understand the things that people do on the earth. People work in the day and in the night and they do not sleep.

Ecclesiastes 8:14 word by word

יֶשׁ־הֶבֶל֮ אֲשֶׁ֣ר נַעֲשָׂ֣ה עַל־הָאָרֶץ֒ אֲשֶׁ֣ר׀ יֵ֣שׁ צַדִּיקִ֗ים אֲשֶׁ֨ר מַגִּ֤יעַ אֲלֵהֶם֙ כְּמַעֲשֵׂ֣ה הָרְשָׁעִ֔ים וְיֵ֣שׁ רְשָׁעִ֔ים שֶׁמַּגִּ֥יעַ אֲלֵהֶ֖ם כְּמַעֲשֵׂ֣ה הַצַּדִּיקִ֑ים אָמַ֕רְתִּי שֶׁגַּם־זֶ֖ה הָֽבֶל׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• There isיֵשׁyêsh · thereH3426
• a vanityהֶ֫בֶלhebel hăbêl · vanityH1892
• which is doneעָשָׂה‛âώâh · to make: doH6213
• upon the earthאֶ֫רֶץ'erets · land: country/planetH776
• that there be justצַדִּיקtsaddîyq · righteousH6662
• unto whom it happenethנָגַעnâga‛ · to touchH5060
• according to the workמַעֲשֶׂהma‛ăώeh · deedH4639
• of the wickedרָשָׁעrâshâ‛ · wickedH7563
• I saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
• that this alsoגַּםgam · alsoH1571

Cross-references for Ecclesiastes 8:14

• Ecclesiastes 4:4I also thought about the clever work that people do. I saw that people work hard because they are jealous of each other. They want to do better than other people. I realized that this has no purpose. It is like somebody who tries to catch the wind.
• Ecclesiastes 9:3Finally, the same thing happens to everyone on the earth. That seems to be a terrible thing. People choose to do evil things. While they are alive, they choose to live like fools. And after that, they die.
• Ecclesiastes 10:5I have seen another terrible thing that happens on the earth. It happens when a ruler does a silly thing.
• Ecclesiastes 2:14Wise people can see where they are going. Foolish people walk in the dark. But at the end of their lives, there is no difference. They both die.
• Ecclesiastes 7:15In my short life on the earth I have seen these things which have no purpose: Sometimes righteous people may die when they are still young. They did good things, but they died. And sometimes wicked people continue to live for along time. They did evil things, but they continued to live.
• Ecclesiastes 9:1I thought about all these things so that I could understand them. I realized that God controls what happens to people. That includes righteous people and wise people. God decides the things that they do. Nobody knows what will happen in their lives. Other people may love them, or they may hate them.
• Job 9:22The same thing happens to good people and to wicked people. So I say, “God destroys people who are not guilty as well as those who are guilty.”
• Job 21:17It seems that wicked people enjoy a long life. They do not often have many troubles. When God is angry with them, he does not cause them to suffer.
• Job 24:21Those wicked people are cruel to women who have no children. They are not kind to widows.
• Psalms 73:13I decided that I had tried to do what is right, but it did not help me at all! I had refused to do anything wrong, for no good reason!
• Malachi 3:15But it is proud people that God blesses! Yes, it is the people who do evil things who become rich! God does not even punish people who like to test him. That is what we think.” ’

Commentaries on Ecclesiastes 8:14

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 14There be just men - See on Ecclesiastes 7:16; (note).Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 14Which is done upon the earth - The instance of vanity, to which these words are applied, is the seeming inequality of God‘s justice; but if they are considered in connection with the profession of personal faith in God‘s absolute justice Ecclesiastes 8:12, the conclusion is irresistible, that, whatever reason the Preacher had for reserve in declaring his belief, he certainly looked forward to final judgment in a future state of existence (compare…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 14-17Verses 14-17 Faith alone can establish the heart in this mixed scene, where the righteous often suffer, and the wicked prosper. Solomon commended joy, and holy security of mind, arising from confidence in God, because a man has no better thing under the sun, though a good man has much better things above the sun, than soberly and thankfully to use the things of this life according to his rank. He would not have us try to give a reason for what God does…Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1414. An objection is here started (entertained by Solomon in his apostasy), as in Ec 3:16; 7:15, to the truth of retributive justice, from the fact of the just and the wicked not now receiving always according to their respective deserts; a cavil, which would seem the more weighty to men living under the Mosaic covenant of temporal sanctions. The objector adds, as Solomon had said, that the worldling's pursuits are "vanity" (Ec 8:10), "I say (not 'said')…Read the comment

In the dictionaries

• Discern
• Discharge
• Feel
• Hasty
• Heart
• Set
• Happen
• 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