English Standard Version
Ecclesiastes 8:10
10Then I saw the wicked buried. They used to go in and out of the holy place and were praised in the city where they had done such things. This also is vanity.
Ecclesiastes 8:10 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And so I saw the wicked buried, who had come and gone from the place of the holy, and they were forgotten in the city where they had so done: this is also vanity.
- New International Version (NIV)Then too, I saw the wicked buried—those who used to come and go from the holy place and receive praise in the city where they did this. This too is meaningless.
- New King James Version (NKJV)Then I saw the wicked buried, who had come and gone from the place of holiness, and they were forgotten in the city where they had so done. This also is vanity.
- New Living Translation (NLT)I have seen wicked people buried with honor. Yet they were the very ones who frequented the Temple and are now praised in the same city where they committed their crimes! This, too, is meaningless.
Context of Ecclesiastes 8:10
8No man has power to retain the spirit, or power over the day of death. There is no discharge from war, nor will wickedness deliver those who are given to it. 9All this I observed while applying my heart to all that is done under the sun, when man had power over man to his hurt. Then I saw the wicked buried. They used to go in and out of the holy place and were praised in the city where they had done such things. This also is vanity. 11Because the sentence against an evil deed is not executed speedily, the heart of the children of man is fully set to do evil. 12Though a sinner does evil a hundred times and prolongs his life, yet I know that it will be well with those who fear God, because they fear before him.
Read all of Ecclesiastes 8Ecclesiastes 8:10 word by word
וּבְכֵ֡ן רָאִיתִי֩ רְשָׁעִ֨ים קְבֻרִ֜ים וָבָ֗אוּ וּמִמְּק֤וֹם קָדוֹשׁ֙ יְהַלֵּ֔כוּ וְיִֽשְׁתַּכְּח֥וּ בָעִ֖יר אֲשֶׁ֣ר כֵּן־עָשׂ֑וּ גַּם־זֶ֖ה הָֽבֶל׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- And soכֵּןkên · rightH3651
- I sawרָאָהrâ'âh · to see: seeH7200
- the wickedרָשָׁעrâshâ‛ · wickedH7563
- buriedקָבַרqâbar · to buryH6912
- who had comeבּוֹאbô' · to come (in): comeH935
- and goneהָלַךְhâlak · to go: wentH1980
- from the placeמָקוֹםmâqôm mâqôm meqômâh meqômâh · placeH4725
- of the holyקָדוֹשׁqâdôsh qâdôsh · holyH6918
- and they were forgottenשָׁכַחshâkach shâkêach · to forgetH7911
- in the cityעִיר‛îyr ‛âr ‛âyar · cityH5892
- where they had so doneעָשָׂה‛âώâh · to make: doH6213
- also vanityהֶ֫בֶלhebel hăbêl · vanityH1892
Cross-references for Ecclesiastes 8:10
- 2 Kings 9:34Then he went in and ate and drank. And he said, "See now to this cursed woman and bury her, for she is a king's daughter."
- Job 21:18That they are like straw before the wind, and like chaff that the storm carries away?
- Luke 16:22The poor man died and was carried by the angels to Abraham's side. The rich man also died and was buried,
- Psalms 122:1I was glad when they said to me, "Let us go to the house of the Lord!"
- Acts 6:13and they set up false witnesses who said, "This man never ceases to speak words against this holy place and the law,
- Ecclesiastes 2:16For of the wise as of the fool there is no enduring remembrance, seeing that in the days to come all will have been long forgotten. How the wise dies just like the fool!
- Ecclesiastes 9:5For the living know that they will die, but the dead know nothing, and they have no more reward, for the memory of them is forgotten.
- Psalms 31:12I have been forgotten like one who is dead; I have become like a broken vessel.
- Proverbs 10:7The memory of the righteous is a blessing, but the name of the wicked will rot.
- Jeremiah 17:13O Lord, the hope of Israel, all who forsake you shall be put to shame; those who turn away from you shall be written in the earth, for they have forsaken the Lord, the fountain of living water.
- Hebrews 10:38but my righteous one shall live by faith, and if he shrinks back, my soul has no pleasure in him."
Commentaries on Ecclesiastes 8:10
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 10Who had come and gone from the place of the holy - The place of the holy is the sacred office which they held, anointed either as kings or priests to God; and, not having fulfilled the holy office in a holy way, have been carried to their graves without lamentation, and lie among the dead without remembrance.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 10i. e., “I saw wicked (rulers) buried, who came into the world and went from the Holy place (the seat of authority and justice, Deuteronomy 19:17; 2 Chronicles 19:6), and they were forgotten in the city where they had so ruled to the hurt of their subjects: this - their death and oblivion - shews their lot also to be vanity.” Others interpret the verse: “I have seen wicked men buried; and (others) came into the world, and from the Holy place they went out…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. 1010. the wicked--namely, rulers (Ec 8:9). buried--with funeral pomp by man, though little meriting it (Jr 22:19); but this only formed the more awful contrast to their death, temporal and eternal, inflicted by God (Lu 16:22, 23). come and gone from the place of the holy--went to and came from the place of judicature, where they sat as God's representatives (Psa 82:1-6), with pomp [Holden]. Weiss translates, "Buried and gone (utterly), even from the holy…Read the comment
Topics related to Ecclesiastes 8:10
In the dictionaries
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
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Commentaries