English Standard Version
Ecclesiastes 8:14
14There 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.
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.
- 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.
- New Living Translation (NLT)And this is not all that is meaningless in our world. In this life, good people are often treated as though they were wicked, and wicked people are often treated as though they were good. This is so meaningless!
Context of Ecclesiastes 8:14
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. 13But it will not be well with the wicked, neither will he prolong his days like a shadow, because he does not fear before God. 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. 15And I commend joy, for man has nothing better under the sun but to eat and drink and be joyful, for this will go with him in his toil through the days of his life that God has given him under the sun. 16When I applied my heart to know wisdom, and to see the business that is done on earth, how neither day nor night do one's eyes see sleep,
Read all of Ecclesiastes 8Ecclesiastes 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 4:4Then I saw that all toil and all skill in work come from a man's envy of his neighbor. This also is vanity and a striving after wind.
- Ecclesiastes 9:3This is an evil in all that is done under the sun, that the same event happens to all. Also, the hearts of the children of man are full of evil, and madness is in their hearts while they live, and after that they go to the dead.
- Ecclesiastes 10:5There is an evil that I have seen under the sun, as it were an error proceeding from the ruler:
- Ecclesiastes 2:14The wise person has his eyes in his head, but the fool walks in darkness. And yet I perceived that the same event happens to all of them.
- Ecclesiastes 7:15In my vain life I have seen everything. There is a righteous man who perishes in his righteousness, and there is a wicked man who prolongs his life in his evildoing.
- Ecclesiastes 9:1But all this I laid to heart, examining it all, how the righteous and the wise and their deeds are in the hand of God. Whether it is love or hate, man does not know; both are before him.
- Job 9:22It is all one; therefore I say, 'He destroys both the blameless and the wicked.'
- Job 21:17"How often is it that the lamp of the wicked is put out? That their calamity comes upon them? That God distributes pains in his anger?
- Job 24:21"They wrong the barren, childless woman, and do no good to the widow.
- Psalms 73:13All in vain have I kept my heart clean and washed my hands in innocence.
- Malachi 3:15And now we call the arrogant blessed. Evildoers not only prosper but they put God to the test and they escape.'"
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
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
English Standard Version — © 2001 Crossway Bibles
Commentaries