God’s Word Translation
Ecclesiastes 8:12
12A sinner may commit a hundred crimes and yet live a long life. Still, I know with certainty that it will go well for those who fear God, because they fear him.
Ecclesiastes 8:12 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Though a sinner do evil an hundred times, and his days be prolonged, yet surely I know that it shall be well with them that fear God, which fear before him:
- New International Version (NIV)Although a wicked person who commits a hundred crimes may live a long time, I know that it will go better with those who fear God, who are reverent before him.
- English Standard Version (ESV)Though 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.
- New King James Version (NKJV)Though a sinner does evil a hundred times, and his days are prolonged, yet I surely know that it will be well with those who fear God, who fear before Him.
Context of Ecclesiastes 8:12
10Then I saw wicked people given an ⌞honorable⌟ burial. They used to go in and out of the holy place. They were praised in the city for doing such things. Even this is pointless. 11When a sentence against a crime isn’t carried out quickly, people are encouraged to commit crimes. A sinner may commit a hundred crimes and yet live a long life. Still, I know with certainty that it will go well for those who fear God, because they fear him. 13But it will not go well for the wicked. They will not live any longer. Their lives are like shadows, because they don’t fear God. 14There is something being done on earth that is pointless. Righteous people suffer for what the wicked do, and wicked people get what the righteous deserve. I say that even this is pointless.
Read all of Ecclesiastes 8Ecclesiastes 8:12 word by word
אֲשֶׁ֣ר חֹטֶ֗א עֹשֶׂ֥ה רָ֛ע מְאַ֖ת וּמַאֲרִ֣יךְ ל֑וֹ כִּ֚י גַּם־יוֹדֵ֣עַ אָ֔נִי אֲשֶׁ֤ר יִהְיֶה־טּוֹב֙ לְיִרְאֵ֣י הָאֱלֹהִ֔ים אֲשֶׁ֥ר יִֽירְא֖וּ מִלְּפָנָֽיו׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- Though a sinnerחָטָאchâţâ' · to sinH2398
- doעָשָׂה‛âώâh · to make: doH6213
- evilרַעra‛ râ‛âh · bad: evilH7451
- an hundred timesמֵאָהmê'âh mê'yâh · hundredH3967
- be prolongedאָרַךְ'ârak · to prolongH748
- yet surely I knowיָדַעyâda‛ · to knowH3045
- that it shall be wellטוֹבţôb · pleasantH2896
- with them that fearיָרֵאyârê' · afraidH3373
- Godאֱלֹהִים'ĕlôhîym · GodH430
- which fearיָרֵאyârê' · to fear: revereH3372
- beforeפָּנֶהpânîym · face: beforeH6440
Cross-references for Ecclesiastes 8:12
- Ecclesiastes 5:16This also is a painful tragedy: They leave exactly as they came. What advantage do they gain from working so hard for the wind?
- Ecclesiastes 7:15I have seen it all in my pointless life: Righteous people die in spite of being righteous. Wicked people go on living in spite of being wicked.
- 1 Kings 2:5“You know what Joab (Zeruiah’s son) did to me and to the two commanders of Israel’s army—Abner, son of Ner, and Amasa, son of Jether. Joab killed them. When there was peace, he shed blood as if it were wartime. With their blood he stained the belt around his waist and the shoes on his feet.
- 1 Kings 21:25There was no one else like Ahab. At the urging of his wife, he sold himself to do what the Lord considered evil.
- 1 Kings 22:34One man aimed his bow at random and hit the king of Israel between his scale armor and his breastplate. Ahab told his chariot driver, “Turn around, and get me away from these troops. I’m badly wounded.”
- Proverbs 13:21Disaster hunts down sinners, but righteous people are rewarded with good.
- Isaiah 65:20There will no longer be an infant who lives for only a few days or an old man who doesn’t live a long life. Whoever lives to be a hundred years old will be thought of as young. Whoever dies before he is a hundred years old will be cursed as a sinner.
- Romans 2:5Since you are stubborn and don’t want to change the way you think and act, you are adding to the anger that God will have against you on that day when God vents his anger. At that time God will reveal that his decisions are fair.
- Romans 9:22If God wants to demonstrate his anger and reveal his power, he can do it. But can’t he be extremely patient with people who are objects of his anger because they are headed for destruction?
- 2 Peter 2:9Since the Lord did all this, he knows how to rescue godly people when they are tested. He also knows how to hold immoral people for punishment on the day of judgment.
- Ecclesiastes 7:18It’s good to hold on to the one and not let go of the other, because the one who fears God will be able to avoid both extremes.
- Psalms 37:11Oppressed people will inherit the land and will enjoy unlimited peace.
- Psalms 112:1Hallelujah! Blessed is the person who fears the Lord and is happy to obey his commands.
- Psalms 115:13He will bless those who fear the Lord, from the least important to the most important.
- Proverbs 1:32“Gullible people kill themselves because of their turning away. Fools destroy themselves because of their indifference.
- Isaiah 3:10Tell the righteous that blessings will come to them. They will taste the fruit of their labor.
Commentaries on Ecclesiastes 8:12
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 12Though a sinner do evil a hundred times - If God bear so long with a transgressor, waiting in his longsuffering for him to repent and turn to him, surely he will be peculiarly kind to them that fear him, and endeavor to walk uprightly before him.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 12His days be prolonged - i. e., in his wickedness Ecclesiastes 8:8. “I” is emphatic, as if to mark the opposition to the “sons of men” Ecclesiastes 8:11.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. 1212. He says this, lest the sinner should abuse the statement (Ec 7:15), "A wicked man prolongeth his life." before him--literally, "at His presence"; reverently serve Him, realizing His continual presence.Read the comment
Topics related to Ecclesiastes 8:12
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
God’s Word Translation — © 1995 God’s Word to the Nations Bible Society
Commentaries