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 Living Translation (NLT)When a crime is not punished quickly, people feel it is safe to do wrong.

Context of Ecclesiastes 8:11

9All this I have seen, and applied my heart to every work that is done under the sun: There is a time in which one man rules over another to his own hurt. 10Then 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. 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. 12Though 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. 13But it will not be well with the wicked; nor will he prolong his days, which are as a shadow, because he does not fear before God.

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 there was relief, he hardened his heart and did not heed them, as the Lord had said.
• Job 21:11They send forth their little ones like a flock, And their children dance.
• Psalms 10:6He has said in his heart, “I shall not be moved; I shall never be in adversity.”
• Psalms 50:21These things you have done, and I kept silent; You thought that I was altogether like you; But I will rebuke you, And set them in order before your eyes.
• Isaiah 5:18Woe to those who draw iniquity with cords of vanity, And sin as if with a cart rope;
• Isaiah 26:10Let grace be shown to the wicked, Yet he will not learn righteousness; In the land of uprightness he will deal unjustly, And will not behold the majesty of the Lord.
• Jeremiah 48:11“Moab has been at ease from his youth; He has settled on his dregs, And has not been emptied from vessel to vessel, Nor has he gone into captivity. Therefore his taste remained in him, And his scent has not changed.
• Matthew 24:49and begins to beat his fellow servants, and to eat and drink with the drunkards,
• Romans 2:4Or do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance?
• 2 Peter 3:3knowing this first: that scoffers will come in the last days, walking according to their own lusts,
• Jeremiah 42:15Then hear now the word of the Lord, O remnant of Judah! Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: ‘If you wholly set your faces to enter Egypt, and go to dwell 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