Ecclesiastes 8:12

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 Living Translation (NLT)But even though a person sins a hundred times and still lives a long time, I know that those who fear God will be better off.

Context of Ecclesiastes 8:12

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. 11Because 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. 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. 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. 14There 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.

Ecclesiastes 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 5:16And this also is a severe evil— Just exactly as he came, so shall he go. And what profit has he who has labored for the wind?
• Ecclesiastes 7:15I have seen everything in my days of vanity: There is a just man who perishes in his righteousness, And there is a wicked man who prolongs life in his wickedness.
• 1 Kings 2:5“Moreover you know also what Joab the son of Zeruiah did to me, and what he did to the two commanders of the armies of Israel, to Abner the son of Ner and Amasa the son of Jether, whom he killed. And he shed the blood of war in peacetime, and put the blood of war on his belt that was around his waist, and on his sandals that were on his feet.
• 1 Kings 21:25But there was no one like Ahab who sold himself to do wickedness in the sight of the Lord, because Jezebel his wife stirred him up.
• 1 Kings 22:34Now a certain man drew a bow at random, and struck the king of Israel between the joints of his armor. So he said to the driver of his chariot, “Turn around and take me out of the battle, for I am wounded.”
• Proverbs 13:21Evil pursues sinners, But to the righteous, good shall be repaid.
• Isaiah 65:20“No more shall an infant from there live but a few days, Nor an old man who has not fulfilled his days; For the child shall die one hundred years old, But the sinner being one hundred years old shall be accursed.
• Romans 2:5But in accordance with your hardness and your impenitent heart you are treasuring up for yourself wrath in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God,
• Romans 9:22What if God, wanting to show His wrath and to make His power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath prepared for destruction,
• 2 Peter 2:9then the Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptations and to reserve the unjust under punishment for the day of judgment,
• Ecclesiastes 7:18It is good that you grasp this, And also not remove your hand from the other; For he who fears God will escape them all.
• Psalms 37:11But the meek shall inherit the earth, And shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.
• Psalms 112:1Praise the Lord! Blessed is the man who fears the Lord, Who delights greatly in His commandments.
• Psalms 115:13He will bless those who fear the Lord, Both small and great.
• Proverbs 1:32For the turning away of the simple will slay them, And the complacency of fools will destroy them;
• Isaiah 3:10“Say to the righteous that it shall be well with them, For they shall eat the fruit of their doings.

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

• Fear of God
• Punishment
• Wicked (People)

In the dictionaries

• God
• Discern
• Discharge
• Feel
• Hasty
• Heart
• Set
• Death
• Number
• 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