Ecclesiastes 8:13

Ecclesiastes 8:13 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)But it shall not be well with the wicked, neither shall he prolong his days, which are as a shadow; because he feareth not before God.
• New International Version (NIV)Yet because the wicked do not fear God, it will not go well with them, and their days will not lengthen like a shadow.
• English Standard Version (ESV)But it will not be well with the wicked, neither will he prolong his days like a shadow, because he does not fear before God.
• New Living Translation (NLT)The wicked will not prosper, for they do not fear God. Their days will never grow long like the evening shadows.

Context of Ecclesiastes 8:13

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. 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. But 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. 15So I commended enjoyment, because a man has nothing better under the sun than to eat, drink, and be merry; for this will remain with him in his labor all the days of his life which God gives him under the sun.

Ecclesiastes 8:13 word by word

וְטוֹב֙ לֹֽא־יִהְיֶ֣ה לָֽרָשָׁ֔ע וְלֹֽא־יַאֲרִ֥יךְ יָמִ֖ים כַּצֵּ֑ל אֲשֶׁ֛ר אֵינֶ֥נּוּ יָרֵ֖א מִלִּפְנֵ֥י אֱלֹהִֽים׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• But it shall not be wellטוֹבţôb · pleasantH2896
• with the wickedרָשָׁעrâshâ‛ · wickedH7563
• neither shall he prolongאָרַךְ'ârak · to prolongH748
• daysיוֹםyôm · dayH3117
• as a shadowצֵלtsêl · shadowH6738
• because he fearethיָרֵאyârê' · afraidH3373
• not beforeפָּנֶהpânîym · face: beforeH6440
• Godאֱלֹהִים'ĕlôhîym · GodH430

Cross-references for Ecclesiastes 8:13

• Job 18:5“The light of the wicked indeed goes out, And the flame of his fire does not shine.
• Job 20:5That the triumphing of the wicked is short, And the joy of the hypocrite is but for a moment?
• Job 21:30For the wicked are reserved for the day of doom; They shall be brought out on the day of wrath.
• Psalms 11:5The Lord tests the righteous, But the wicked and the one who loves violence His soul hates.
• Isaiah 57:21“There is no peace,” Says my God, “for the wicked.”
• Malachi 3:18Then you shall again discern Between the righteous and the wicked, Between one who serves God And one who does not serve Him.
• Matthew 13:49So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come forth, separate the wicked from among the just,
• John 5:29and come forth—those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation.
• Psalms 55:23But You, O God, shall bring them down to the pit of destruction; Bloodthirsty and deceitful men shall not live out half their days; But I will trust in You.
• Isaiah 30:13Therefore this iniquity shall be to you Like a breach ready to fall, A bulge in a high wall, Whose breaking comes suddenly, in an instant.
• 2 Peter 2:3By covetousness they will exploit you with deceptive words; for a long time their judgment has not been idle, and their destruction does not slumber.
• Ecclesiastes 6:12For who knows what is good for man in life, all the days of his vain life which he passes like a shadow? Who can tell a man what will happen after him under the sun?
• Job 7:6“My days are swifter than a weaver’s shuttle, And are spent without hope.
• Job 14:2He comes forth like a flower and fades away; He flees like a shadow and does not continue.
• Psalms 39:5Indeed, You have made my days as handbreadths, And my age is as nothing before You; Certainly every man at his best state is but vapor. Selah
• Psalms 144:4Man is like a breath; His days are like a passing shadow.

Commentaries on Ecclesiastes 8:13

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 13But it shall not be well with the wicked - Let not the long-spared sinner presume that, because sentence is not speedily executed on his evil works, and he is suffered to go on to his hundredth transgression, God has forgotten to punish. No, he feareth not before Good; and therefore he shall not ultimately escape.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. 1313. neither shall he prolong--not a contradiction to Ec 8:12. The "prolonging" of his days there is only seeming, not real. Taking into account his eternal existence, his present days, however seemingly long, are really short. God's delay (Ec 8:11) exists only in man's short-sighted view. It gives scope to the sinner to repent, or else to fill up his full measure of guilt; and so, in either case, tends to the final vindication of God's ways. It gives…Read the comment

Topics related to Ecclesiastes 8:13

• Impenitence
• Punishment
• Wicked (People)

In the dictionaries

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