New Living Translation
Ecclesiastes 3:17
17I said to myself, “In due season God will judge everyone, both good and bad, for all their deeds.”
Ecclesiastes 3:17 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)I said in mine heart, God shall judge the righteous and the wicked: for there is a time there for every purpose and for every work.
- New International Version (NIV)I said to myself, “God will bring into judgment both the righteous and the wicked, for there will be a time for every activity, a time to judge every deed.”
- English Standard Version (ESV)I said in my heart, God will judge the righteous and the wicked, for there is a time for every matter and for every work.
- New King James Version (NKJV)I said in my heart, “God shall judge the righteous and the wicked, For there is a time there for every purpose and for every work.”
Context of Ecclesiastes 3:17
15What is happening now has happened before, and what will happen in the future has happened before, because God makes the same things happen over and over again. 16I also noticed that under the sun there is evil in the courtroom. Yes, even the courts of law are corrupt! I said to myself, “In due season God will judge everyone, both good and bad, for all their deeds.” 18I also thought about the human condition—how God proves to people that they are like animals. 19For people and animals share the same fate—both breathe and both must die. So people have no real advantage over the animals. How meaningless!
Read all of Ecclesiastes 3Ecclesiastes 3:17 word by word
אָמַ֤רְתִּֽי אֲנִי֙ בְּלִבִּ֔י אֶת־הַצַּדִּיק֙ וְאֶת־הָ֣רָשָׁ֔ע יִשְׁפֹּ֖ט הָאֱלֹהִ֑ים כִּי־עֵ֣ת לְכָל־חֵ֔פֶץ וְעַ֥ל כָּל־הַֽמַּעֲשֶׂ֖ה שָֽׁם׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- I saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
- in mine heartלֵבlêb · heartH3820
- Godאֱלֹהִים'ĕlôhîym · GodH430
- shall judgeשָׁפַטshâphaţ · to judgeH8199
- the righteousצַדִּיקtsaddîyq · righteousH6662
- and the wickedרָשָׁעrâshâ‛ · wickedH7563
- a timeעֵת‛êth · timeH6256
- there for every purposeחֵ֫פֶץchêphets · pleasureH2656
- and for every workמַעֲשֶׂהma‛ăώeh · deedH4639
Cross-references for Ecclesiastes 3:17
- Ecclesiastes 1:16I said to myself, “Look, I am wiser than any of the kings who ruled in Jerusalem before me. I have greater wisdom and knowledge than any of them.”
- Ecclesiastes 2:1I said to myself, “Come on, let’s try pleasure. Let’s look for the ‘good things’ in life.” But I found that this, too, was meaningless.
- Ecclesiastes 12:14God will judge us for everything we do, including every secret thing, whether good or bad.
- Genesis 18:25Surely you wouldn’t do such a thing, destroying the righteous along with the wicked. Why, you would be treating the righteous and the wicked exactly the same! Surely you wouldn’t do that! Should not the Judge of all the earth do what is right?”
- Psalms 98:9before the Lord, for he is coming to judge the earth. He will judge the world with justice, and the nations with fairness.
- Matthew 16:27For the Son of Man will come with his angels in the glory of his Father and will judge all people according to their deeds.
- Matthew 25:31“But when the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit upon his glorious throne.
- John 5:22In addition, the Father judges no one. Instead, he has given the Son absolute authority to judge,
- Acts 17:31For he has set a day for judging the world with justice by the man he has appointed, and he proved to everyone who this is by raising him from the dead.”
- Romans 2:5But because you are stubborn and refuse to turn from your sin, you are storing up terrible punishment for yourself. For a day of anger is coming, when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed.
- 1 Corinthians 4:5So don’t make judgments about anyone ahead of time—before the Lord returns. For he will bring our darkest secrets to light and will reveal our private motives. Then God will give to each one whatever praise is due.
- 2 Corinthians 5:10For we must all stand before Christ to be judged. We will each receive whatever we deserve for the good or evil we have done in this earthly body.
- 2 Thessalonians 1:6In his justice he will pay back those who persecute you.
- Revelation 20:11And I saw a great white throne and the one sitting on it. The earth and sky fled from his presence, but they found no place to hide.
- Ecclesiastes 3:1For everything there is a season, a time for every activity under heaven.
- Jeremiah 29:10This is what the Lord says: “You will be in Babylon for seventy years. But then I will come and do for you all the good things I have promised, and I will bring you home again.
Commentaries on Ecclesiastes 3:17
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 17For there is a time there for every purpose - Man has his time here below, and God shall have his time above. At his throne the judged shall be rejudged, and iniquity for ever close her mouth.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 16-22Verses 16-22 That great anomaly in the moral government of this world, the seemingly unequal distribution of rewards and punishments, will be rectified by God, who has future times and events under His control Ecclesiastes 3:16-17. As for people, they are placed by God, who is their teacher, in a humble condition, even on a level with inferior animals, by death, that great instance of their subjection to vanity Ecclesiastes 3:18-19, which reduces to its…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 16-22Verses 16-22 Without the fear of the Lord, man is but vanity; set that aside, and judges will not use their power well. And there is another Judge that stands before the door. With God there is a time for the redressing of grievances, though as yet we see it not. Solomon seems to express his wish that men might perceive, that by choosing this world as their portion, they brought themselves to a level with the beasts, without being free, as they are, from…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 17God will judge: Human injustices (Ecclesiastes 3:16) are temporary and God will correct them. The narrator repeats this to conclude the book (Ecclesiastes 12:14).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1717. Solution of it. There is a coming judgment in which God will vindicate His righteous ways. The sinner's "time" of his unrighteous "work" is short. God also has His "time" and "work" of judgment; and, meanwhile, is overruling, for good at last, what seems now dark. Man cannot now "find out" the plan of God's ways (Ec 3:11; Psa 97:2). If judgment instantly followed every sin, there would be no scope for free will, faith, and perseverance of saints in…Read the comment
Topics related to Ecclesiastes 3:17
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Ecclesiastes 3
- 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
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