New Living Translation
Ecclesiastes 8:10
10I have seen wicked people buried with honor. Yet they were the very ones who frequented the Temple and are now praised in the same city where they committed their crimes! This, too, is meaningless.
Ecclesiastes 8:10 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And so I saw the wicked buried, who had come and gone from the place of the holy, and they were forgotten in the city where they had so done: this is also vanity.
- New International Version (NIV)Then too, I saw the wicked buried—those who used to come and go from the holy place and receive praise in the city where they did this. This too is meaningless.
- English Standard Version (ESV)Then I saw the wicked buried. They used to go in and out of the holy place and were praised in the city where they had done such things. This also is vanity.
- New King James Version (NKJV)Then 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.
Context of Ecclesiastes 8:10
8None of us can hold back our spirit from departing. None of us has the power to prevent the day of our death. There is no escaping that obligation, that dark battle. And in the face of death, wickedness will certainly not rescue the wicked. 9I have thought deeply about all that goes on here under the sun, where people have the power to hurt each other. I have seen wicked people buried with honor. Yet they were the very ones who frequented the Temple and are now praised in the same city where they committed their crimes! This, too, is meaningless. 11When a crime is not punished quickly, people feel it is safe to do wrong. 12But 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.
Read all of Ecclesiastes 8Ecclesiastes 8:10 word by word
וּבְכֵ֡ן רָאִיתִי֩ רְשָׁעִ֨ים קְבֻרִ֜ים וָבָ֗אוּ וּמִמְּק֤וֹם קָדוֹשׁ֙ יְהַלֵּ֔כוּ וְיִֽשְׁתַּכְּח֥וּ בָעִ֖יר אֲשֶׁ֣ר כֵּן־עָשׂ֑וּ גַּם־זֶ֖ה הָֽבֶל׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- And soכֵּןkên · rightH3651
- I sawרָאָהrâ'âh · to see: seeH7200
- the wickedרָשָׁעrâshâ‛ · wickedH7563
- buriedקָבַרqâbar · to buryH6912
- who had comeבּוֹאbô' · to come (in): comeH935
- and goneהָלַךְhâlak · to go: wentH1980
- from the placeמָקוֹםmâqôm mâqôm meqômâh meqômâh · placeH4725
- of the holyקָדוֹשׁqâdôsh qâdôsh · holyH6918
- and they were forgottenשָׁכַחshâkach shâkêach · to forgetH7911
- in the cityעִיר‛îyr ‛âr ‛âyar · cityH5892
- where they had so doneעָשָׂה‛âώâh · to make: doH6213
- also vanityהֶ֫בֶלhebel hăbêl · vanityH1892
Cross-references for Ecclesiastes 8:10
- 2 Kings 9:34Then Jehu went into the palace and ate and drank. Afterward he said, “Someone go and bury this cursed woman, for she is the daughter of a king.”
- Job 21:18Are they driven before the wind like straw? Are they carried away by the storm like chaff? Not at all!
- Luke 16:22“Finally, the poor man died and was carried by the angels to sit beside Abraham at the heavenly banquet. The rich man also died and was buried,
- Psalms 122:1I was glad when they said to me, “Let us go to the house of the Lord.”
- Acts 6:13The lying witnesses said, “This man is always speaking against the holy Temple and against the law of Moses.
- Ecclesiastes 2:16For the wise and the foolish both die. The wise will not be remembered any longer than the fool. In the days to come, both will be forgotten.
- Ecclesiastes 9:5The living at least know they will die, but the dead know nothing. They have no further reward, nor are they remembered.
- Psalms 31:12I am ignored as if I were dead, as if I were a broken pot.
- Proverbs 10:7We have happy memories of the godly, but the name of a wicked person rots away.
- Jeremiah 17:13O Lord, the hope of Israel, all who turn away from you will be disgraced. They will be buried in the dust of the earth, for they have abandoned the Lord, the fountain of living water.
- Hebrews 10:38And my righteous ones will live by faith. But I will take no pleasure in anyone who turns away.”
Commentaries on Ecclesiastes 8:10
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 10Who had come and gone from the place of the holy - The place of the holy is the sacred office which they held, anointed either as kings or priests to God; and, not having fulfilled the holy office in a holy way, have been carried to their graves without lamentation, and lie among the dead without remembrance.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 10i. e., “I saw wicked (rulers) buried, who came into the world and went from the Holy place (the seat of authority and justice, Deuteronomy 19:17; 2 Chronicles 19:6), and they were forgotten in the city where they had so ruled to the hurt of their subjects: this - their death and oblivion - shews their lot also to be vanity.” Others interpret the verse: “I have seen wicked men buried; and (others) came into the world, and from the Holy place they went out…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. 1010. the wicked--namely, rulers (Ec 8:9). buried--with funeral pomp by man, though little meriting it (Jr 22:19); but this only formed the more awful contrast to their death, temporal and eternal, inflicted by God (Lu 16:22, 23). come and gone from the place of the holy--went to and came from the place of judicature, where they sat as God's representatives (Psa 82:1-6), with pomp [Holden]. Weiss translates, "Buried and gone (utterly), even from the holy…Read the comment
Topics related to Ecclesiastes 8:10
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
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