Ecclesiastes 8:9

Bible in Basic English (1941)

All this have I seen, and have given my heart to all the work which is done under the sun: there is a time when man has power over man for his destruction.

Additional Resources

Referenced Verses

  • Eccl 5:8 : 8 It is good generally for a country where the land is worked to have a king.
  • Eccl 5:13 : 13 And I saw the destruction of his wealth by an evil chance; and when he became the father of a son he had nothing in his hand.
  • Exod 14:5-9 : 5 And word came to Pharaoh of the flight of the people: and the feeling of Pharaoh and of his servants about the people was changed, and they said, Why have we let Israel go, so that they will do no more work for us? 6 So he had his war-carriage made ready and took his people with him: 7 And he took six hundred carriages, all the carriages of Egypt, and captains over all of them. 8 And the Lord made the heart of Pharaoh hard, and he went after the children of Israel: for the children of Israel had gone out without fear. 9 But the Egyptians went after them, all the horses and carriages of Pharaoh, and his horsemen, and his army, and overtook them in their tents by the sea, by Pihahiroth, before Baal-zephon.
  • Exod 14:28 : 28 And the waters came back, covering the war-carriages and the horsemen and all the army of Pharaoh which went after them into the middle of the sea; not one of them was to be seen.
  • Deut 2:30 : 30 But Sihon, king of Heshbon, would not let us go through; for the Lord your God made his spirit hard and his heart strong, so that he might give him up into your hands as at this day.
  • 2 Kgs 14:10-12 : 10 It is true that you have overcome Edom and your heart is uplifted; let that glory be enough for you, and keep in your country; why do you make causes of trouble, putting yourself, and Judah with you, in danger of downfall? 11 But Amaziah gave no attention. So Jehoash, king of Israel, went up, and he and Amaziah, king of Judah, came face to face at Beth-shemesh, which is in Judah. 12 And Judah was overcome before Israel, so that they went in flight, every man to his tent.
  • 2 Kgs 25:7 : 7 And they put the sons of Zedekiah to death before his eyes, and then they put out his eyes, and chaining him with iron bands, took him to Babylon.
  • Eccl 1:14 : 14 I have seen all the works which are done under the sun; all is to no purpose, and desire for wind.
  • Eccl 3:10 : 10 I saw the work which God has put on the sons of man.
  • Eccl 4:7-8 : 7 Then I came back, and I saw an example of what is to no purpose under the sun. 8 It is one who is by himself, without a second, and without son or brother; but there is no end to all his work, and he has never enough of wealth. For whom, then, am I working and keeping myself from pleasure? This again is to no purpose, and a bitter work.
  • Eccl 7:25 : 25 I gave my mind to knowledge and to searching for wisdom and the reason of things, and to the discovery that sin is foolish, and that to be foolish is to be without one's senses.

Similar Verses (AI)

These verses are found using AI-powered semantic similarity based on meaning and context. Results may occasionally include unexpected connections.

  • 13 This again I have seen under the sun as wisdom and it seemed great to me.

  • 1 There is an evil which I have seen under the sun, and it is hard on men;

  • Eccl 1:13-14
    2 verses
    79%

    13 And I gave my heart to searching out in wisdom all things which are done under heaven: it is a hard thing which God has put on the sons of men to do.

    14 I have seen all the works which are done under the sun; all is to no purpose, and desire for wind.

  • Eccl 2:17-23
    7 verses
    78%

    17 So I was hating life, because everything under the sun was evil to me: all is to no purpose and desire for wind.

    18 Hate had I for all my work which I had done, because the man who comes after me will have its fruits.

    19 And who is to say if that man will be wise or foolish? But he will have power over all my work which I have done and in which I have been wise under the sun. This again is to no purpose.

    20 So my mind was turned to grief for all the trouble I had taken and all my wisdom under the sun.

    21 Because there is a man whose work has been done with wisdom, with knowledge, and with an expert hand; but one who has done nothing for it will have it for his heritage. This again is to no purpose and a great evil.

    22 What does a man get for all his work, and for the weight of care with which he has done his work under the sun?

    23 All his days are sorrow, and his work is full of grief. Even in the night his heart has no rest. This again is to no purpose.

  • Eccl 8:5-6
    2 verses
    78%

    5 Whoever keeps the law will come to no evil: and a wise man's heart has knowledge of time and of decision.

    6 For every purpose there is a time and a decision, because the sorrow of man is great in him.

  • 1 All this I took to heart, and my heart saw it all: that the upright and the wise and their works are in the hand of God; and men may not be certain if it will be love or hate; all is to no purpose before them.

  • 3 This is evil in all things which are done under the sun: that there is one fate for all, and the hearts of the sons of men are full of evil; while they have life their hearts are foolish, and after that--to the dead.

  • Eccl 2:10-12
    3 verses
    77%

    10 And nothing which was desired by my eyes did I keep from them; I did not keep any joy from my heart, because my heart took pleasure in all my work, and this was my reward.

    11 Then I saw all the works which my hands had made, and everything I had been working to do; and I saw that all was to no purpose and desire for wind, and there was no profit under the sun.

    12 And I went again in search of wisdom and of foolish ways. What may the man do who comes after the king? The thing which he has done before.

  • Eccl 3:9-12
    4 verses
    77%

    9 What profit has the worker in the work which he does?

    10 I saw the work which God has put on the sons of man.

    11 He has made everything right in its time; but he has made their hearts without knowledge, so that man is unable to see the works of God, from the first to the last.

    12 I am certain that there is nothing better for a man than to be glad, and to do good while life is in him.

  • 14 There is a thing which is to no purpose done on the earth: that there are good men to whom is given the same punishment as those who are evil, and there are evil men who get the reward of the good. I say that this again is to no purpose.

  • Eccl 8:10-11
    2 verses
    77%

    10 And then I saw evil men put to rest, taken even from the holy place; and they went about and were praised in the town because of what they had done. This again is to no purpose.

    11 Because punishment for an evil work comes not quickly, the minds of the sons of men are fully given to doing evil.

  • 1 And again I saw all the cruel things which are done under the sun; there was the weeping of those who have evil done to them, and they had no comforter: and from the hands of the evil-doers there went out power, but they had no comforter.

  • 5 There is an evil which I have seen under the sun, like an error which comes by chance from a ruler:

  • Eccl 4:3-4
    2 verses
    76%

    3 Yes, happier than the dead or the living seemed he who has not ever been, who has not seen the evil which is done under the sun.

    4 And I saw that the cause of all the work and of everything which is done well was man's envy of his neighbour. This again is to no purpose and a desire for wind.

  • Eccl 3:16-18
    3 verses
    76%

    16 And again, I saw under the sun, in the place of the judges, that evil was there; and in the place of righteousness, that evil was there.

    17 I said in my heart, God will be judge of the good and of the bad; because a time for every purpose and for every work has been fixed by him.

    18 I said in my heart, It is because of the sons of men, so that God may put them to the test and that they may see themselves as beasts.

  • Eccl 8:16-17
    2 verses
    76%

    16 When I gave my mind to the knowledge of wisdom and to seeing the business which is done on the earth (and there are those whose eyes see not sleep by day or by night),

    17 Then I saw all the work of God, and that man may not get knowledge of the work which is done under the sun; because, if a man gives hard work to the search he will not get knowledge, and even if the wise man seems to be coming to the end of his search, still he will be without knowledge.

  • Eccl 9:10-11
    2 verses
    75%

    10 Whatever comes to your hand to do with all your power, do it because there is no work, or thought, or knowledge, or wisdom in the place of the dead to which you are going.

    11 And again I saw under the sun that the reward goes not to him who is quick, or the fruits of war to the strong; and there is no bread for the wise, or wealth for men of learning, or respect for those who have knowledge; but time and chance come to all.

  • 22 So I saw that there is nothing better than for a man to have joy in his work--because that is his reward. Who will make him see what will come after him?

  • 13 And I saw the destruction of his wealth by an evil chance; and when he became the father of a son he had nothing in his hand.

  • 15 I saw all the living under the sun round the young man who was to be ruler in place of the king.

  • Eccl 7:14-15
    2 verses
    75%

    14 In the day of wealth have joy, but in the day of evil take thought: God has put the one against the other, so that man may not be certain what will be after him.

    15 These two have I seen in my life which is to no purpose: a good man coming to his end in his righteousness, and an evil man whose days are long in his evil-doing.

  • 1 For everything there is a fixed time, and a time for every business under the sun.

  • Eccl 4:7-8
    2 verses
    74%

    7 Then I came back, and I saw an example of what is to no purpose under the sun.

    8 It is one who is by himself, without a second, and without son or brother; but there is no end to all his work, and he has never enough of wealth. For whom, then, am I working and keeping myself from pleasure? This again is to no purpose, and a bitter work.

  • 3 What is a man profited by all his work which he does under the sun?

  • 9 That which has been, is that which is to be, and that which has been done, is that which will be done, and there is no new thing under the sun.

  • 15 Then said I in my heart: As it comes to the foolish man, so will it come to me; so why have I been wise overmuch? Then I said in my heart: This again is to no purpose.

  • 17 And I gave my heart to getting knowledge of wisdom, and of the ways of the foolish. And I saw that this again was desire for wind.

  • 8 No man has authority over the wind, to keep the wind; or is ruler over the day of his death. In war no man's time is free, and evil will not keep the sinner safe.

  • 12 Who is able to say what is good for man in life all the days of his foolish life which he goes through like a shade? who will say what is to be after him under the sun?