Ecclesiastes 8:14

Linguistic Bible Translation from Source Texts

There is a futility that takes place on the earth: righteous people receive what the wicked deserve, and wicked people receive what the righteous deserve. I said, 'This too is vanity.'

Additional Resources

Other Translations

  • King James Version 1769 (Standard Version)

    There is a vanity which is done upon the earth; that there be just men, unto whom it happeneth according to the work of the wicked; again, there be wicked men, to whom it happeneth according to the work of the righteous: I said that this also is vanity.

  • KJV1611 – Modern English

    There is a vanity which is done upon the earth: 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.

  • King James Version 1611 (Original)

    There is a vanity which is done upon the earth; that there be just men, unto whom it happeneth according to the work of the wicked; again, there be wicked men, to whom it happeneth according to the work of the righteous: I said that this also is vanity.

  • American Standard Version with Strong's Numbers

    There is a vanity which is done upon the earth, that there are righteous men unto whom it happeneth according to the work of the wicked; again, there are wicked men to whom it happeneth according to the work of the righteous: I said that this also is vanity.

  • King James Version with Strong's Numbers

    There is a vanity which is done upon the earth; that there be just men, unto whom it happeneth according to the work of the wicked; again, there be wicked men, to whom it happeneth according to the work of the righteous: I said that this also is vanity.

  • Coverdale Bible (1535)

    Yet is there a vanite vpon earth: There be iust men, vnto whom it happeneth, as though they had the workes of the vngodly: Agayne, there be vngodly, with whom it goeth as though they had the workes of ye rightuous. This me thinke also a vaine thinge.

  • Geneva Bible (1560)

    There is a vanitie, which is done vpon the earth, that there be righteous men to whom it commeth according to the worke of the wicked: and there be wicked men to whom it commeth according to the worke of the iust: I thought also that this is vanitie.

  • Bishops' Bible (1568)

    Yet is there a vanitie vpon earth: There be iust men vnto whom it happeneth as though they had the workes of the vngodly: Againe, there be vngodly, with whom it goeth as though they had the workes of the righteous: This haue I called also a vayne thing.

  • Authorized King James Version (1611)

    ¶ There is a vanity which is done upon the earth; that there be just [men], unto whom it happeneth according to the work of the wicked; again, there be wicked [men], to whom it happeneth according to the work of the righteous: I said that this also [is] vanity.

  • Webster's Bible (1833)

    There is a vanity which is done on the earth, that there are righteous 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.

  • Young's Literal Translation (1862/1898)

    There is a vanity that hath been done upon the earth, that there are righteous ones unto whom it is coming according to the work of the wicked, and there are wicked ones unto whom it is coming according to the work of the righteous. I have said that this also `is' vanity.

  • American Standard Version (1901)

    There is a vanity which is done upon the earth, that there are righteous men unto whom it happeneth according to the work of the wicked; again, there are wicked men to whom it happeneth according to the work of the righteous: I said that this also is vanity.

  • American Standard Version (1901)

    There is a vanity which is done upon the earth, that there are righteous men unto whom it happeneth according to the work of the wicked; again, there are wicked men to whom it happeneth according to the work of the righteous: I said that this also is vanity.

  • Bible in Basic English (1941)

    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.

  • World English Bible (2000)

    There is a vanity which is done on the earth, that there are righteous 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.

  • NET Bible® (New English Translation)

    Here is another enigma that occurs on earth: Sometimes there are righteous people who get what the wicked deserve, and sometimes there are wicked people who get what the righteous deserve. I said,“This also is an enigma.”

Referenced Verses

  • Eccl 7:15 : 15 In my fleeting life, I have seen it all: The righteous perishing in their righteousness, and the wicked living long in their wickedness.
  • Eccl 2:14 : 14 The wise have eyes in their heads, but the fool walks in darkness. Yet I also realized that the same fate overtakes them both.
  • Mal 3:15 : 15 Now we call the proud blessed, for those who do evil prosper, and those who test God escape.'
  • Eccl 9:1-3 : 1 So I reflected on all this and set my heart to examine it: that the righteous, the wise, and their deeds are in the hand of God. People do not know whether love or hatred awaits them; everything lies before them. 2 Everything happens alike to everyone: the same fate comes to the righteous and the wicked, to the good and the pure and the impure, to those who offer sacrifices and those who do not. As with the good person, so with the sinner; as with those who swear oaths, so with those who avoid them. 3 This is the distressing thing about everything that happens under the sun: the same fate befalls all. Moreover, the hearts of humans are full of evil, and madness resides in their hearts during their lives; and after that, they join the dead.
  • Job 21:7 : 7 Why do the wicked live on, grow old, and increase in power?
  • Ps 73:3 : 3 For I envied the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.
  • Ps 73:12-14 : 12 Behold, these are the wicked—always carefree, they increase in wealth. 13 Surely in vain I have kept my heart pure and washed my hands in innocence. 14 For I am stricken all day long and chastened every morning.
  • Job 21:17-34 : 17 How often is the lamp of the wicked extinguished? Disaster comes upon them as calamities God apportions in his anger. 18 They are like straw before the wind and like chaff carried away by a storm. 19 God stores up their iniquity for their children. Let him repay them so that they may experience it themselves. 20 Let their own eyes see their destruction, and let them drink from the wrath of the Almighty. 21 For what does he care about his household after him, when the number of his months is cut off? 22 Can anyone teach knowledge to God, who judges even the exalted ones? 23 One person dies in the full vigor of his strength, completely secure and at ease, 24 His sides full of milk, and the marrow of his bones moist. 25 While another dies in bitterness of soul, having never tasted prosperity. 26 They lie down together in the dust, and worms cover them. 27 Behold, I know your thoughts and the schemes you plot against me. 28 For you say, 'Where is the house of the noble? Where is the tent of the dwellings of the wicked? 29 Have you not asked those who travel the road, and did you not recognize their testimonies? 30 That the wicked are spared in the day of calamity, that they are brought forth in the day of wrath? 31 Who will confront him with his conduct? Who repays him for what he has done? 32 He is carried to the graves, and a watch is kept over his tomb. 33 The clods of the valley are sweet to him; everyone follows after him, and countless go before him. 34 So how can you comfort me with empty words, since your answers remain falsehoods?
  • Job 24:21-25 : 21 He preys on the barren woman who does not bear children, and he does no good to the widow. 22 Yet God drags away the mighty with His power; though they rise up, they do not trust in their own lives. 23 He allows them to rest in security, but His eyes are on their ways. 24 They are exalted for a little while, but then they are gone; they are brought low and gathered up like all others, and like the heads of grain, they are cut off. 25 If this is not so, who can prove me a liar and make my words nothing?
  • Eccl 10:5 : 5 There is an evil I have seen under the sun, an error that proceeds from a ruler:
  • Jer 12:1 : 1 You are righteous, LORD, even when I bring my case to you. Yet I want to discuss your judgments: Why does the way of the wicked prosper? Why are those who betray others at ease?
  • Job 9:22-24 : 22 It makes no difference; therefore, I declare: He destroys both the blameless and the wicked. 23 When a scourge brings sudden death, He mocks the despair of the innocent. 24 The earth is given into the hands of the wicked; He covers the faces of its judges. If it is not He, then who is it?
  • Eccl 4:4 : 4 And I saw that all toil and all skill in work are driven by one person’s envy of another. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.
  • Eccl 4:8 : 8 There was a man all alone. He had no son or brother. There was no end to his toil, yet his eyes were not content with his wealth. 'For whom am I toiling,' he asked, 'and why am I depriving myself of enjoyment?' This too is meaningless—a miserable business!

Similar Verses (AI)

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

  • Eccl 8:9-11
    3 verses
    83%

    9I observed all this as I considered all the work done under the sun: a time when one man has power over another to hurt them.

    10Then I saw the wicked buried, who used to go in and out of the holy place, but now they are forgotten in the city where they acted this way. This too is meaningless.

    11When the sentence for a crime is not quickly carried out, people’s hearts are filled with schemes to do evil.

  • Eccl 7:13-15
    3 verses
    83%

    13Consider the work of God: Who can straighten what he has made crooked?

    14When times are good, be joyful; but when times are bad, consider this: God has made one as well as the other. Therefore, no one can discover anything about their future.

    15In my fleeting life, I have seen it all: The righteous perishing in their righteousness, and the wicked living long in their wickedness.

  • Eccl 3:16-19
    4 verses
    81%

    16And I saw under the sun, in the place of judgment, wickedness was there, and in the place of righteousness, wickedness was there as well.

    17I said in my heart, 'God will judge the righteous and the wicked, for there is a time for every matter and for every work.'

    18I said in my heart concerning the matter of the sons of man, that God is testing them to show them that they are like animals.

    19For the fate of humans and the fate of animals is the same. As one dies, so dies the other; they all have the same breath, and humans have no advantage over animals, for everything is meaningless.

  • Eccl 9:1-3
    3 verses
    79%

    1So I reflected on all this and set my heart to examine it: that the righteous, the wise, and their deeds are in the hand of God. People do not know whether love or hatred awaits them; everything lies before them.

    2Everything happens alike to everyone: the same fate comes to the righteous and the wicked, to the good and the pure and the impure, to those who offer sacrifices and those who do not. As with the good person, so with the sinner; as with those who swear oaths, so with those who avoid them.

    3This is the distressing thing about everything that happens under the sun: the same fate befalls all. Moreover, the hearts of humans are full of evil, and madness resides in their hearts during their lives; and after that, they join the dead.

  • Eccl 2:19-24
    6 verses
    79%

    19And who knows whether that person will be wise or foolish? Yet they will rule over all the fruit of my labor that I have worked for under the sun. This too is meaningless.

    20So I turned my heart to despair over all the hard work with which I had labored under the sun.

    21For there is a person who labors with wisdom, knowledge, and skill, but then must leave everything to someone who has not worked for it. This too is meaningless and a great misfortune.

    22What does a person gain from all their labor and from the striving of their heart under the sun?

    23All their days are full of sorrow, and their work is filled with grief; even at night their mind does not rest. This too is meaningless.

    24There is nothing better for a person than to eat and drink and find enjoyment in their work. This too, I realized, is from the hand of God.

  • Eccl 4:3-4
    2 verses
    79%

    3But better than both is the one who has not yet been born, who has not seen the evil deeds that are done under the sun.

    4And I saw that all toil and all skill in work are driven by one person’s envy of another. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.

  • Eccl 2:26
    79%

    26To the person who pleases Him, God gives wisdom, knowledge, and joy, but to the sinner, He gives the task of gathering and storing wealth to hand it over to the one who pleases God. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.

  • Eccl 6:1-2
    2 verses
    78%

    1There is an evil that I have seen under the sun, and it is great upon humanity.

    2God gives a man wealth, possessions, and honor, so that he lacks nothing his heart desires. Yet God does not enable him to enjoy them, but instead a foreigner eats them. This is meaningless and a grievous misfortune.

  • Eccl 1:13-15
    3 verses
    78%

    13I set my heart to seek and explore by wisdom all that is done under the heavens. What a burdensome task God has given to the human race to occupy themselves with!

    14I have seen all the deeds that are done under the sun; they are all meaningless, a chasing after the wind.

    15What is crooked cannot be straightened, and what is lacking cannot be counted.

  • Eccl 12:8
    77%

    8'Utter futility,' says the Teacher. 'Everything is futile!'

  • Eccl 2:11-12
    2 verses
    77%

    11Yet when I considered all that my hands had done and the toil I had expended in doing it, behold, everything was meaningless—a chasing after the wind. There was nothing to be gained under the sun.

    12So I turned my attention to consider wisdom, madness, and folly. For what can anyone do who comes after the king? Only what has already been done.

  • Eccl 2:15
    77%

    15Then I said in my heart, 'What happens to the fool will also happen to me. So why have I been so very wise?' And I concluded in my heart, 'This too is meaningless.'

  • Eccl 6:11-12
    2 verses
    77%

    11The more words, the more meaningless—and what advantage does that bring to anyone?

    12For who knows what is good for a person in life, during the few days of their fleeting life? They pass like a shadow. Who can tell them what will happen under the sun after they are gone?

  • Eccl 2:17
    77%

    17So I hated life, because the work done under the sun was grievous to me. For everything is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.

  • Eccl 4:7-8
    2 verses
    76%

    7Again, I turned and saw meaninglessness under the sun.

    8There was a man all alone. He had no son or brother. There was no end to his toil, yet his eyes were not content with his wealth. 'For whom am I toiling,' he asked, 'and why am I depriving myself of enjoyment?' This too is meaningless—a miserable business!

  • Eccl 8:6
    75%

    6For every purpose there is a proper time and procedure, though the misery of mankind weighs heavily upon them.

  • Eccl 11:8
    75%

    8For if a person lives many years, let him rejoice in all of them, but let him remember the days of darkness, for they will be many. All that comes is meaningless.

  • Eccl 4:16
    75%

    16There is no end to all the people who were before them, yet those who come later will not rejoice in him. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.

  • Eccl 8:17
    75%

    17then I saw all the work of God, that no one can understand the work that is done under the sun. Despite all their efforts to search it out, no one can comprehend it. Even if the wise claim to know, they cannot truly understand it.

  • Eccl 3:22
    75%

    22So I saw that there is nothing better than for a person to rejoice in their work, for that is their lot. Who can bring them to see what will happen after them?

  • Eccl 3:12
    75%

    12I know that there is nothing better for people than to rejoice and to do good while they live.

  • Eccl 5:16
    74%

    16Throughout his days, he eats in darkness, with great frustration, sickness, and anger.

  • Eccl 3:10
    74%

    10I have seen the burden that God has laid on the human race.

  • Eccl 8:15
    74%

    15So I praised enjoyment, because there is nothing better for a person under the sun than to eat, drink, and be glad. This will accompany them in their toil through the days of life that God has given them under the sun.

  • Eccl 8:13
    73%

    13But it will not go well for the wicked, nor will they prolong their days like a shadow, because they do not fear God.

  • Eccl 7:20
    73%

    20Surely there is no one righteous on earth who always does good and never sins.

  • Eccl 1:2-3
    2 verses
    73%

    2“Utterly meaningless!” says the Teacher. “Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless.”

    3What does man gain from all his labor at which he toils under the sun?

  • Eccl 2:1
    73%

    1I said to myself, 'Come now, I will test you with pleasure to see what is good.' But behold, this too was meaningless.