Exceptions to the Law of Retribution During the days of my fleeting life I have seen both of these things: Sometimes a righteous person dies prematurely in spite of his righteousness, and sometimes a wicked person lives long in spite of his evil deeds.
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13But it will not go well with the wicked, nor will they prolong their days like a shadow, because they do not stand in fear before God.
14Here 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.”
13Wisdom Acknowledges God’s Orchestration of Life Consider the work of God: For who can make straight what he has bent?
14In times of prosperity be joyful, but in times of adversity consider this: God has made one as well as the other, so that no one can discover what the future holds.
16The Problem of Injustice and Oppression I saw something else on earth: In the place of justice, there was wickedness, and in the place of fairness, there was wickedness.
17I thought to myself,“God will judge both the righteous and the wicked; for there is an appropriate time for every activity, and there is a time of judgment for every deed.
9While applying my mind to everything that happens in this world, I have seen all this: Sometimes one person dominates other people to their harm.
10Contradictions to the Law of Retribution Not only that, but I have seen the wicked approaching and entering the temple, and as they left the holy temple, they boasted in the city that they had done so. This also is an enigma.
8So, if a man lives many years, let him rejoice in them all, but let him remember that the days of darkness will be many– all that is about to come is obscure.
1Everyone Will Die So I reflected on all this, attempting to clear it all up. I concluded that the righteous and the wise, as well as their works, are in the hand of God; whether a person will be loved or hated– no one knows what lies ahead.
2Everyone shares the same fate– the righteous and the wicked, the good and the bad, the ceremonially clean and unclean, those who offer sacrifices and those who do not. What happens to the good person, also happens to the sinner; what happens to those who make vows, also happens to those who are afraid to make vows.
3This is the unfortunate fact about everything that happens on earth: the same fate awaits everyone. In addition to this, the hearts of all people are full of evil, and there is folly in their hearts during their lives– then they die.
20For there is not one truly righteous person on the earth who continually does good and never sins.
11The more one argues with words, the less he accomplishes. How does that benefit him?
12For no one knows what is best for a person during his life– during the few days of his fleeting life– for they pass away like a shadow. Nor can anyone tell him what the future will hold for him on earth.
14I reflected on everything that is accomplished by man on earth, and I concluded: Everything he has accomplished is futile– like chasing the wind!
15What is bent cannot be straightened, and what is missing cannot be supplied.
16So do not be excessively righteous or excessively wise; otherwise you might be disappointed.
17Do not be excessively wicked and do not be a fool; otherwise you might die before your time.
1The godly perish, but no one cares. Honest people disappear, when no one minds that the godly disappear because of evil.
1Not Everyone Enjoys Life Here is another misfortune that I have seen on earth, and it weighs heavily on people:
21For a man may do his work with wisdom, knowledge, and skill; however, he must hand over the fruit of his labor as an inheritance to someone else who did not work for it. This also is futile, and an awful injustice!
16This is another misfortune: Just as he came, so will he go. What did he gain from toiling for the wind?
17Surely, he ate in darkness every day of his life, and he suffered greatly with sickness and anger.
14The wise man can see where he is going, but the fool walks in darkness. Yet I also realized that the same fate happens to them both.
15So I thought to myself,“The fate of the fool will happen even to me! Then what did I gain by becoming so excessively wise?” So I lamented to myself,“The benefits of wisdom are ultimately meaningless!”
16For the wise man, like the fool, will not be remembered for very long, because in the days to come, both will already have been forgotten. Alas, the wise man dies– just like the fool!
17So I loathed life because what happens on earth seems awful to me; for all the benefits of wisdom are futile– like chasing the wind.
32An evil person will be thrown down through his wickedness, but a righteous person takes refuge in his integrity.
12There is a way that seems right to a person, but its end is the way that leads to death.
7The Wicked Prosper“Why do the wicked go on living, grow old, even increase in power?
8Concluding Refrain: Qoheleth Restates His Thesis“Absolutely futile!” laments the Teacher,“All of these things are futile!”
12Enjoy Life in the Present I have concluded that there is nothing better for people than to be happy and to enjoy themselves as long as they live,
11Yet when I reflected on everything I had accomplished and on all the effort that I had expended to accomplish it, I concluded:“All these achievements and possessions are ultimately profitless– like chasing the wind! There is nothing gained from them on earth.”
3But better than both is the one who has not been born and has not seen the evil things that are done on earth.
6if he should live a thousand years twice, yet does not enjoy his prosperity. For both of them die!
6Righteousness guards the one who lives with integrity, but wickedness overthrows the sinner.
7When a wicked person dies, his expectation perishes, and hope based on power has perished.
22Accusation of God’s Justice“It is all one! That is why I say,‘He destroys the blameless and the guilty.’
24“But if a righteous man turns away from his righteousness and practices wrongdoing according to all the abominable practices the wicked carry out, will he live? All his righteous acts will not be remembered; because of the unfaithful acts he has done and the sin he has committed, he will die.
1The Brevity of Life“Does not humanity have hard service on earth? Are not their days also like the days of a hired man?
2Faithful men have disappeared from the land; there are no godly men left. They all wait in ambush to shed blood; they hunt their own brother with a net.
4Wealth does not profit in the day of wrath, but righteousness delivers from death.
5The righteousness of the blameless will make their way smooth, but the wicked will fall through their own wickedness.
22So I perceived there is nothing better than for people to enjoy their work, because that is their reward; for who can show them what the future holds?
7Call to mind now: Who, being innocent, ever perished? And where were upright people ever destroyed?
16The little bit that a godly man owns is better than the wealth of many evil men,
6For there is a proper time and procedure for every matter, for the oppression of the king is severe upon his victim.
16There is no end to all the people nor to the past generations, yet future generations will not rejoice in him. This also is profitless and like chasing the wind.
19True righteousness leads to life, but the one who pursues evil pursues it to his own death.