Ecclesiastes 8:14

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.”

Additional Resources

Referenced Verses

  • Eccl 7:15 : 15 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.
  • Eccl 2:14 : 14 The 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.
  • Mal 3:15 : 15 So now we consider the arrogant to be happy; indeed, those who practice evil are successful. In fact, those who challenge God escape!’”
  • Eccl 9:1-3 : 1 Everyone 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. 2 Everyone 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. 3 This 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.
  • Job 21:7 : 7 The Wicked Prosper“Why do the wicked go on living, grow old, even increase in power?
  • Ps 73:3 : 3 For I envied those who are proud, as I observed the prosperity of the wicked.
  • Ps 73:12-14 : 12 Take a good look! This is what the wicked are like, those who always have it so easy and get richer and richer. 13 I concluded,“Surely in vain I have kept my motives pure and maintained a pure lifestyle. 14 I suffer all day long, and am punished every morning.”
  • Job 21:17-34 : 17 How Often Do the Wicked Suffer?“How often is the lamp of the wicked extinguished? How often does their misfortune come upon them? How often does God apportion pain to them in his anger? 18 How often are they like straw before the wind, and like chaff swept away by a whirlwind? 19 You may say,‘God stores up a man’s punishment for his children!’ Instead let him repay the man himself so that he may be humbled! 20 Let his own eyes see his destruction; let him drink of the anger of the Almighty. 21 For what is his interest in his home after his death, when the number of his months has been broken off? 22 Can anyone teach God knowledge, since he judges those that are on high? 23 Death Levels Everything“One man dies in his full vigor, completely secure and prosperous, 24 his body well nourished, and the marrow of his bones moist. 25 And another man dies in bitterness of soul, never having tasted anything good. 26 Together they lie down in the dust, and worms cover over them both. 27 Futile Words, Deceptive Answers“Yes, I know what you are thinking, the schemes by which you would wrong me. 28 For you say,‘Where now is the nobleman’s house, and where are the tents in which the wicked lived?’ 29 Have you never questioned those who travel the roads? Do you not recognize their accounts– 30 that the evil man is spared from the day of his misfortune, that he is delivered from the day of God’s wrath? 31 No one denounces his conduct to his face; no one repays him for what he has done. 32 And when he is carried to the tombs, and watch is kept over the funeral mound, 33 The clods of the torrent valley are sweet to him; behind him everybody follows in procession, and before him goes a countless throng. 34 So how can you console me with your futile words? Nothing is left of your answers but deception!”
  • Job 24:21-25 : 21 He preys on the barren and childless woman, and does not treat the widow well. 22 But God drags off the mighty by his power; when God rises up against him, he has no faith in his life. 23 God may let them rest in a feeling of security, but he is constantly watching all their ways. 24 They are exalted for a little while, and then they are gone, they are brought low like all others, and gathered in, and like a head of grain they are cut off.’ 25 “If this is not so, who can prove me a liar and reduce my words to nothing?”
  • Eccl 10:5 : 5 I have seen another misfortune on the earth: It is an error a ruler makes.
  • Jer 12:1 : 1 LORD, you have always been fair whenever I have complained to you. However, I would like to speak with you about the disposition of justice. Why are wicked people successful? Why do all dishonest people have such easy lives?
  • Job 9:22-24 : 22 Accusation of God’s Justice“It is all one! That is why I say,‘He destroys the blameless and the guilty.’ 23 If a scourge brings sudden death, he mocks at the despair of the innocent. 24 If a land has been given into the hand of a wicked man, he covers the faces of its judges; if it is not he, then who is it?
  • Eccl 4:4 : 4 Labor Motivated by Envy Then I considered all the skillful work that is done: Surely it is nothing more than competition between one person and another. This also is profitless– like chasing the wind.
  • Eccl 4:8 : 8 A man who is all alone with no companion, he has no children nor siblings; yet there is no end to all his toil, and he is never satisfied with riches. He laments,“For whom am I toiling and depriving myself of pleasure?” This also is futile and a burdensome task!

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%

    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.

    11When a sentence is not executed at once against a crime, the human heart is encouraged to do evil.

  • Eccl 7:13-15
    3 verses
    83%

    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.

    15Exceptions 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.

  • Eccl 3:16-19
    4 verses
    81%

    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.

    18I also thought to myself,“It is for the sake of people, so God can clearly show them that they are like animals.

    19For the fate of humans and the fate of animals are the same: As one dies, so dies the other; both have the same breath. There is no advantage for humans over animals, for both are fleeting.

  • Eccl 9:1-3
    3 verses
    79%

    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.

  • Eccl 2:19-24
    6 verses
    79%

    19Who knows if he will be a wise man or a fool? Yet he will be master over all the fruit of my labor for which I worked so wisely on earth! This also is futile!

    20So I began to despair about all the fruit of my labor for which I worked so hard on earth.

    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!

    22Painful Days and Restless Nights What does a man acquire from all his labor and from the anxiety that accompanies his toil on earth?

    23For all day long his work produces pain and frustration, and even at night his mind cannot relax! This also is futile!

    24Enjoy Work and its Benefits There is nothing better for people than to eat and drink, and to find enjoyment in their work. I also perceived that this ability to find enjoyment comes from God.

  • Eccl 4:3-4
    2 verses
    79%

    3But better than both is the one who has not been born and has not seen the evil things that are done on earth.

    4Labor Motivated by Envy Then I considered all the skillful work that is done: Surely it is nothing more than competition between one person and another. This also is profitless– like chasing the wind.

  • Eccl 2:26
    79%

    26For to the one who pleases him, God gives wisdom, knowledge, and joy, but to the sinner, he gives the task of amassing wealth– only to give it to the one who pleases God. This task of the wicked is futile– like chasing the wind!

  • Eccl 6:1-2
    2 verses
    78%

    1Not Everyone Enjoys Life Here is another misfortune that I have seen on earth, and it weighs heavily on people:

    2God gives a man riches, property, and wealth so that he lacks nothing that his heart desires, yet God does not enable him to enjoy the fruit of his labor– instead, someone else enjoys it! This is fruitless and a grave misfortune.

  • Eccl 1:13-15
    3 verses
    78%

    13I decided to carefully and thoroughly examine all that has been accomplished on earth. I concluded: God has given people a burdensome task that keeps them occupied.

    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.

  • Eccl 12:8
    77%

    8Concluding Refrain: Qoheleth Restates His Thesis“Absolutely futile!” laments the Teacher,“All of these things are futile!”

  • Eccl 2:11-12
    2 verses
    77%

    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.”

    12Wisdom is Better than Folly Next, I decided to consider wisdom, as well as foolish behavior and ideas. For what more can the king’s successor do than what the king has already done?

  • Eccl 2:15
    77%

    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!”

  • Eccl 6:11-12
    2 verses
    77%

    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.

  • Eccl 2:17
    77%

    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.

  • Eccl 4:7-8
    2 verses
    76%

    7Labor Motivated by Greed So I again considered another futile thing on earth:

    8A man who is all alone with no companion, he has no children nor siblings; yet there is no end to all his toil, and he is never satisfied with riches. He laments,“For whom am I toiling and depriving myself of pleasure?” This also is futile and a burdensome task!

  • Eccl 8:6
    75%

    6For there is a proper time and procedure for every matter, for the oppression of the king is severe upon his victim.

  • Eccl 11:8
    75%

    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.

  • Eccl 4:16
    75%

    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.

  • Eccl 8:17
    75%

    17then I discerned all that God has done: No one really comprehends what happens on earth. Despite all human efforts to discover it, no one can ever grasp it. Even if a wise person claimed that he understood, he would not really comprehend it.

  • Eccl 3:22
    75%

    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?

  • Eccl 3:12
    75%

    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,

  • Eccl 5:16
    74%

    16This is another misfortune: Just as he came, so will he go. What did he gain from toiling for the wind?

  • Eccl 3:10
    74%

    10I have observed the burden that God has given to people to keep them occupied.

  • Eccl 8:15
    74%

    15Enjoy Life In Spite of Its Injustices So I recommend the enjoyment of life, for there is nothing better on earth for a person to do except to eat, drink, and enjoy life. So joy will accompany him in his toil during the days of his life which God gives him on earth.

  • Eccl 8:13
    73%

    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.

  • Eccl 7:20
    73%

    20For there is not one truly righteous person on the earth who continually does good and never sins.

  • Eccl 1:2-3
    2 verses
    73%

    2Introduction: Utter Futility“Futile! Futile!” laments the Teacher,“Absolutely futile! Everything is futile!”

    3Futility Illustrated from Nature What benefit do people get from all the effort which they expend on earth?

  • Eccl 2:1
    73%

    1Futility of Self-Indulgent Pleasure I thought to myself,“Come now, I will try self-indulgent pleasure to see if it is worthwhile.” But I found that it also is futile.