Ecclesiastes 8:13

Good be not to the wicked man, neither his days be made long; but pass they as shadow, that dread not the face of the Lord. (But good shall not be to a wicked person, nor shall his days be made long; but they shall pass like a shadow, for those who do not fear the face of the Lord or those who do not have reverence before the Lord.)

Wycliffe Modern Spelling

In The King James Version

But it shall not be well with the wicked, neither shall he prolong his days, which are as a shadow; because he feareth not before God.

In Context

12Nevertheless of that, that a sinner doeth evil an hundred times, and is suffered by patience, I knew that good it shall be to men dreading God, that reverence his face, or presence. (Nevertheless, even though a sinner may do evil a hundred times, and is patiently allowed to, I know that it shall be good for those who fear God, yea, for those who have reverence before his face, or in his presence.)

14Also another vanity there is, that is done on earth. Just men there be, to whom evils come, as if they did the works of wicked men; and wicked men there be, that be as secure, as if they had (done) the deeds of just men; but I deem also this most vain. (There is also another vanity, that is done on the earth, or There is also more that is empty and futile, that is found on the earth. There be good, or righteous, people, to whom evils come, as if they did the works of the wicked; and there be wicked people, who be as secure, as if they had done the deeds of the good, or of the righteous; but I also judge this to be most empty and futile.)

Read all of Ecclesiastes 8

Cross References

Job 14:2And he goeth out, and is defouled as a flower; and he fleeth away as a shadow, and dwelleth never perfectly in that same state. (And he goeth out, and withereth like a flower; and then he fleeth away like a shadow, and never again dwelleth in that same state.)

Job 20:5that the praising of wicked men is short (-lived), and the joy of an hypocrite is at the likeness of a point soon passing (awayx).

Psalms 11:5The Lord asketh a just man, and an unfaithful man; but he, that loveth wickedness, hateth his soul. (The Lord assayeth the righteous, and the unrighteous alike; and with all his soul, he hateth those who love wickedness.)

Psalms 39:5Lo! thou hast set my days measurable; and my substance is as nought before thee. Nevertheless all vanity; each man living. (Behold! thou hast made my days able to be measured, (or counted); and my substance is like but nothing before thee, yea, (but a puff of air). And all is emptiness, (or uselessness); for each person alive.)

Psalms 144:4A man is made like vanity; his days pass as shadow. (A person is but like vanity, yea, but a puff of air; his days pass like a shadow.)

Isaiah 3:11Woe to the wicked man into evil; for why the yielding of his hands shall be made to him. (Woe to the wicked person unto evil; for the reward of his hands, or the fruit of his labour, shall be given to him.)

Matthew Henry on Ecclesiastes 8:10-14

The Evil of Oppressive Rulers. 9 All this have I seen, and applied my heart unto every work that is done under the sun: there is a time wherein one man ruleth over another to his own hurt. 10 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. 11 Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil. 12 Though a sinner do… Read the whole commentary →

This Verse In Other Editions

Study Ecclesiastes 8:13