Ecclesiastes 8:10–17

¹⁰In such circumstances, I saw the wicked buried. They came and went from the holy place, ^yand they were praised ^zin the city where they did so. This too is futile. ¹¹Because the sentence against a criminal act is not carried out quickly, ^athe heart of people is filled with the desire to commit crime. ¹²Although a sinner commits crime a hundred times and prolongs his life, ^byet I also know that it will go well with God-fearing people, ^cfor they are reverent before Him. ¹³However, it will not go well with the wicked, ^dand they will not lengthen their days like a shadow, ^efor they are not reverent before God.

¹⁴There is a futility that is done on the earth: there are righteous people who get what the actions of the wicked deserve, ^fand there are wicked people who get what the actions of the righteous deserve. ^gI say that this too is futile. ¹⁵So I commended enjoyment because there is nothing better for man under the sun than to eat, drink, and enjoy himself, ^hfor this will accompany him in his labor during the days of his life that God gives him under the sun.

¹⁶When I applied my mind to know wisdom ⁱand to observe the activity that is done on the earth (even though one’s eyes do not close in sleep day or night), ¹⁷I observed all the work of God and concluded that man is unable to discover the work that is done under the sun. Even though a man labors hard to explore it, he cannot find it; ^jeven if the wise man claims to know it, he is unable to discover it.