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Ecclesiastes 8:14

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8:14Here is57 another58 enigma59 that occurs on earth:

Sometimes there are righteous people who get what the wicked deserve,60

and sometimes there are wicked people who get what the righteous deserve.61

I said, “This also is an enigma.”

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Footnotes

  1. 57 Heb “there is.” The term יֶשׁ (yesh, “there is”) is often used in aphorisms to assert the existence of a particular situation that occurs sometimes. It may indicate that the situation is not the rule but that it does occur on occasion, and may be nuanced “sometimes” (Prov 11:24; 13:7, 23; 14:12; 16:25; 18:24; 20:15; Eccl 2:21; 4:8; 5:12; 6:1; 7:15 [2×]; 8:14 [3×]).
  2. 58 The word “another” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity and smoothness.
  3. 59 Or “vanity” (again at the end of this verse). The Hebrew term הֶבֶל (hevel) here denotes “enigma,” that is, something that is difficult to understand. This sense is derived from the literal referent of breath, vapor or wind that cannot be seen; thus, “obscure; dark; difficult to understand; enigmatic” (see I הֶבֶל; 210–11 I הֶבֶל). It is used in this sense in reference to enigmas in life (6:2; 8:10, 14) and the future which is obscure (11:8, 10).
  4. 60 Heb “to whom it happens according to the deeds of the wicked”; or “who are punished for the deeds of the wicked.”
  5. 61 Heb “to whom it happens according to the deeds of the righteous”; or “who are rewarded for the deeds of the righteous.”

In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

There is a vanity that takes place on earth, that there are righteous people to whom it happens according to the deeds of the wicked, and there are wicked people to whom it happens according to the deeds of the righteous. I said that this also is vanity.

NIVNew International Version (2011)

There is something else meaningless that occurs on earth: the righteous who get what the wicked deserve, and the wicked who get what the righteous deserve. This too, I say, is meaningless.

CSBChristian Standard Bible

There is a futility that is done on the earth: there are righteous people who get what the actions of the wicked deserve, and there are wicked people who get what the actions of the righteous deserve. I say that this too is futile.

NLTNew Living Translation

And this is not all that is meaningless in our world. In this life, good people are often treated as though they were wicked, and wicked people are often treated as though they were good. This is so meaningless!

LEBThe Lexham English Bible

There is a vanity that happens on earth: sometimes the righteous suffer what the wicked deserve, and sometimes the wicked receive what the righteous deserve. I said, “This also is vanity!”

KJV 1900King James 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.