Bible Strands
Ecclesiastes 3:16
Furthermore, I saw under the sun that in the place of judgment there is wickedness, and in the place of righteousness there is wickedness.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The Preacher speaks to himself and the reader while surveying human institutions under the sun. He makes this observation immediately after noting God's accounting of past deeds and before affirming a future divine judgment.
The words — מְק֥וֹם (meKom) means "place," and הַ/מִּשְׁפָּט (ha/mishPat) denotes "justice" or "judgment." The text literally states that in the place of justice, wickedness resides, and in the place of righteousness, wickedness is also present.
The thread — This pattern of corrupted institutions appears in Ecclesiastes 4:1 regarding oppression under the sun and Ecclesiastes 5:8 concerning the denial of justice in provincial administration. It mirrors the judicial manipulation recorded in 1 Kings 21:9.
Why it lands — The verse demands acknowledgment that human courts and righteous systems are routinely compromised by wickedness. It requires the reader to accept this empirical reality without projecting earthly justice onto divine or institutional frameworks.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
And moreover I saw under the sun the place of judgment, that wickedness was there; and the place of righteousness, that iniquity was there.
Cross-references
- Ecclesiastes 4:1 Again I looked, and I considered all the oppression taking place under the sun. I saw the tears of the oppressed, and they had no comforter; the power lay in the hands of their oppressors, and there was no comforter.
- Ecclesiastes 5:8 If you see the oppression of the poor and the denial of justice and righteousness in the province, do not be astonished at the matter; for one official is watched by a superior, and others higher still are over them.
- 1 Kings 21:9 In the letters she wrote: “Proclaim a fast and give Naboth a seat of honor among the people.
- Psalms 58:1 For the choirmaster. To the tune of “Do Not Destroy.” A Miktam of David. Do you indeed speak justly, O rulers? Do you judge uprightly, O sons of men?
- Psalms 82:2 “How long will you judge unjustly and show partiality to the wicked? Selah
- Psalms 94:21 They band together against the righteous and condemn the innocent to death.
- Acts 23:3 Then Paul said to him, “God will strike you, you whitewashed wall! You sit here to judge me according to the law, yet you yourself violate the law by commanding that I be struck.”
- Isaiah 59:14 So justice is turned away, and righteousness stands at a distance. For truth has stumbled in the public square, and honesty cannot enter.
- Micah 2:2 They covet fields and seize them; they take away houses. They deprive a man of his home, a fellow man of his inheritance.
- Micah 7:3 Both hands are skilled at evil; the prince and the judge demand a bribe. When the powerful utters his evil desire, they all conspire together.