Bible Strands
Ecclesiastes 8:12
Although a sinner does evil a hundred times and still lives long, yet I also know that it will go well with those who fear God, who are reverent in His presence.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The Preacher (Qohelet) addresses an unnamed audience, observing the tension between the apparent long life of the wicked and the ultimate fate of the God-fearing. This sits between 8:11 (delayed judgment emboldens evil) and 8:13 (the wicked will not prosper because they do not fear God).
The words — מְאַת (me.'At), "a hundred," is a hyperbolic measure that frames the sinner's repeated evil as seemingly endless. חֹטֶא (cho.Te'), "sinner," names the subject in direct contrast to the one who fears God.
The thread — The same contrast between the wicked's temporary flourishing and the godly's ultimate preservation runs through Psalms 37:11 and 2 Peter 2:9. Luke 1:50 extends the mercy-to-the-fearful motif across generations.
Why it lands — It asks the reader to resist the conclusion that the world's apparent injustice is the final word. The measure of a life is not its length or the sinner's repeated success, but whether it is lived in the fear of God.
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
Though a sinner do evil an hundred times, and his days be prolonged, yet surely I know that it shall be well with them that fear God, which fear before him:
Cross-references
- Psalms 37:11 But the meek will inherit the land and delight in abundant prosperity.
- Luke 1:50 His mercy extends to those who fear Him, from generation to generation.
- 2 Peter 2:9 if all this is so, then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials and to hold the unrighteous for punishment on the day of judgment.
- Psalms 37:18 The LORD knows the days of the blameless, and their inheritance will last forever.
- Ecclesiastes 7:15 In my futile life I have seen both of these: A righteous man perishing in his righteousness, and a wicked man living long in his wickedness.
- Ecclesiastes 3:14 I know that everything God does endures forever; nothing can be added to it or taken from it. God does it so that they should fear Him.
- Isaiah 3:10 Tell the righteous it will be well with them, for they will enjoy the fruit of their labor.
- Isaiah 65:20 No longer will a nursing infant live but a few days, or an old man fail to live out his years. For the youth will die at a hundred years, and he who fails to reach a hundred will be considered accursed.
- Romans 9:22 What if God, intending to show His wrath and make His power known, bore with great patience the vessels of His wrath, prepared for destruction?
- Proverbs 1:32 For the waywardness of the simple will slay them, and the complacency of fools will destroy them.