And moreover I saw under the sun the place of judgment, that wickedness was there; and the place of righteousness, that iniquity was there.
Parallel translations
- WEB Moreover I saw under the sun, in the place of justice, that wickedness was there; and in the place of righteousness, that wickedness was there.
- BSB Furthermore, I saw under the sun that in the place of judgment there is wickedness, and in the place of righteousness there is wickedness.
- NKJV Moreover I saw under the sun: In the place of judgment, Wickedness was there; And in the place of righteousness, Iniquity was there.
- NASB Furthermore, I have seen under the sun that in the place of justice there is wickedness and in the place of righteousness there is wickedness.
- NLT I also noticed that under the sun there is evil in the courtroom. Yes, even the courts of law are corrupt!
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
He observed wickedness even in the places of justice and righteousness. Corruption pervades human institutions, even those meant to uphold what is right.
Overview
Qoheleth laments the disturbing reality of injustice where justice should reign. This honest acknowledgment of corruption reflects life in a fallen world. Rather than ending in cynicism, it sets up the next verse's confidence that God will judge, pointing to the final, perfect justice that Christ will administer.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 13
- Eccl 4:1So I returned, and considered all the oppressions that are done under the sun: and behold the tears of such as were oppressed, and they had no comforter; and on the side of their oppressors there was power; but they had no comforter.
- Eccl 5:8If thou seest the oppression of the poor, and violent perverting of judgment and justice in a province, marvel not at the matter: for he that is higher than the highest regardeth; and there be higher than they.
- Acts 23:3Then said Paul unto him, God shall smite thee, thou whited wall: for sittest thou to judge me after the law, and commandest me to be smitten contrary to the law?
- Ps 58:1–2Do ye indeed speak righteousness, O congregation? do ye judge uprightly, O ye sons of men?
- Ps 82:2–5How long will ye judge unjustly, and accept the persons of the wicked? Selah.
- Ps 94:21–22They gather themselves together against the soul of the righteous, and condemn the innocent blood.
- 1 Kgs 21:9–21And she wrote in the letters, saying, Proclaim a fast, and set Naboth on high among the people:
- Mic 2:2And they covet fields, and take them by violence; and houses, and take them away: so they oppress a man and his house, even a man and his heritage.
- Mic 7:3That they may do evil with both hands earnestly, the prince asketh, and the judge asketh for a reward; and the great man, he uttereth his mischievous desire: so they wrap it up.
- Zeph 3:3Her princes within her are roaring lions; her judges are evening wolves; they gnaw not the bones till the morrow.
- Isa 59:14And judgment is turned away backward, and justice standeth afar off: for truth is fallen in the street, and equity cannot enter.
- Matt 26:59Now the chief priests, and elders, and all the council, sought false witness against Jesus, to put him to death;
- Jas 2:6But ye have despised the poor. Do not rich men oppress you, and draw you before the judgment seats?
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Christ at the center
The search that finds everything 'under the sun' to be vapor exposes the emptiness of life without God and drives us to the one who alone gives meaning, the resurrection that makes our labor not in vain.
How Ecclesiastes 3:16 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.