When the sentence for a crime is not speedily executed, the hearts of men become fully set on doing evil.
Parallel translations
- WEB Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil.
- KJV Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil.
- NKJV Because the sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil.
- NASB Because the sentence against an evil deed is not executed quickly, therefore the hearts of the sons of mankind among them are fully given to do evil.
- NLT When a crime is not punished quickly, people feel it is safe to do wrong.
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
Because judgment on evil is delayed, people grow bolder in doing wrong. God's patience is mistaken for indifference and abused as license to sin.
Overview
Qoheleth observes a tragic dynamic: when wrongdoing goes unpunished quickly, hearts become more set on evil. The delay of justice is not its denial, but human sin exploits God's forbearance. Scripture warns against presuming on God's kindness, which is meant to lead to repentance, not hardening (Romans 2:4-5; 2 Peter 3:9).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 13
- Isa 26:10Though grace is shown to the wicked man, he does not learn righteousness. In the land of righteousness he acts unjustly and fails to see the majesty of the LORD.
- Rom 2:4–5Or do you disregard the riches of His kindness, tolerance, and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness leads you to repentance?
- Ps 50:21–22You have done these things, and I kept silent; you thought I was just like you. But now I rebuke you and accuse you to your face.
- 2 Pet 3:3–10Most importantly, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires.
- Matt 24:49–50And he begins to beat his fellow servants and to eat and drink with drunkards.
- Ps 10:6He says to himself, “I will not be moved; from age to age I am free of distress.”
- Job 21:11–15They send forth their little ones like a flock; their children skip about,
- Jer 48:11Moab has been at ease from youth, settled like wine on its dregs; he has not been poured from vessel to vessel or gone into exile. So his flavor has remained the same, and his aroma is unchanged.
- Exod 8:15When Pharaoh saw that there was relief, however, he hardened his heart and would not listen to Moses and Aaron, just as the LORD had said.
- Isa 5:18–19Woe to those who draw iniquity with cords of deceit and pull sin along with cart ropes,
- Isa 57:11Whom have you dreaded and feared, so that you lied and failed to remember Me or take this to heart? Is it not because I have long been silent that you do not fear Me?
- Jer 42:15then hear the word of the LORD, O remnant of Judah! This is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: ‘If you are determined to go to Egypt and reside there,
- Exod 8:32But Pharaoh hardened his heart this time as well, and he would not let the people go.
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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 8:11 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
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