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.
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.
- BSB When the sentence for a crime is not speedily executed, the hearts of men become fully set on doing 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 26:10Let favour be shewed to the wicked, yet will he not learn righteousness: in the land of uprightness will he deal unjustly, and will not behold the majesty of the LORD.
- Rom 2:4–5Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance?
- Ps 50:21–22These things hast thou done, and I kept silence; thou thoughtest that I was altogether such an one as thyself: but I will reprove thee, and set them in order before thine eyes.
- 2 Pet 3:3–10Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts,
- Matt 24:49–50And shall begin to smite his fellowservants, and to eat and drink with the drunken;
- Ps 10:6He hath said in his heart, I shall not be moved: for I shall never be in adversity.
- Job 21:11–15They send forth their little ones like a flock, and their children dance.
- Jer 48:11Moab hath been at ease from his youth, and he hath settled on his lees, and hath not been emptied from vessel to vessel, neither hath he gone into captivity: therefore his taste remained in him, and his scent is not changed.
- Exod 8:15But when Pharaoh saw that there was respite, he hardened his heart, and hearkened not unto them; as the LORD had said.
- Isa 5:18–19Woe unto them that draw iniquity with cords of vanity, and sin as it were with a cart rope:
- Isa 57:11And of whom hast thou been afraid or feared, that thou hast lied, and hast not remembered me, nor laid it to thy heart? have not I held my peace even of old, and thou fearest me not?
- Jer 42:15And now therefore hear the word of the LORD, ye remnant of Judah; Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; If ye wholly set your faces to enter into Egypt, and go to sojourn there;
- Exod 8:32And Pharaoh hardened his heart at this time also, neither would he let the people go.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
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
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.