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.
Parallel Translations
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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.
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And moreover I saw under the sun the place of judgment, that wickedness was there; and the place of righteousness, that iniquity was there.
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And 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.
Cross-references (13)
Passages linked to Ecclesiastes 3:16 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Ecclesiastes 4:1 Then I returned and saw all the oppressions that are done under the sun: and behold, the tears of those who were oppressed, and they had no comforter; and on the side of their oppressors there was power; but they had no comforter.
- Ecclesiastes 5:8 If you see the oppression of the poor, and the violent taking away of justice and righteousness in a district, don’t marvel at the matter, for one official is eyed by a higher one, and there are officials over them.
- 1 Kings 21:9-21 She wrote in the letters, saying, “Proclaim a fast, and set Naboth on high among the people. Set two men, wicked fellows, before him, and let them testify against him, saying, ‘You cursed God and the king!’ Then carry him out, and stone him to death.” The men of his city, even the elders and the nobles who lived in his city, did as Jezebel had instructed them in the letters which she had written and sent to them. They proclaimed a fast, and set Naboth on high among the people. The two men, the wicked fellows, came in and sat before him. The wicked fellows testified against him, even against Naboth, in the presence of the people, saying, “Naboth cursed God and the king!” Then they carried him out of the city and stoned him to death with stones. Then they sent to Jezebel, saying, “Naboth has been stoned, and is dead.” When Jezebel heard that Naboth had been stoned, and was dead, Jezebel said to Ahab, “Arise, take possession of the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, which he refused to give you for money; for Naboth is not alive, but dead.” When Ahab heard that Naboth was dead, Ahab rose up to go down to the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, to take possession of it. Yahweh’s word came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying, “Arise, go down to meet Ahab king of Israel, who dwells in Samaria. Behold, he is in the vineyard of Naboth, where he has gone down to take possession of it. You shall speak to him, saying, ‘Yahweh says, “Have you killed and also taken possession?” ’ You shall speak to him, saying, ‘Yahweh says, “In the place where dogs licked the blood of Naboth, dogs will lick your blood, even yours.” ’ ” Ahab said to Elijah, “Have you found me, my enemy?” He answered, “I have found you, because you have sold yourself to do that which is evil in Yahweh’s sight. Behold, I will bring evil on you, and will utterly sweep you away and will cut off from Ahab everyone who urinates against a wall, and him who is shut up and him who is left at large in Israel.
- Psalms 58:1-2 Do you indeed speak righteousness, silent ones? Do you judge blamelessly, you sons of men? No, in your heart you plot injustice. You measure out the violence of your hands in the earth.
- Psalms 82:2-5 “How long will you judge unjustly, and show partiality to the wicked?” “Defend the weak, the poor, and the fatherless. Maintain the rights of the poor and oppressed. Rescue the weak and needy. Deliver them out of the hand of the wicked.” They don’t know, neither do they understand. They walk back and forth in darkness. All the foundations of the earth are shaken.
- Psalms 94:21-22 They gather themselves together against the soul of the righteous, and condemn the innocent blood. But Yahweh has been my high tower, my God, the rock of my refuge.
- Acts 23:3 Then Paul said to him, “God will strike you, you whitewashed wall! Do you sit to judge me according to the law, and command me to be struck contrary to the law?”
- Isaiah 59:14 Justice is turned away backward, and righteousness stands far away; for truth has fallen in the street, and uprightness can’t enter.
- Micah 2:2 They covet fields, and seize them; and houses, and take them away: and they oppress a man and his house, even a man and his heritage.
- Micah 7:3 Their hands are on that which is evil to do it diligently. The ruler and judge ask for a bribe; and the powerful man dictates the evil desire of his soul. Thus they conspire together.
- Zephaniah 3:3 Her princes within her are roaring lions. Her judges are evening wolves. They leave nothing until the next day.
- Matthew 26:59 Now the chief priests, the elders, and the whole council sought false testimony against Jesus, that they might put him to death;
- James 2:6 But you have dishonored the poor man. Don’t the rich oppress you, and personally drag you before the courts?
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
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John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Ecc 3:16 And moreover I saw under the sun…
Ecc 3:16 And moreover I saw under the sun the place of judgment, [that] wickedness [was] there; and the place of righteousness, [that] iniquity [was] there.
Ver. 16. The place of judgment, that wickedness was there,] i.e., That wrong reigned in the places of judicature, that justice was shamefully perverted, and public authority abused to public injury. Cato saw as much in the Roman States, and complained that private robbers were laid in cold irons, when public thieves went in gold chains, and were clothed in purple. {a} Another, not without cause, complains that, even among us Christians, some follow the administration of justice as a trade only, with an unquenchable and unconscionable desire of gain, which justifies the common resemblance of the courts of justice to the bush, whereto while the sheep flees for defence in ill weather, he is sure to lose part of his fleece. Such wickedness saw the wise man in the place of judgment, where he least looked for it. God himself "looked for judgment, but behold a scab." {Isa 5:7, marg.} So the Hebrew hath it.
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{a} A. Gell., lib. xi. cap. 16.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain This is mentioned, either,
This is mentioned, either,
1. As another vanity, to wit, the vanity of honour and power, which is so oft an instrument of injustice and oppression. Or rather,
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2. As another argument of the vanity of worldly things, or a hinderance of that comfort which men expect in this life, because they are oppressed by their rulers.
I saw; I perceived it by information from others, and by my own observation.
The place of judgment; in the thrones of princes and tribunals of magistrates, where judgment should be duly executed.
Wickedness was there; judgment was perverted, the guilty acquitted, and the innocent condemned.
The place of righteousness; in which righteousness should be found and should dwell, if it were banished from all other places.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Matthew Henry 1710 · Public Domain Solomon is still showing that every thing in this…
Solomon is still showing that every thing in this world, without piety and the fear of God, is vanity. Take away religion, and there is nothing valuable among men, nothing for the sake of which a wise man would think it worth while to live in this world. In these verses he shows that power (than which there is nothing men are more ambitious of) and life itself (than which there is nothing men are more fond, more jealous of) are nothing without the fear of God.
I. Here is the vanity of man as mighty, man in his best estate, man upon the throne, where his authority is submitted to, man upon the judgment-seat, where his wisdom and justice are appealed to, and where, if he be governed by the laws of religion, he is God's viceregent; nay, he is of those to whom it is said, You are gods; but without the fear of God it is vanity, for, set that aside, and,
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1. The judge will not judge aright, will not use his power well, but will abuse it; instead of doing good with it he will do hurt with it, and then it is not only vanity, but a lie, a cheat to himself and to all about him, Ecc 3:16. Solomon perceived, by what he had read of former times, what he heard of other countries, and what he had seen in some corrupt judges, even in the land of Israel, notwithstanding all his care to prefer good men, that there was wickedness in the place of judgment. It is not so above the sun: far be it from God that he should do iniquity, or pervert justice. But under the sun it is often found that that which should be the refuge, proves the prison, of oppressed innocency. Man being in honour, and not understanding what he ought to do, becomes like the beasts that perish, like the beasts of prey, even the most ravenous, Psa 49:20. Not only from the persons that sat in judgment, but even in the places where judgment was, in pretence, administered, and righteousness was expected, there was iniquity; men met with the greatest wrongs in those courts to which they fled for justice. This is vanity and vexation; for, (1.) It would have been better for the people to have had no judges than to have had such. (2.) It would have been better for the judges to have had no power than to have had it and used it to such ill purposes; and so they will say another day.
2. The judge will himself be judged for not judging aright. When Solomon saw how judgment was perverted among men he looked up to God the Judge, and looked forward to the day of his judgment (Ecc 3:17): "I said in my heart that this unrighteous judgment is not so conclusive as both sides take it to be, for there will be a review of the judgment; God shall judge between the righteous and the wicked, shall judge for the righteous and plead their cause, though now it is run down, and judge against the wicked and reckon with them for all their unrighteous decrees and the grievousness which they have prescribed," Isa 10:1. With an eye of faith we may see, not only the period, but the punishment of the pride and cruelty of oppressors (Psa 92:7), and it is an unspeakable comfort to the oppressed that their cause will be heard over again. Let them therefore wait with patience, for there is another Judge that stands before the door. And, though the day of affliction may last long, yet there is a time, a set time, for the examination of every purpose, and every work done under the sun. Men have their day now, but God's day is coming, Psa 37:13. With God there is a time for the re-hearing of causes, redressing of grievances, and reversing of unjust decrees, though as yet we see it not here, Job 24:1.
II. Here is the vanity of man as mortal. He now comes to speak more generally concerning the estate of the sons of men in this world, their life and being on earth, and shows that their reason, without religion and the fear of God, advances them but little above the beasts. Now observe,
1. What he aims at in this account of man's estate. (1.) That God may be honoured, may be justified, may be glorified - that they might clear God (so the margin reads it), that if men have an uneasy life in this world, full of vanity and vexation, they may thank themselves and lay no blame on God; let them clear him, and not say that he made this world to be man's prison and life to be his penance; no, God made man, in respect both of honour and comfort, little lower than the angels; if he be mean and miserable, it is his own fault. Or, that God (that is, the world of God) might manifest them, and discover them to themselves, and so appear to be quick and powerful, and a judge of men's characters; and we may be made sensible how open we lie to God's knowledge and judgment. (2.) That men may be humbled, may be vilified, may be mortified - that they might see that they themselves are beasts. It is no easy matter to convince proud men that they are but men (Psa 9:20), much more to convince bad men that they are beasts, that, being destitute of religion, they are as the beasts that perish, as the horse and the mule that have no understanding. Proud oppressors are as beasts, as roaring lions and ranging bears. Nay, every man that minds his body only, and not his soul, makes himself no better than a brute, and must wish, at least, to die like one.
2. The manner in which he verifies this account. That which he undertakes to prove is that a worldly, carnal, earthly-minded man, has no preeminence above the beast, for all that which he sets his heart upon, places his confidence, and expects a happiness in, is vanity, Ecc 3:19. Some make this to be the language of an atheist, who justifies himself in his iniquity (Ecc 3:16) and evades the argument taken from the judgment to come (Ecc 3:17) by pleading that there is not another life after this, but that when man dies there is an end of him, and therefore while he lives he may live as he lists; but others rather think Solomon here speaks as he himself thinks, and that it is to be understood in the same sense with that of his father (Psa 49:14), Like sheep they are laid in the grave, and that he intends to show the vanity of this world's wealth and honours "By the equal condition in mere outward respects (as bishop Reynolds expounds it) between men and beasts," (1.) The events concerning both seem much alike (Ecc 3:19); That which befals the sons of men is no other than that which befals beasts; a great deal of knowledge of human bodies is gained by the anatomy of the bodies of brutes. When the deluge swept away the old world the beasts perished with mankind. Horses and men are killed in battle with the same weapons of war. (2.) The end of both, to an eye of sense, seems alike too: They have all one breath, and breathe in the same air, and it is the general description of both that in their nostrils is the breath of life (Gen 7:22), and therefore, as the one dies, so dies the other; in their expiring there is no visible difference, but death makes much the same change with a beast that it does with a man. [1.] As to their bodies, the change is altogether the same, except the different respects that are paid to them by the survivors. Let a man be buried with the burial of an ass (Jer 22:19) and what preminence then has he above a beast? The touch of the dead body of a man, by the law of Moses, contracted a greater ceremonial pollution than the touch of the carcase even of an unclean beast or fowl. And Solomon here observes that all go unto one place; the dead bodies of men and beasts putrefy alike; all are of the dust, in their original, for we see all turn to dust again in their corruption. What little reason then have we to be proud of our bodies, or any bodily accomplishments, when they must not only be reduced to the earth very shortly, but must be so in common with the beasts, and we must mingle our dust with theirs! [2.] As to their spirits there is indeed a vast difference, but not a visible one, Ecc 3:21. It is certain that the spirit of the sons of men at death is ascending; it goes upwards to the Father of spirits, who made it, to the world of spirits to which it is allied; it dies not with the body, but is redeemed from the power of the grave, Psa 49:15. It goes upwards to be judged and determined to an unchangeable state. It is certain that the spirit of the beast goes downwards to the earth; it dies with the body; it perishes and is gone at death. The soul of a beast is, at death, like a candle blown out - there is an end of it; whereas the soul of a man is then like a candle taken out of a dark lantern, which leaves the lantern useless indeed, but does itself shine brighter. This great difference there is between the spirits of men and beasts; and a good reason it is why men should set their affections on things above, and lift up their souls to those things, not suffering them, as if they were the souls of brutes, to cleave to this earth. But who knows this difference? We cannot see the ascent of the one and the descent of the other with our bodily eyes; and therefore those that live by sense, as all carnal sensualists do, that walk in the sight of their eyes and will not admit any other discoveries, by their own rule of judgment have no preminence above the beasts. Who knows, that is, who considers this? Isa 53:1. Very few. Were it better considered, the world would be every way better; but most men live as if they were to be here always, or as if when they die there were an end of them; and it is not strange that those live like beasts who think they shall die like beasts, but on such the noble faculties of reason are perfectly lost and thrown away.
3. An inference drawn from it (Ecc 3:22): There is nothing better, as to this world, nothing better to be had out of our wealth and honour, than that a man should rejoice in his own works, that is, (1.) Keep a clear conscience, and never admit iniquity into the place of righteousness. Let every man prove his own work, and approve himself to God in it, so shall he have rejoicing in himself alone, Gal 6:4. Let him not get nor keep any thing but what he can rejoice in. See Co2 1:12. (2.) Live a cheerful life. If God have prospered the work of our hands unto us, let us rejoice in it, and take the comfort of it, and not make it a burden to ourselves and leave others the joy of it; for that is our portion, not the portion of our souls (miserable are those that have their portion in this life, Psa 17:14, and fools are those that choose it and take up with it, Luk 12:19), but it is the portion of the body; that only which we enjoy is ours out of this world; it is taking what is to be had and making the best of it, and the reason is because none can give us a sight of what shall be after us, either who shall have our estates or what use they will make of them. When we are gone it is likely we shall not see what is after us; there is no correspondence that we know of between the other world and this, Job 14:21. Those in the other world will be wholly taken up with that world, so that they will not care for seeing what is done in this; and while we are here we cannot foresee what shall be after us, either as to our families or the public. It is not for us to know the times and seasons that shall be after us, which, as it should be a restraint to our cares about this world, so it should be a reason for our concern about another. Since death is a final farewell to this life, let us look before us to another life.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible (1708–1710) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain And moreover I saw under the sun the place…
And moreover I saw under the sun the place of judgment,.... Courts of judicature, where judges sit, and, causes are brought before them, and are heard and tried; such as were the Jewish sanhedrim, of which the Midrash and Jarchi interpret it;
that wickedness was there, wicked judges sat there, and wickedness was committed by them; instead of doing justice they perverted it; condemned the righteous, and acquitted the wicked; and oppressed the widow, fatherless, and stranger, whose cause, being just, they should have defended. So the Targum,
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"in which lying judges condemn the innocent.''
Well does the wise man say he saw this "under the sun", for there is nothing of this kind above it; nor approved of by him that is above it;
and the place of righteousness, that iniquity was there; this signifies the same as before, only it is expressed in different words. The Midrash and Jarchi interpret this of the middle gate in Jerusalem, where Nergal Sharezer, and other princes of the king of Babylon, sat, and which Solomon foresaw by a spirit of prophecy; but the better sense is, that Solomon had observed a great deal of this kind in reading the histories and annals of nations; knew that much of this sort was practised in other countries, and had seen a great deal of it in his own, done in inferior courts, and by subordinate officers; and though he was a wise and righteous prince, yet was not able to rectify all these abuses, for want of sufficient proof, which yet he lamented, and it gave him a concern; compare with this Isa 1:21.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain Moreover - This is another argument of the vanity…
Moreover - This is another argument of the vanity of worldly things, and an hindrance of that comfort which men expect in this life, because they are oppressed by their rulers. Judgment - ln the thrones of princes, and tribunals of magistrates. Solomon is still shewing that every thing in this world without the fear of God is vanity. In these verses he shews, that power, of which men are so ambitious, and life itself, are worth nothing without it.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 16. The place of judgment, that wickedness was…
Verse 16. The place of judgment, that wickedness was there] The abuse of power, and the perversion of judgment, have been justly complained of in every age of the world. The following paraphrase is good: -
"But what enjoyment can our labours yield,
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When e'en the remedy prescribed by heaven
To cure disorders proves our deadliest bane?
When God's vicegerents, destined to protect
The weak from insolence of power, to guard
Their lives and fortunes, impious robbers turn?
And, or by force or fraud, deprive of both?----
To what asylum shall the injured fly
From her tribunal, where perverted law
Acquits the guilty, the innocent condemns?"
C.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain Ecc 3:16. And moreover, &c. — This is another…
Ecc 3:16. And moreover, &c. — This is another argument of the vanity of worldly things, and a hinderance of that comfort which men expect in this life, because they are oppressed by their rulers. I saw the place of judgment — In the thrones of princes, and tribunals of magistrates, where judgment should be duly executed. Solomon is still showing that every thing in this world, without the fear of God, is vanity. In these verses he shows that power, of which men are so ambitious, and life itself, are nothing worth without it.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain That great anomaly in the moral government of this…
That great anomaly in the moral government of this world, the seemingly unequal distribution of rewards and punishments, will be rectified by God, who has future times and events under His control Ecc 3:16-17. As for people, they are placed by God, who is their teacher, in a humble condition, even on a level with inferior animals, by death, that great instance of their subjection to vanity Ecc 3:18-19, which reduces to its original form all that was made of the dust of the ground Ecc 3:20. And though the destinies of man and beast are different, yet in our present lack of knowledge as to God’s future dealing with our spirits Ecc 3:21, man finds his portion (see the Ecc 2:10 note) in such labor and such joy as God assigns to him in his lifetime Ecc 3:22.
Ecc 3:16
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I saw ... - Rather, I have seen (as in Ecc 3:10) under the sun the place etc. The place of judgment means the seat of the authorized judge. Compare “the place of the holy” Ecc 8:10.
Ecc 3:17
A time there - i. e., a time with God.
Ecc 3:18
literally, I said in my heart with regard to the sons of men, it is that God may prove them and show them that they are beasts, they themselves. “Showing” is the reading of the Septuagint and Syriac: the present Hebrew text reads “seeing.” The meaning is that the long delay of God’s judgment Ecc 3:16-17 is calculated to show people that the brevity of their life renders them incapable of following out and understanding His distributive justice.
Ecc 3:19
That which befalleth the sons of men - literally, the event (happenstance) of the sons of men, i. e., what comes upon them from outside, by virtue of the ordinance of God. See the Ecc 2:14 note. Death in particular Ecc 3:2, Ecc 3:11 is a part of the “work that God doeth.”
Ecc 3:21
The King James Version of this verse is the only rendering which the Hebrew text, as now pointed, allows. It is in accordance with the best Jewish and many modern interpreters. A slightly different pointing would be requisite to authorize the translation, “Who knows the spirit of the sons of man whether it goes above, and, the spirit of the beast whether it goes down below?” etc., which, though it seems neither necessary nor suitable, is sanctioned by the Septuagint and other versions and by some modern interpreters.
Who knoweth - This expression (used also in Ecc 2:19; Ecc 6:12) does not necessarily imply complete and absolute ignorance. In Psa 90:11, it is applied to what is partially understood: compare similar forms of expression in Pro 31:10; Psa 94:16; Isa 53:1. Moreover, it is evident from marginal references that Solomon did not doubt the future existence and destination of the soul. This verse can only be construed as a confession of much ignorance on the subject.
Ecc 3:22
What shall be after him - i. e., What shall become of the results of his work after he is dead. Compare Ecc 2:19; Ecc 6:12.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain Here a difficulty is suggested. If God "requires" events…
Here a difficulty is suggested. If God "requires" events to move in their perpetual cycle, why are the wicked allowed to deal unrighteously in the place where injustice ought least of all to be; namely, "the place of judgment" (Jer 12:1)?
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 16. The conclusion which has already been reached by…
16. The conclusion which has already been reached by a consideration of the inability of man to change the inevitable course of even the smallest events of human life, is confirmed by another observation. Man’s efforts to gain lasting good are thwarted by the injustice of those who should be the guardians of society.
The place of judgment does not mean a court or tribunal, but is merely equivalent to instead of “judgment.” So in the second clause, instead of “righteousness.”
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Moreover, indicates this to be a separate and additional suggestion.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 16. I saw under the sun the place of…
16. I saw under the sun the place of judgment] The Hebrew gives slightly different forms of the same noun, so as to gain the emphasis, without the monotony, of iteration, where the A.V. has the needless variation of “wickedness” and “iniquity.” Either word will do, but it should be the same in both clauses. We enter on another phase of the seeker’s thoughts. The moral disorder of the world, its oppressive rulers, its unjust judges, its religious hypocrisies, oppress him even more than the failure of his own schemes of happiness. In part the feeling implies a step out of selfishness, sympathy with the sufferers, the perception of what ought to be, as contrasted with what is, and therefore an upward step in the seeker’s progress. In the “place of judgment” we may see the tribunal where justice is administered: in that of “righteousness” the councils, secular, or, it may be, ecclesiastical, in which men ought to have been witnesses for the divine law of Righteousness and were self-seeking and ambitious.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (16) This verse introduces the consideration of the difficulty…
(16) This verse introduces the consideration of the difficulty arising from the imperfection of moral retribution in this life. Other places where the iniquity of judges is mentioned are Ecc_4:1; Ecc_5:8; Ecc_6:7; Ecc_8:9-10.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain Vers. 16-22. Acknowledging the providential government of God, which…
Vers. 16-22. Acknowledging the providential government of God, which controls events and places man"s happiness out of his own power, one is confronted also by the fact that there is much wickedness, much injustice, in the world, which oppose all plans for peaceful enjoyment. Doubtless there shall be a day of retribution for such iniquities; and God allows them now in order to try men and to teach them humility. Meantime man"s duty and happiness consist, as before said, in making the best use of the present and improving the opportunities which God gives him.
And moreover I saw under the sun the place of judgment. Koheleth records his experience of the prevalence of iniquity in high places. The place of judgment (mishat); where justice is administered. The accentuation allows (cf. Gen_1:1) this to be regarded as the object of the verb. The Revised Version, with Hitzig, Ginsburg, and others, take as an adverbial expression equivalent to "in the place." The former is the simpler construction. "And moreover," at the commencement of the verse, looks back to ver. 10," I have seen the travail," etc. That wickedness (resha) was there. On the judicial seat iniquity sat instead of justice. The place of righteousness (tsedek). "Righteousness" is the peculiar characteristic of the judge himself, as "justice" is of his decisions. That iniquity (resha) was there. The word ought to be translated "wickedness" or "iniquity" in both clauses. The Septuagint takes the abstract for the concrete, and at the end has apparently introduced a clerical error, which has been perpetuated in the Arabic and elsewhere, "And moreover I saw under the sun the place of judgment, there was the ungodly (ajsebhv); and the place of the righteous, there was the godly (eujsebhv)." The Complutensian Polyglot reads ajsebhv in both places. It is impossible to harmonize these statements of oppression and injustice here and elsewhere (e.g. Ecc_4:1 Ecc_5:8 Ecc_8:9, Ecc_8:10) with Solomon"s authorship of the book. It is contrary to fact that such a corrupt state of things existed in his time, and in writing thus he would be uttering a libel against himself. If he was cognizant of such evils in his kingdom, he had nothing to do but to put them down with a high hand. There is nothing to lead to the belief that he is speaking of other countries and other times; he is stating his own personal experience of what goes on around him. It is true that in Solomon"s latter days disaffection secretly prevailed, and the people felt his yoke grievous; (1Ki_12:4) but there is no evidence of the existence of corruption in judicial courts, or of the social and political evils of which he speaks in this book. That he had a prophetical for, sight of the disasters that would accompany the reign of his successor, and endeavors herein to provide consolation for the future sufferers, is a pious opinion without historical basis, and cannot be justly used to support the genuineness of the work.
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Vers. 16, 18.
Wickedness in the place of judgment; or, the mystery of providence.
I THE PROFOUND PROBLEM. The moral disorder of the universe. "I saw under the sun in the place of judgment that wickedness was there, and in the place of righteousness that wickedness was there" (ver. 16).
1. The strange spectacle. What fascinated the Preacher"s gaze and perplexed the Preacher"s heart was not so much the existence as the triumph of sin the fact that sin existed where and as it did. Had he always beheld sin in its naked deformity, essential loathsomeness, and abject baseness, receiving the due reward of its misdeeds, trembling as a culprit before the bar of providential judgment, and suffering the punishment its criminality merited, the mystery and perplexity would most likely have been reduced by half. What, however, he did witness was iniquity, not trembling but triumphing, not sorrowing but singing, not suffering the due recompense of her own evil deeds but snatching off the rewards and prizes that belonged to virtue. In short, what he perceived was the complete moral disorder of the world as it were society turned topsy-turvy; the wicked up and the righteous down; bad men exalted and good men despised; vice arrayed in silks and bedizened with jewels, and virtue only half covered with tattered rags.
2. Two particular sights.
(1) Iniquity usurping the place of judgment; thrusting itself into the very council-chambers where right and justice should prevail; now as a judge who deliberately holds the scales uneven because the one litigant is rich and the other poor, anon as an advocate who employs all his ingenuity to defend a prisoner whom he knows to be guilty, and again as a witness who has accepted a bribe and calmly swears to a lie.
(2) Iniquity preoccupying the place of righteousness; i.e. the tribunal, whether secular or ecclesiastical, whose efforts should be all directed to finding out and maintaining the cause of righteousness.
II THE PERPLEXING MYSTERY. "I said in mine heart" (ver. 17). The Preacher was troubled about it, as David, (Psa_37:1, Psa_37:7) Job (Job_21:7) Asaph, (Psa_73:3) and Jeremiah (Jer_12:1) had been. To him, as to them, it was an enigma. But why should it have been?
1. On one hypothesis it is no enigma. On the supposition that God, duty, and immortality are non-existent, it is not a mystery at all that vice should prevail and virtue have a poor time of it so long as it remains above ground, for (on the hypothesis) fleeing to a better country beyond the skies is out of the question. The mystery would be that it were otherwise.
2. On another hypothesis it is an enigma. What creates the mystery is that these things occur while God is, duty presses, and immortality awaits. Since God is, why does he suffer these things to happen? Why does he not interpose to put matters right? If right and wrong are not empty phrases, how comes it that moral distinctions are so constantly submerged? With "eternity in their hearts," how is it to be explained that men are so regardless of the future?
III THE PROPOSED SOLUTION. This lay in three things.
1. The certainty of a future judgment. "I said in mine heart, God shall judge the righteous and the wicked; for there is a time for every purpose and for every work" (ver. 17). Convinced that God, duty, and immortality were no fictions but solemn realities, the Preacher saw that these implied the certainty of a judgment in the future world when all the entanglements of this world would be sorted out, its inequalities evened, and its wrongs righted; and seeing this, he discerned in it a sufficient reason why God should not be in a hurry to east down vice from its undeserved eminence and exalt virtue to its rightful renown.
2. The discrimination of human character. The Preacher saw that God allowed wickedness to triumph and righteousness to suffer, in order that he might thereby "prove them," i.e. sift and distinguish them from one another by the free development of their characters. Were God by external restraints to place a check on the ungodly or by outward helps to recompense the pious, it might come to be doubtful who were the sinful and who the virtuous; but granting free scope to both, each manifests its hidden character by its actions, according to the principle, "Every tree is known by its fruits". (Mat_7:16-20)
3. The revelation of human depravity. Because a future judgment awaits, it is necessary that the wickedness of the wicked should be revealed. Hence God abstains from interfering prematurely with the world"s disorder that men may see to what thorough inherent depravity they have really come; that, oppressing and destroying one another, they are little better than brute beasts who, without consideration or remorse, prey on each other.
LESSONS.
1. Patience.
2. Confidence.
3. Hopefulness.
Vers. 16, 17.
Man"s unrighteousness contrasted with God"s righteousness.
Every observant, judicial, and sensitive mind shares this experience. Human society, civil relations, cannot be contemplated without much of disapproval, disappointment, and distress. And who, when so affected by the spectacle which this world presents, can do other than raise his thoughts to that Being, to those relationships that are characterized by a moral excellence which corresponds to our highest ideal, our purest aspirations?
I THE PREVALENCE OF WICKEDNESS UPON EARTH AND AMONG MEN. The observation of the wise man was naturally directed to the state of society in his own times and in his own and of the neighboring countries. Local and temporal peculiarities do not, however, destroy the applicability of the principle to human life generally. Wickedness was and is discernible wherever man is found. Unconscious nature obeys physical laws, brute nature obeys automatic and instinctive impulse. But man is a member of a rational and spiritual system, whose principles he often violates in the pursuit of lower ends. In the earliest ages "the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually." A remedial system has checked and to some extent counteracted these evil tendencies; yet to how large an extent is the same reflection just!
II WICKEDNESS, IN THE FORM OF INJUSTICE, PREVAILS EVEN WHERE JUSTICE SHOULD BE IMPARTIALLY ADMINISTERED. It is well known that in every age complaints have been made of the venality of Eastern magistrates. In the Old Testament references are frequent to the "gifts," the bribes, by which suitors sought to obtain decisions in their favor. Corruption here is worse than elsewhere, for it is discouraging to uprightness, and lowers the tone of public morals. We may be grateful that, in our own land and in our own day, such corruption is unknown that our judges are above even temptation to bribery. But the fact has to be faced that injustice, whether from motives of malice or from motives of avarice, has existed widely in human communities.
III THE UNIVERSAL JUDGMENT OF A RIGHTEOUS GOD. The atheist has no refuge from such observations and reflections as those recorded in ver. 16. But the godly man turns from earth to heaven, and rests in the conviction that there is a Divine and righteous Judge, to whose tribunal all men must come, and by whose just decisions every destiny must be decided.
1. All characters, the righteous and the wicked alike, will be judged by the Lord of all. Has the unjust escaped the penalty due from a human tribunal? He shall not escape the righteous judgment of God. Has the innocent, been unjustly sentenced by an earthly and perhaps corrupt judge? There is for him a court of appeal, and his righteousness shall shine as the noonday.
2. All kinds of works shall meet with retribution; not only the acts of private life, but also acts of a judicial and governmental kind. The unjust judge shall meet with his recompense, and the wronged and persecuted shall not be unavenged. T.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary 1892 · Public Domain Ecc_3:18. That God might manifest them.] The disorders of…
CRITICAL NOTES.—
Ecc_3:18. That God might manifest them.] The disorders of the present are permitted to the end that God might test, or prove, men. That they themselves are beasts. Not in regard to moral character, but to the common fate of dissolution, awaiting alike both men and beasts. They themselves—i.e., apart from Him who alone hath immortality, and in whose sole right is the gift of it—men, like the beasts, are all included in one sad fate. This thought is expanded in the next verse.
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MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.—Ecc_3:16-18
CORRUPTION IN THE SEAT OF JUSTICE
I. It is a manifest and daring iniquity. History gives a sad recital of deeds of oppression and wrong done in the sacred name of justice. Power and place have been abused to serve the basest passions of human nature. This is a manifest and daring form of impiety.
1. Rulers and judges are in the place of God. Human law has for its chief object the preservation of order, the securing of the best conditions of national prosperity, and the guardianship of public morality. Those who administer the law stand in the place of God, who is the fountain of all law and authority. When these abuse their position, a Divine idea is perverted and dishonoured. A lofty principle of the Divine Government is subjected to a degrading parody. Such a sin is a daring insult to the majesty of Heaven.
2. When they are corrupt, the worst evils follow. The streams of social life are poisoned, the innocent are without defence, and the restraints of wickedness are slackened or broken. But one great evil that follows is the oppression of the righteous. The Church has often come into conflict with the civil power, and the good have been persecuted in the name of law and justice.
II. It is a source of discipline for the righteous. Like other evils, this is overruled by Providence, and made to serve the purposes of discipline.
1. It serves to develop spiritual character. (Ecc_3:18.) It manifests what is in men. It marks off the brutish part of mankind from those who are moved by high principle and noble aspirations. The good, under every oppression and injury, have the support of conscience—they are strong in integrity. Affliction does but fetch out the hidden lustre of their graces.
2. It serves to cure radical evils in the Church of God. Times of outward ease and prosperity for the Church have some special dangers, the chief of which is pride—a vice easily forced into bloom by the warmth of prosperity; but soon nipped by the keen blasts of adversity.
3. It serves to show to what baseness human nature may come, apart from Divine influence. (Ecc_3:18.) “They themselves.” Having quenched the Divine light within them, and all better hopes and feelings, some men have become monsters of injustice, and degraded themselves to the level of beasts. In times of persecution, when deeds of cruelty and slaughter have their sanction from the seat of justice, it is difficult to believe that men capable of such fierce brutality have immortal souls. It seems easier to believe that men are but beasts, after all, to be tamed for pleasure, or destroyed for sport.
III. It tends to ripen the world for Divine Retribution. God cannot allow the misuse of the most sacred gifts to go on for ever. Judgment may be delayed, but it will come at last.
1. Our spiritual instincts call for such an interference. There is something within every righteous soul which is prophetic of the time when all the present moral confusion and disorder shall have an end. Christ is the hope of all the oppressed ones—Himself their chief in affliction. The world once looked upon the picture of Herod in purple on the throne, and the purest and loveliest of humanity crucified between two thieves; but the day is coming when the universe shall look upon another picture, wherein shall be a sad reversal.
2. The character of God teaches us to expect it. He is wise, just, and holy, and (though the process to us seems slow) He will maintain the honour of His name. He must make a separation between the righteous and the wicked—thus He will judge both. (Ecc_3:17.)
3. The appeal of the oppressed from earth to heaven will be heard. (Ecc_3:17.) “A time there.” The Royal Preacher, as it were, points from the seat of unrighteousness with his lifted finger to heaven—the home of justice. “There”—such is the answer of the persecuted, and the only answer which many souls in their dumb agony could give.
SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS ON THE VERSES
Ecc_3:16. The advancement of men to places of power and trust in the world, who abuse the same to the oppression of piety and equity, and the promoting of ungodliness and injustice, is a dispensation that, of any other, the Lord’s people had most need to be guarded against stumbling at, and taught how to judge aright of; seeing Satan takes occasion from thence to tempt to corruption of the best to Atheism, or denial of a Providence (Isa_40:27), and to join with such men in their sinful ways (Psa_73:10; Psa_73:13) [Nisbet].
Wickedness is too obvious and manifest—too weak by itself to succeed. It has to assume the forms of goodness. Hence under the pretence of justice the vilest wrongs have been inflicted.
Corruption in the seat of justice tends—
1. To confuse all moral distinctions.
2. To put to sore trial minds of wavering principle and unstable virtue.
3. To disorganise the frame of society.
4. To retard social progress.
The wisest and best of mankind have suffered fearful evils under the mockery of a trial. Even Christ Himself went from a human judgment-seat to His Cross.
Place and authority do not ensure the integrity of those who possess them. Some of the worst names in history have held the most exalted positions.
The throne which Solomon made was overlaid with the most pure gold; and what did this signify but the esteem and price in which God would have justice to be held, as also how pure the judgments should be that from thence are given? But too often where the seat is gold, he that sits on it is brass; where the place is the place of judgment and righteousness, wickedness and iniquity are found [Jermin].
Ecc_3:17. The world has a terrible account of injustice and wrong to answer for. God will yet have a reckoning with the children of men.
God is just, though by the impenetrable clouds of Providence that justice may for awhile be hidden. He will clear the scene in the end, and spurn from His presence every form of evil.
The true and good who have been wronged here shall take their case before a higher court.
With two worlds in which to outwork the retribution, and with a whole eternity to overtake the arrears of time, oh! how tyrants should fear for God’s judgments!—and that match which themselves have kindled, and which is slowly creeping round to explode their own subjacent mine, in what floods of repentance, if wise, would they drench it! [Dr. J. Hamilton.]
The vindication of the righteous is as much a proper work of judgment as the condemnation of the sinner. The Avenger is afoot, and will yet overtake all oppressors.
The judgment of God will yet repair all the wrongs of time.
At the sight of the worst oppressions and wrongs, our soul instinctively fastens upon the idea of the judgment, and points to the lofty throne of eternal justice.
As there is a time for every purpose and work, so there will be a time when all things shall be ripe for Divine judgment.
Ecc_3:18. For a moment the Royal Preacher felt relief in recalling the future judgment. But what care they for the judgment? So brutish are they that they neither look forward nor look up, but are content with their daily ravin. Yes, beasts, I half believe you. Your grossness almost converts me to your own materialism. I wish that God would manifest you to yourselves, and show you how brutish you are living, and how brute-like you will die [Dr. J. Hamilton].
Times of misrule and injustice manifest character by affording scope for human malignity, or by giving opportunity for the integrity of high principle to assert itself.
In human nature, how often the animal has surmounted the rational! Men have made themselves beasts by indulgence in animal pleasures, by their cruelty and rage, and by extinguishing the sense of immortality.
The evil of some is disguised and restrained by circumstances. It wants only a fit opportunity for their vices to attain a maturity of corruption.
Wicked men may see that the dispensations of God, even the most grievous, may contribute much for their good, if they make a right use thereof; for while He is manifesting them to the world, they ought to think that it is done “that they may see themselves to be beasts,” and so may loathe themselves, and thank Him that they are not destroyed, but preserved that they may seek mercy, and a change of their nature [Nisbet].
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary (gen. ed. Joseph S. Exell; Funk & Wagnalls, c. 1892) — public domain (pre-1929). A full-Bible homiletical/sermon-outline anthology covering 65 of 66 books (2 John is absent from the source module). Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 I have seen the wickedness ... wickedness was there
I have seen the wickedness ... wickedness was there
These two phrases mean the same thing and emphasize how common wicked behavior is. (See: Parallelism)
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in place of righteousness
"where there should be righteousness"
under the sun
This refers to things that are done on earth. See how you translated this in Ecclesiastes 1:3. AT: "on the earth" (See: Idiom)
I said in my heart
Here the author refers to himself by his "heart" to emphasize his feelings. AT: "I said to myself" (See: Synecdoche)
the righteous and the wicked
This refers to righteous and wicked people. AT: "those who are righteous and those who are wicked" or "the righteous people and the wicked people" (See: Nominal Adjectives)
every matter and every deed
These two phrases mean basically the same thing and refer to every action that people do. (See: Doublet)
translationWords
evil
just
righteous
heart
judge
time
works
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 3:16–5:7 This section comments on a variety of topics,…
3:16–5:7 This section comments on a variety of topics, including justice, humans and animals, oppression, moderation, companionship, politics, and worship.
3:16 courtroom (literally the place of justice): In Israel, local court proceedings were held at the city gates, where the city’s elders sat to hear and adjudicate legal matters (e.g., see Ruth 4:1-12).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.