Ecclesiastes 3:16 BSB

Ecclesiastes 3:16

Furthermore, I saw under the sun that in the place of judgment there is wickedness, and in the place of righteousness there is wickedness.

BSB

Parallel translations (2) ▾

ASV

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.

KJV

And moreover I saw under the sun the place of judgment, that wickedness was there; and the place of righteousness, that iniquity was there.

⋯

Commentary

2 voices

John Gill

1697–1771

Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763)

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.

The record, by era

The Nineteenth Century1 voice

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

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)?

Voices on this verse

loading…

Original language & word study

12 tagged words

Original	Transliteration	Meaning	Word study
וְע֥וֹד	ve.'od	and again	H5750 →
רָאִ֖יתִי	ra.'I.ti	I have seen	H7200 →
תַּ֣חַת	Ta.chat	under	H8478 →
הַשָּׁ֑מֶשׁ	ha.Sha.mesh	the sun	H8121 →
מְק֤וֹם	me.Kom	[the] place of	H4725 →
הַמִּשְׁפָּט֙	ha.mish.Pat	<the> justice	H4941 →
שָׁ֣מָּה	Sha.mah	[was] there <towards>	H8033 →
הָרֶ֔שַׁע	ha.Re.sha'	<the> wickedness	H7562 →
וּמְק֥וֹם	u.me.Kom	and [the] place of	H4725 →
הַצֶּ֖דֶק	ha.Tze.dek	<the> righteousness	H6664 →
שָׁ֥מָּה	Sha.mah	[was] there <towards>	H8033 →
הָרָֽשַׁע׃	ha.Ra.sha'	<the> wickedness	H7562 →

Rare words are the text's own signal of a deliberate thread: the fewer the occurrences, the more the places it appears belong together.

The walk

The walk8

Where the connections lead

Follow this verse’s cross-references two steps out. Each card is a verse this one points to, and beneath it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several different paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it. Every stop shows its own words, and every stop is a page.

Through
Ecclesiastes 4:1
Again I looked, and I considered all the oppression taking place under the sun. I saw the tears of the oppressed, and they had no comforter; the power lay in the hands of their…
leads to
- Ecclesiastes 5:8
  If you see the oppression of the poor and the denial of justice and righteousness in the province, do not be astonished at the matter; for one official is watched by a superior, and…
- 2 Timothy 4:16–17
  At my first defense, no one stood with me, but everyone deserted me. May it not be charged against them.
- Isaiah 5:7
  For the vineyard of the LORD of Hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah are the plant of His delight. He looked for justice, but saw bloodshed; for righteousness, but…
- Psalms 42:9
  I say to God my Rock, “Why have You forgotten me? Why must I walk in sorrow because of the enemy’s oppression?”
- James 5:4
  Look, the wages you withheld from the workmen who mowed your fields are crying out against you. The cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of Hosts.
Through
Ecclesiastes 5:8
If you see the oppression of the poor and the denial of justice and righteousness in the province, do not be astonished at the matter; for one official is watched by a superior, and…
leads to
- Psalms 12:5
  “For the cause of the oppressed and for the groaning of the needy, I will now arise,” says the LORD. “I will bring safety to him who yearns.”
Through
Acts 23:3
Then Paul said to him, “God will strike you, you whitewashed wall! You sit here to judge me according to the law, yet you yourself violate the law by commanding that I be struck.”
leads to
- Deuteronomy 25:1–2
  If there is a dispute between men, they are to go to court to be judged, so that the innocent may be acquitted and the guilty condemned.
- John 7:51
  “Does our law convict a man without first hearing from him to determine what he has done?”

Featured studies on this passage

Walks through Ecclesiastes 3

Creation to New Creation

The Bible begins in a garden and ends in a city — and the city has the garden in the middle of it. Seven explicit textual echoes bind Genesis 1–2 to Revelation 21–22.

Open the study →

Walks through Ecclesiastes 3

Vanity Under the Sun — Ecclesiastes

Open the study →

About Ecclesiastes

King Solomon in Old Age — Gustave Doré, Doré's English Bible (1866), public domain

Ecclesiastes: the study guide →Read chapter 3 →The featured study →

Continue: Ecclesiastes 3 →

01Commentary

The record, by era

Voices on this verse

02Original language & word study

03The walk

Where the connections lead

04Related verses

05Featured studies on this passage

06About Ecclesiastes

The record, by era

Where the connections lead

Commentary

Original language & word study

The walk

Related verses

Featured studies on this passage

About Ecclesiastes