9 All this I have seen so as to give my heart to every work that hath been done under the sun; a time that man hath ruled over man to his own evil.
10 And so I have seen the wicked buried, and they went in, even from the Holy Place they go, and they are forgotten in the city whether they had so done. This also 'is' vanity. 11 Because sentence hath not been done 'on' an evil work speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of man is full within them to do evil. 12 Though a sinner is doing evil a hundred 'times', and prolonging 'himself' for it, surely also I know that there is good to those fearing God, who fear before Him. 13 And good is not to the wicked, and he doth not prolong days as a shadow, because he is not fearing before God.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Ecclesiastes 8:9-13
Commentary on Ecclesiastes 8:9-13
(Read Ecclesiastes 8:9-13)
Solomon observed, that many a time one man rules over another to his hurt, and that prosperity hardens them in their wickedness. Sinners herein deceive themselves. Vengeance comes slowly, but it comes surely. A good man's days have some substance; he lives to a good purpose: a wicked man's days are all as a shadow, empty and worthless. Let us pray that we may view eternal things as near, real, and all-important.