Ecclesiastes 8:8-10
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
8 No one is master of the breath of life so as to retain it, and none has mastery of the day of death. There is no exemption in wartime, nor does wickedness deliver those who practice it. 9 All these things I saw and I applied my heart to every work that is done under the sun, while one person tyrannizes over another for harm.
The Problem of Retribution. 10 Meanwhile I saw the wicked buried. They would come and go from the holy place. But those were forgotten in the city who had acted justly. This also is vanity.[a]
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- 8:10 This difficult verse seems to contrast the wicked, who die enjoying a good reputation as pious individuals, and the just, who are quietly forgotten.
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