Ecclesiastes 8:6-12

⁶For there's a right time and a right way for everything, even when things are going badly for you.

⁷No one knows what's going to happen, so who can say what the future holds?

⁸No one can hold onto the breath of life; no one can prevent the day when they die. There's no way of escaping that battle, and the wicked won't be saved by their wickedness!

⁹I examined all these things, and thought about all that happens here on earth, and the damage that's caused when people dominate others.

¹⁰Yes, I have seen wicked people buried with great honor. They used to go to the holy place, and were praised in the very city where they did their evil. This is hard to understand!

¹¹When people are not punished quickly for their crimes they are even more determined to do wrong.

¹²Even though a sinner may do wrong a hundred times, and live a long life, I'm convinced that those who do what God says will be better off.