Ecclesiastes 8:13

Ecc 8:13 But it shall not be well with the wicked, neither shall he prolong [his] days, [which are] as a shadow; because he feareth not before God.

Ver. 13. But it shall not be well with the wicked.] (1.) Not always well, {Isa 3:12} for "sin will be sure to find him out," {Num 32:23} and he that hath guilt in his bosom hath vengeance at his back. {a} Where iniquity breaks fast, calamity will be sure to dine, and to sup where it dines, and to lodge where it sups. When iniquity is once ripe in the field, God will not let it shed to grow again, but cuts it up by a just and seasonable vengeance. (2.) Not at all well; since prosperity slayeth these fools, and as sunshine ripens their sin, and so fits them for ruin. Hence Bernard calls it, Misericordiam omni indignatione crudeliorem. Poison in wine works more furiously. The fatter the ox, the sooner to the slaughter.

Neither shall he prolong his days.] See Psa 55:23 Jer 17:11. He dies tempore non suo {Ecc 7:17} though he lives long; he dies before he desires, and when it were better for him to do anything than to die; since he hath "walked in a vain show, disquieting himself in vain," {Psa 39:6} tumbling his tub to no purpose, lengthening out "his days as a shadow": the longer the shade, the nearer the sun is to setting. His sun also sets in the burning lake, and it hasteneth to the descent: "An end is come, is come, is come." {Eze 7:6-7}

Because he feareth not before God.] But in hypocrisy before men, whose laces he feareth, and would be much ashamed that they should see what he doth in secret. {Eph 5:12} But what saith the honest heathen? Si scirem homines ignoraturos et deos ignoscituros, tamen propter peccati turpitudinem, peccare non vellem. A good resolution surely, if as well put in execution. Sed libertas affuit scribent; non viventi, saith Augustine {b} of this author: He was a better speaker than liver. That of David was spoken from his heart, "I foresee the Lord always before my face; I set him at my right hand," &c. {Psa 16:8 Act 2:25} "Be thou in the fear of the Lord all day long." {Pro 23:17}

{a} Oυδεις ανθρωπων αδικων τισιν ουκ αποτισει. Nemo culpam gerit in pectore qui non idem Nemesin in tergo.

{b} Aug. De Civ. Dei, lib. vi. c. 10.

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.

neither shall he prolong--not a contradiction to Ecc 8:12. The "prolonging" of his days there is only seeming, not real. Taking into account his eternal existence, his present days, however seemingly long, are really short. God's delay (Ecc 8:11) exists only in man's short-sighted view. It gives scope to the sinner to repent, or else to fill up his full measure of guilt; and so, in either case, tends to the final vindication of God's ways. It gives exercise to the faith, patience, and perseverance of saints.

shadow-- (Ecc 6:12; Job 8:9).

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 13. But it shall not be well with the wicked] Let not the long-spared sinner presume that, because sentence is not speedily executed on his evil works, and he is suffered to go on to his hundredth transgression, God has forgotten to punish. No; he feareth not before God; and therefore he shall not ultimately escape.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(13) As a shadow.—Ecc_6:12; Wis_2:5; see also Wis_4:8.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

13. neither shall he prolong his days, which are as a shadow] The words seem at first in direct contradiction to the admission of the previous verse. But it is of the nature of the method of the book to teach by paradoxes, and to let the actual contradictions of the world reflect themselves in his teaching. What is meant is that the wicked does not gain by a prolonged life; that, as Isaiah had taught of old, “the sinner though he die a hundred years old, is as one accursed” (Isa_65:20). His life is still a shadow and “he disquieteth himself in vain” (Psa_39:6). So the writer of the Wisdom of Solomon (Ecc_4:8) writes, probably not without a reference to this very passage, that “honourable age is not that which standeth in length of time, nor that is measured by the number of the years.” In the “days which are as a shadow,” so far as they refer to the shortness of human life in general, we find, as before in ch. Ecc_6:12, echoes of Greek thought.

It is noticeable that in Wis_2:5, in accordance with what one may call the polemic tendency of the writer, the thought and the phrase are put into the mouth of the “ungodly, who reasoned not aright.” The universal fact, however, has become a universal thought and finds echoes everywhere (Psa_102:11; Psa_144:4).

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.

But it shall not be well with the wicked,.... It shall be ill with him; more is designed than is expressed, Isa 3:11; in life they have no solid peace and comfort; at death they will be turned into at judgment they will hear the awful sentence, "Go, ye cursed", and will be in torment to all eternity, Mat 25:41;

neither shall he prolong his days, which are as a shadow: wicked men sometimes do not live out half their days, which, according to the course of nature, and common term of life, they might be thought to live; or if they prolong their days in wickedness, as sometimes they do, Ecc 7:15; yet their days at longest are but a shadow which declines, and is quickly gone; or, however, they do not attain to eternal life, which is sometimes meant by prolonging days, and is length of days for ever and ever, Isa 53:10; this they never enjoy; but when the righteous go into life lasting, they go into everlasting punishment. The reason of this is,

because he feareth not before God; the fear of God is not before his eyes, nor in his heart; he goes on in sin without fear of him, boldly and openly commits it, and instead of taking shame for it, or repenting of it, glories in it; stretches out his hand against God, and bids defiance to him, and desires not the knowledge of him, and refuses to obey him The Targum of the whole is,

"and it shall not be well with the wicked, and he shall have no space in the world to come; and in this world his days shall be cut off, and they shall flee and pass away as a shadow, because he fears not God.''

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Let. Or, Hebrew, "it shall not," &c. (Protestants) (Haydock) --- Faith evinces that the wicked will be punished. --- But. Hebrew, "like a shadow." Septuagint, "under the shade," in prosperity.

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

It shall not be well, i.e. it shall go very ill with him; great miseries are prepared for him; which is a figure oft used in Scripture, as hath been formerly and frequently observed.

Neither shall he prolong his days, to wit, very long, or for ever, as he desireth.

As a shadow; his life, though it may be or seem to be long, yet in truth is but a mere shadow, which will quickly vanish and disappear, and be as if it never had been; and many times, like a shadow, when it is longest, it is nearest to abolition.

Because he feareth not before God; this is the punishment of his wickedness, and his casting off the fear and service of God. For although the lives of good men upon earth are short, as well as the lives of the wicked, yet their days are not like a shadow, because they are prolonged far beyond this mortal state, even to all eternity, and death itself doth but open the way for them to an endless life.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

13. Prolong his days — The words, as a shadow, should precede “prolong his days.” “His days” shall flee like a “shadow.”

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

But it shall not be well with the wicked. If experience seemed often to militate against this assertion, Koheleth"s faith prevailed against apparent contradictions. Neither shall he prolong his days, which are as a shadow. Above we read of a wicked man enjoying a long, untroubled life; here the contrary is stated. Such contradictions are seen every day. There are inscrutable reasons for the delay of judgment; but on the whole moral government is vindicated, and even the long life of a sinner is no blessing. The author of the Book of Wisdom writes (4:8), "Honorable age is not that which standeth in length of time, nor that is measured by number of years;" and Isaiah, (Isa_65:20) "The sinner being a hundred years old shall be accursed." Man"s life is compared to a shadow because it passes away with the setting sun. (see on Ecc_6:12) The Vulgate, in order to obviate the apparent discrepancy between this and the preceding verses, renders the verb in a precatory form: Non sit bonum impio, etc., "Let it not be well with the wicked, and let his days not be prolonged; but let them pass away as a shadow who fear not the Lord." This is quite unnecessary; and the words, "as a shadow, according to the accents, belong to what precedes, as in the Authorized Version. Hitzig and others have adopted the Vulgate division, and render, "Like a shadow is he who fears not God." But there is no sufficient reason for disregarding the existing accentuation. Septuagint, "He shall not prolong his days in a shadow (ejn skia)." Because he feareth not before God. This is the reason, looking to temporal retribution, why the wicked shall not live out half their days (Ecc_7:17; Pro_10:27; Psa_55:23) Koheleth cleaves to the doctrine received from old time, although facts seem often to contradict it.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

A shadow - His life, though it may seem long, yet in truth is but a shadow, which will quickly vanish and disappear.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

But it will not be well with the wicked because he does not fear God.

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.