8 No one has control over the life-breath, to retain it, and there’s no control over the day of death. There’s no release from war, and wickedness won’t deliver those who practice it.
9 I observed all of this as I paid attention to all that happens under the sun. Sometimes people exercise power over each other to their detriment.
10 Then I saw the wicked brought to their graves, with people processing from a holy place, while those who had lived honestly were neglected in the city. This too is pointless.
11 The condemnation for wicked acts isn’t carried out quickly; that’s why people dare to do evil.
12 Wrongdoers may commit a hundred crimes but still live long lives. But I also know that it will go well for those who fear God, for those who are reverent before God.
13 But it will not go well for the wicked; they won’t live long at all because they aren’t reverent before God.
14 Here’s another thing that happens on earth that is pointless: the righteous get what the wicked deserve, and the wicked get what the righteous deserve. I say that this too is pointless.