8 He can't stop the wind from blowing. And he doesn't have the power to decide when he will die. No one is let out of the army in times of war. And evil won't let go of those who practice it.
9 I understood all of those things. I used my mind to study everything that's done on earth. A man sometimes makes life hard for others. But he ends up hurting himself.
10 I also saw sinful people being buried. They used to come and go from the place of worship. And others praised them in the city where they worshiped. That doesn't have any meaning either.
11 Sometimes the sentence for a crime isn't carried out quickly. So people make plans to commit even more crimes.
12 An evil man may be guilty of a hundred crimes and still live a long time. But I know that things will go better with men who have great respect for God.
13 Sinful people don't respect God. So things won't go well with them. Like a shadow, they won't be around very long.
14 Here's something else on this earth that doesn't have any meaning. Sometimes godly men get what sinful people should receive. And sinful men get what godly people should receive. Here's what I'm telling you. That doesn't have any meaning either.