Ecclesiastes 3:16
Translations
King James Version (KJV)
And moreover I saw under the sun the place of judgment, that wickedness was there; and the place of righteousness, that iniquity was there.
American King James Version (AKJV)
And moreover I saw under the sun the place of judgment, that wickedness was there; and the place of righteousness, that iniquity was there.
American Standard Version (ASV)
And moreover I saw under the sun, in the place of justice, that wickedness was there; and in the place of righteousness, that wickedness was there.
Basic English Translation (BBE)
And again, I saw under the sun, in the place of the judges, that evil was there; and in the place of righteousness, that evil was there.
Webster's Revision
And moreover I saw under the sun the place of judgment, that wickedness was there; and the place of righteousness, that iniquity was there.
World English Bible
Moreover I saw under the sun, in the place of justice, that wickedness was there; and in the place of righteousness, that wickedness was there.
English Revised Version (ERV)
And moreover I saw under the sun, in the place of judgment, that wickedness was there; and in the place of righteousness, that wickedness was there.
Definitions for Ecclesiastes 3:16
Clarke's Ecclesiastes 3:16 Bible Commentary
The plate of judgment, that wickedness was there - The abuse of power, and the perversion of judgment, have been justly complained of in every age of the world. The following paraphrase is good: -
"But what enjoyment can our labors yield,
When e'en the remedy prescribed by heaven
To cure disorders proves our deadliest bane?
When God's vicegerents, destined to protect
The weak from insolence of power, to guard
Their lives and fortunes, impious robbers turn?
And, or by force or fraud, deprive of both? -
To what asylum shall the injured fly
From her tribunal, where perverted law
Acquits the guilty, the innocent condemns?"
C.
Barnes's Ecclesiastes 3:16 Bible Commentary
That great anomaly in the moral government of this world, the seemingly unequal distribution of rewards and punishments, will be rectified by God, who has future times and events under His control Ecclesiastes 3:16-17. As for people, they are placed by God, who is their teacher, in a humble condition, even on a level with inferior animals, by death, that great instance of their subjection to vanity Ecclesiastes 3:18-19, which reduces to its original form all that was made of the dust of the ground Ecclesiastes 3:20. And though the destinies of man and beast are different, yet in our present lack of knowledge as to God's future dealing with our spirits Ecclesiastes 3:21, man finds his portion (see the Ecclesiastes 2:10 note) in such labor and such joy as God assigns to him in his lifetime Ecclesiastes 3:22.
Ecclesiastes 3:16
I saw ... - Rather, I have seen (as in Ecclesiastes 3:10) under the sun the place etc. The place of judgment means the seat of the authorized judge. Compare "the place of the holy" Ecclesiastes 8:10.
Wesley's Ecclesiastes 3:16 Bible Commentary
3:16 Moreover - This is another argument of the vanity of worldly things, and an hindrance of that comfort which men expect in this life, because they are oppressed by their rulers. Judgment - ln the thrones of princes, and tribunals of magistrates. Solomon is still shewing that every thing in this world without the fear of God is vanity. In these verses he shews, that power, of which men are so ambitious, and life itself, are worth nothing without it.