Ecclesiastes 8:13

But it will not go well with the wicked, nor will they ¹  prolong their ²  days like a shadow, ³  because they ⁴  do not stand in fear ⁵  before God.

Job 7:6,7; Job 14:2; Job 18:5; Job 20:5; Job 21:30; Ps 11:5; Ps 39:5; Ps 55:23; Ps 144:4; Ec 6:12; Isa 30:13; Isa 57:21; Mal 3:18; Mt 13:49,50; Joh 5:29; Jas 4:14; 2Pe 2:3

¹ tn Heb “he.”

² tn The word “their” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for smoothness.

³ tn The phrase “like a shadow” (כַּצֵּל, katsel) modifies the verb (“prolong”) rather than the noun (“days”). Several English versions misconstrue the line: “he will not prolong his days, [which are] like a shadow” (KJV, ASV); “the man who does not fear God is like a shadow” (NEB); and “he will not prolong his shadowy days” (NAB). It should be rendered “he will not prolong his days like a shadow” (RSV, NRSV, NASB, MLB, NIV). Unlike a shadow that lengthens at sunset, the wicked do not normally live long.

⁴ tn Heb “he.”

⁵ tn Heb “they do not fear.”