Ecclesiastes 5:8

New International Reader's Version

Suppose you see poor people being mistreated somewhere. And what is being done to them isn’t right or fair. Don’t be surprised by that. One official is watched by a higher one. Officials who are even higher are watching both of them.

Cross References

2 Chronicles 26:10

He also built towers in the desert. He dug many wells, because he had a lot of livestock. The livestock were in the western hills and on the plains. Uzziah had people working in his fields and vineyards in the hills and in the rich lands. That’s because he loved the soil.

Job 24:23

God might let them rest and feel secure. But his eyes see how they live.

Psalm 12:5

The Lord says, “The poor are being robbed. Those who are in need groan. So I will stand up to help them. I will keep them safe from those who tell lies about them.”

Psalm 55:9

Lord, confuse the sinners and keep them from understanding one another. I see people destroying things and fighting in the city.

Psalm 82:1

God takes his place at the head of a large gathering of leaders. He announces his decisions among them.

Psalm 83:18

May you, the Lord, let your enemies know who you are. You alone are the Most High God over the whole earth.

Psalm 95:3

The Lord is the great God. He is the greatest King. He rules over all the gods.

Proverbs 22:16

You might treat poor people badly or give gifts to rich people. Trying to get rich in these ways will instead make you poor.

Proverbs 24:12

Don’t say, “But we didn’t know anything about this.” Doesn’t the God who knows what you are thinking see it? Doesn’t the God who guards your life know it? He will pay back everyone for what they have done.

Proverbs 8:17

I love those who love me. Those who look for me find me.

Ecclesiastes 3:16

Here’s something else I saw on earth. Where people should be treated right, they are treated wrong. Where people should be treated fairly, they are treated unfairly.

Ecclesiastes 4:1

I looked and saw how much people were suffering on this earth. I saw the tears of those who are suffering. They don’t have anyone to comfort them. Power is on the side of those who treat them badly. Those who are suffering don’t have anyone to comfort them.

Ecclesiastes 5:9

All of them take what the land produces. And the king himself takes his share from the fields.

Ecclesiastes 7:7

When a wise person takes wealth by force, they become foolish. It is sinful to take money from people who want special favors.

Ecclesiastes 8:9

I understood all these 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.

Isaiah 10:12

The Lord will finish everything he has planned to do against Mount Zion and Jerusalem. Then he’ll say, “Now I will punish the king of Assyria. I will punish him because his heart and his eyes are so proud.

Isaiah 3:15

What do you mean by crushing my people? Why are you grinding the faces of the poor into the dirt?” announces the Lord. He is the Lord who rules over all.

Isaiah 37:36

Then the angel of the Lord went into the camp of the Assyrians. He put to death 185,000 soldiers there. The people of Jerusalem got up the next morning. They looked out and saw all the dead bodies.

Isaiah 5:7

The vineyard of the Lord who rules over all is the nation of Israel. The people of Judah are the vines he took delight in. He kept looking for them to do what is fair. But all he saw was blood being spilled. He kept looking for them to do what is right. But all he heard were cries of suffering.

Isaiah 57:15

The God who is highly honored lives forever. His name is holy. He says, “I live in a high and holy place. But I also live with anyone who turns away from their sins. I live with anyone who is not proud. I give new life to them. I give it to anyone who turns away from their sins.

Ezekiel 18:18

But his father will die because of his own sin. He got rich by cheating others. He robbed his relatives. He also did what was wrong among his people.

Amos 5:12

I know how many crimes you have committed. You have sinned far too much. Among you are people who crush those who have done no wrong. They accept money from people who want special favors. They take away the rights of poor people in the courts.

Amos 6:12

Horses don’t run on rocky ground. People don’t plow the sea with oxen. But you have turned fair treatment into poison. You have turned the fruit of right living into bitterness.

Micah 2:9

You drive the women among my people out of their pleasant homes. You take away my blessing from their children forever.

Zechariah 8:6

He continued, “All of that might seem hard to believe to the people living then. But it will not be too hard for me.”

Malachi 3:5

“So I will come and put you on trial. I will be quick to bring charges against all of you,” says the Lord who rules over all. “I will bring charges against you sinful people who do not have any respect for me. That includes those who practice evil magic. It includes those who commit adultery and those who tell lies in court. It includes those who cheat workers out of their pay. It includes those who treat widows badly. It also includes those who mistreat children whose fathers have died. And it includes those who take away the rights of outsiders in the courts.

Luke 1:32

He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High God. The Lord God will make him a king like his father David of long ago.

Luke 1:35

The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come to you. The power of the Most High God will cover you. So the holy one that is born will be called the Son of God.

Luke 1:76

“And you, my child, will be called a prophet of the Most High God. You will go ahead of the Lord to prepare the way for him.

Acts 12:23

Right away an angel of the Lord struck Herod down. Herod had not given praise to God. So he was eaten by worms and died.

Romans 11:33

How very rich are God’s wisdom and knowledge! How he judges is more than we can understand! The way he deals with people is more than we can know!

James 2:13

Those who have not shown mercy will not receive mercy when they are judged. To show mercy is better than to judge.

1 Peter 4:12

Dear friends, don’t be surprised by the terrible things happening to you. The trouble you are having has come to test you. So don’t feel as if something strange were happening to you.

1 John 3:13

My brothers and sisters, don’t be surprised if the world hates you.