16 ¶ And moreover I saw under the sun the place of judgment, that wickedness was there; and the place of righteousness, that iniquity was there.
Yet, however, I have observed in this work-day world, that in place of justice there is impiety, and in the place even of right there is impiety also.
(16.) And yet (an objection to the foregoing) I have seen under the sun (the limitation here introduced requires special attention) a place of the justice (we must not limit place to mean locality, but take it generally of state or position, etc., and observe also that המשפט has the article, and is therefore generic); there was the wickedness (again generic, and hence having the meaning that in place of justice, as one would expect from the proposition stated above, that the Deity has regard to the wronged, just the reverse occurred; this is again enlarged in the following), and in the place of the right there was the wickedness (the meaning is, that ‘just in the very circumstances under which you would expect right to prevail, there you will find rampant and successful wickedness.’ רשע has the meaning of that kind of ‘wickedness’ which goes out into bold and open transgression, see 2 Samuel xxii. 22; Psalm x. 2, 3, 4, 13).
17 I said in mine heart, God shall judge the righteous and the wicked: for there is a time there for every purpose and for every work.
Then said I to myself: With respect to right and wickedness, the Almighty does justice, because there is a time to every providence and dominating over every action which is done there.
(17.) I said, I myself, in my heart (which we have noticed commonly introduces a thought more specious than true), with respect to (את, which the LXX. note with their customary σὺν) the righteous (i.e. what is made right or done right; notice the hiphil form as compared with that in the above), and with regard to the impious also judges the Deity, for there is a time to every providence, and upon (or ‘over,’ which the LXX. note by ἐπὶ) all the working there (some copies of the LXX. join this to the next verse, but it is more agreeable to the gist of the passage to refer it to the preceding, as the Masoretic text does, and in this case ‘there’ refers back to the age or period).