Ecc 2:15, 3:16-17, 9:1-2, Jer 12:1-2, 2Pe 2:3-9, 3:3-9 | ESV | STEP | Then I said in my heart , What happens to the fool will happen to me also . Why then have I been so very wise ? And I said in my heart that this also is vanity .

Ecclesiastes 2:15

15 Then I said in my heart, ^a“What happens to the fool will happen to me also. Why then have I been so very wise?” And I said in my heart that this also is vanity.

Ecclesiastes 3:16-17

From Dust to Dust

16 Moreover, ^bI saw under the sun that in the place of justice, even ^cthere was wickedness, and in the place of righteousness, even there was wickedness. 17 I said in my heart, ^dGod will judge the righteous and the wicked, for there is ^ea time for every matter and for every work.

Ecclesiastes 9:1-2

Death Comes to All

1 But all this I laid to heart, examining it all, ^fhow the righteous and the wise and their deeds are ^gin the hand of God. Whether it is love or hate, man does not know; both are before him. 2 ^hIt is the same for all, since ⁱthe same event happens to the righteous and the wicked, to the good and the evil, ^{▼▼Septuagint, Syriac, Vulgate; Hebrew lacks and the evil} to the clean and the unclean, to him who sacrifices and him who does not sacrifice. As the good one is, so is the sinner, and he who ^kswears is as he who shuns an oath.

Jeremiah 12:1-2

Jeremiah’s Complaint

1 ^lRighteous are you, O Lord,
when I complain to you;
yet I would plead my case before you.
^mWhy does the way of the wicked prosper?
Why do all ⁿwho are treacherous thrive?
2 You plant them, and they take root;
they grow and produce fruit;
^oyou are near in their mouth
and far from their heart.

2 Peter 2:3-9

3 And ^pin their greed they will exploit you ^qwith false words. ^rTheir condemnation from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep.

4 For if God did not spare ^sangels when they sinned, but ^tcast them into hell ^{▼▼Greek Tartarus} and committed them to chains ^{▼▼Some manuscripts pits} of gloomy darkness ^wto be kept until the judgment; 5 if he did not spare the ancient world, but ^xpreserved Noah, a herald of righteousness, with seven others, when he brought ^ya flood upon the world of the ungodly; 6 if by ^zturning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to ashes he condemned them to extinction, ^aamaking them an example of ^abwhat is going to happen to the ungodly; ^{▼▼Some manuscripts an example to those who were to be ungodly} 7 and ^adif he rescued righteous Lot, greatly distressed by the sensual conduct of the wicked 8 (for as that righteous man lived among them day after day, ^aehe was tormenting his righteous soul over their lawless deeds that he saw and heard); 9 then ^afthe Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials, ^{▼▼Or temptations} and to keep the unrighteous under punishment until the day of judgment,

2 Peter 3:3-9

3 knowing this first of all, that scoffers will come ^ahin the last days with scoffing, ^aifollowing their own sinful desires. 4 ^ajThey will say, “Where is the promise of ^akhis coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things are continuing as they were from the beginning of creation.” 5 For they deliberately overlook this fact, that the heavens existed long ago, and the earth ^alwas formed out of water and through water ^amby the word of God, 6 and that by means of these the world that then existed ^anwas deluged with water and ^aoperished. 7 But by the same word ^apthe heavens and earth that now exist are stored up for fire, being kept until the day of judgment and ^aqdestruction of the ungodly.

8 But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and ^ara thousand years as one day. 9 ^asThe Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise ^atas some count slowness, but ^auis patient toward you, ^{▼▼Some manuscripts on your account} ^awnot wishing that any should perish, but ^axthat all should reach repentance.