“There is a vanity which is done upon the earth; that there be just men, unto whom it happeneth according to the work of the wicked; again, there be wicked men, to whom it happeneth according to the work of the righteous: I said that this also is vanity.”
Qohelet's observation of vanity on earth where the righteous receive what the wicked deserve and the wicked receive what the righteous deserve returns to the central theodicy problem. The inversion of expected outcomes, rather than being resolved by verses 12-13, stands as the final word; the ideal justice described in 12-13 does not match observable reality. This verse prevents reading 12-13 as genuine consolation.
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