Sirach 16:22
22
My work of righteousness, who will declare it? And what hope is there? For the decree is set."[fn]
Footnotes
22
the decree is set - the translation of this phrase is uncertain. Alternatively: the decree is distant. The meaning seems to be that the outcome of things is either a) already set and there's nothing that can be done about it (similar to the idiom: 'the die is cast'); or b) a very long time away in the future.