Ecclesiastes 9

1 So I took all this to heart and concluded that the righteous and the wise, as well as their deeds, are in God’s hands. Man does not know what lies ahead, whether love or hate.

But all this I have laid unto my heart, so as to clear up the whole of this, that the righteous and the wise, and their works, [are] in the hand of God, neither love nor hatred doth man know, the whole [is] before them.

2 It is the same for all: There is a common fate for the righteous and the wicked, for the good and the bad, for the clean and the unclean, for the one who sacrifices and the one who does not. As it is for the good, so it is for the sinner; as it is for the one who makes a vow, so it is for the one who refuses to take a vow.

The whole [is] as to the whole; one event is to the righteous and to the wicked, to the good, and to the clean, and to the unclean, and to him who is sacrificing, and to him who is not sacrificing; as [is] the good, so [is] the sinner, he who is swearing as he who is fearing an oath.

3 This is an evil in everything that is done under the sun: There is one fate for everyone. Furthermore, the hearts of men are full of evil and madness while they are alive, and afterward they join the dead.

This [is] an evil among all that hath been done under the sun, that one event [is] to all, and also the heart of the sons of man is full of evil, and madness [is] in their heart during their life, and after it — unto the dead.

4 There is hope, however, for anyone who is among the living; for even a live dog is better than a dead lion.

But [to] him who is joined unto all the living there is confidence, for to a living dog it [is] better than to the dead lion.

5 For the living know that they will die, but the dead know nothing. They have no further reward, because the memory of them is forgotten.

For the living know that they die, and the dead know not anything, and there is no more to them a reward, for their remembrance hath been forgotten.

6 Their love, their hate, and their envy have already vanished, and they will never again have a share in all that is done under the sun.

Their love also, their hatred also, their envy also, hath already perished, and they have no more a portion to the age in all that hath been done under the sun.

7 Go, eat your bread with joy, and drink your wine with a cheerful heart, for God has already approved your works:

Go, eat with joy thy bread, and drink with a glad heart thy wine, for already hath God been pleased with thy works.

8 Let your garments always be white, and never spare the oil for your head.

At all times let thy garments be white, and let not perfume be lacking on thy head.

9 Enjoy life with your beloved wife all the days of the fleeting life that God has given you under the sun—all your fleeting days. For this is your portion in life and in your labor under the sun.

See life with the wife whom thou hast loved, all the days of the life of thy vanity, that He hath given to thee under the sun, all the days of thy vanity, for it [is] thy portion in life, even of thy labour that thou art labouring at under the sun.

10 Whatever you find to do with your hands, do it with all your might, for in Sheol, where you are going, there is no work or planning or knowledge or wisdom. (Sheol h7585)

All that thy hand findeth to do, with thy power do, for there is no work, and device, and knowledge, and wisdom in Sheol whither thou art going. (Sheol h7585)

11 I saw something else under the sun: The race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong; neither is the bread to the wise, nor the wealth to the intelligent, nor the favor to the skillful. For time and chance happen to all.

I have turned so as to see under the sun, that not to the swift [is] the race, nor to the mighty the battle, nor even to the wise bread, nor even to the intelligent wealth, nor even to the skilful grace, for time and chance happen with them all.

12 For surely no man knows his time: Like fish caught in a cruel net or birds trapped in a snare, so men are ensnared in an evil time that suddenly falls upon them.

For even man knoweth not his time; as fish that are taken hold of by an evil net, and as birds that are taken hold of by a snare, like these [are] the sons of man snared at an evil time, when it falleth upon them suddenly.

13 I have also seen this wisdom under the sun, and it was great to me:

This also I have seen: wisdom under the sun, and it is great to me.

14 There was a small city with few men. A mighty king came against it, surrounded it, and built large siege ramps against it.

A little city, and few men in it, and a great king hath come unto it, and hath surrounded it, and hath built against it great bulwarks;

15 Now a poor wise man was found in the city, and he saved the city by his wisdom. Yet no one remembered that poor man.

and there hath been found in it a poor wise man, and he hath delivered the city by his wisdom, and men have not remembered that poor man!

16 And I said, “Wisdom is better than strength, but the wisdom of the poor man is despised, and his words are not heeded.”

And I said, 'Better [is] wisdom than might, and the wisdom of the poor is despised, and his words are not heard.' —

17 The calm words of the wise are heeded over the shouts of a ruler among fools.

The words of the wise in quiet are heard, More than the cry of a ruler over fools.

18 Wisdom is better than weapons of war, but one sinner destroys much good.

Better [is] wisdom than weapons of conflict, And one sinner destroyeth much good!