Ecclesiastes 9
1 [I saw] that the righteous, and the wise, and their works, are in the hand of God: yea, there is no man that knows either love or hatred, [though] all are before their face.
I tretide alle these thingis in myn herte, to vndirstonde diligentli. Iust men, and wise men ben, and her werkis ben in the hond of God; and netheles a man noot, whether he is worthi of loue or of hatrede.
2 Vanity is in all: there is one event to the righteous, and to the wicked; to the good, and to the bad; both to the pure, and to the impure; both to him that sacrifices, and to him that sacrifice not: as is the good, so is the sinner: as is the swearer, even so is he that fears an oath.
But alle thingis ben kept vncerteyn in to tyme to comynge; for alle thingis bifallen euenli to a iust man and to a wickid man, to a good man and to an yuel man, to a cleene man and to an vnclene man, to a man offrynge offryngis and sacrifices, and to a man dispisynge sacrifices; as a good man, so and a synnere; as a forsworun man, so and he that greetli swerith treuthe.
3 There is this evil in all that is done under the sun, that there is one event to all: yea, the heart of the sons of men is filled with evil, and madness is in their heart during their life, and after that [they go] to the dead.
This thing is the worste among alle thingis, that ben don vndur the sunne, that the same thingis bifallen to alle men; wherfor and the hertis of the sones of men ben fillid with malice and dispisyng in her lijf; and aftir these thingis thei schulen be led doun to hellis.
4 for who is he that has fellowship with all the living? there is hope [of him]: for a living dog is better than a dead lion.
No man is, that lyueth euere, and that hath trist of this thing; betere is a quik dogge than a deed lioun.
5 For the living will know that they shall die: but the dead know nothing, and there is no longer any reward to them; for their memory is lost.
For thei that lyuen witen that thei schulen die; but deed men knowen no thing more, nether han meede ferthere; for her mynde is youun to foryetyng.
6 also their love, and their hatred, and their envy, have now perished; yea, there is no portion for them any more for ever in all that is done under the sun.
Also the loue, and hatrede, and enuye perischiden togidere; and thei han no part in this world, and in the werk that is don vndur the sunne.
7 Go, eat thy bread with mirth, and drink thy wine with a joyful heart; for now God has favourably accepted thy works.
Therfor go thou, iust man, and ete thi breed in gladnesse, and drynke thi wiyn with ioie; for thi werkis plesen God.
8 Let thy garments be always white; and let not oil be wanting on thine head.
In ech tyme thi clothis be white, and oile faile not fro thin heed.
9 And see life with the wife whom thou lovest all the days of the life of thy vanity, which are given thee under the sun: for that is thy portion in thy life, and in thy labour wherein thou labourest under the sun.
Vse thou lijf with the wijf which thou louest, in alle the daies of lijf of thin vnstablenesse, that ben youun to thee vndur sunne, in al the tyme of thi vanyte; for this is thi part in thi lijf and trauel, bi which thou trauelist vndur the sunne.
10 Whatsoever thine hand shall find to do, do with all thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in Hades wither thou goest. (Sheol h7585)
Worche thou bisili, what euer thing thin hond mai do; for nether werk, nether resoun, nethir kunnyng, nether wisdom schulen be at hellis, whidir thou haastist. (Sheol h7585)
11 I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, nor yet bread to the wise, nor yet wealth to men of understanding, nor yet favour to men of knowledge; for time and chance will happen to them all.
I turnede me to another thing, and Y siy vndur sunne, that rennyng is not of swift men, nethir batel is of stronge men, nether breed is of wise men, nether richessis ben of techeris, ne grace is of crafti men; but tyme and hap is in alle thingis.
12 For surely man also knows not his time: as fishes that are taken in an evil net, and as birds that are caught in a snare; even thus the sons of men are snared at an evil time, when it falls suddenly upon them.
A man knowith not his ende; but as fischis ben takun with an hook, and as briddis ben takun with a snare, so men ben takun in yuel tyme, whanne it cometh sudeynli on hem.
13 This I also saw [to be] wisdom under the sun, and it is great before me:
Also Y siy this wisdom vndur the sunne, and Y preuede it the mooste.
14 [suppose there were] a little city, and few men in it; and there should come against it a great king, and surround it, and build great mounds against it;
A litil citee, and a fewe men ther ynne; a greet kyng cam ayens it, and cumpasside it with palis, and he bildide strengthis bi cumpas; and bisegyng was maad perfit.
15 and should find in it a poor wise man, and he should save the city through his wisdom: yet no man would remember that poor man.
And a pore man and a wijs was foundun ther ynne; and he delyuerede the citee bi his wisdom, and no man bithouyte aftirward on that pore man.
16 And I said Wisdom is better than power: yet the wisdom of the poor man is set at nought, and his words not listened to.
And Y seide, that wisdom is betere than strengthe; hou therfor is the wisdom of a pore man dispisid, and hise wordis ben not herd?
17 The words of the wise are heard in quiet more than the cry of them that rule in folly.
The wordis of wise men ben herd in silence, more than the cry of a prince among foolis.
18 Wisdom is better than weapons of war: and one sinner will destroy much good.
Betere is wisdom than armuris of batel; and he that synneth in o thing, schal leese many goodis.
