Ecclesiastes 9
1 For all this did I reflect over in my heart and to explain all this, that the righteous, and the wise, and their services, are in the hand of God: that man knoweth neither love nor hatred; it is all [ordained] before them;
I thought about all those things, and I concluded that God controls [what happens to] everyone, even those who are wise and those who are righteous. No one knows whether [others] will love them or whether they will hate them.
2 Every thing as it is to happen to all; there is but one occurrence for the righteous, and for the wicked; for the good and for the clean, and for the unclean; and for him that sacrificeth, and for him that sacrificeth not; as is the good, so is the sinner; he that sweareth, as he that feareth an oath.
[But we know that some time in the future] we will all die; it does not matter whether we act righteously or wickedly, whether we are good or whether we are bad, whether we are acceptable for [worshiping God] or whether [we have done things to cause us to be] unacceptable; it does not matter if we offer sacrifices [to God] or if we do not; it does not matter if we do what we have promised God that we will do or if we do not; [we all die]. The same thing will happen to good people and to sinful people, to those who solemnly promise [to do things for God] and to those who are afraid to make such promises.
3 This is an evil among all things that are done under the sun, that there is one occurrence for all, and that also the heart of the sons of men is full of evil, and that madness is in their heart while they live, and after this they go to the dead.
It seems wrong that the same thing happens to everyone on this earth: Everyone dies [EUP]. Furthermore, people’s inner beings are full of evil. People do foolish things while they are alive, and then they die and join those who are already dead.
4 For whoever is yet united with all the living hath still hope; for a living dog fareth better than a dead lion.
While we are alive, we confidently expect [that good things will happen to us]. [We despise] dogs, but it is better to be a dog that is alive than to be a [majestic] lion that is dead.
5 For the living know that they will die; but the dead know not the least; nor have they longer any reward; for their memory is forgotten.
We who are alive know that [some day] we will die, but dead people do not know anything. Dead people do not receive any more rewards, and people soon forget them.
6 Also their love, and their hatred, and their envy, are now already lost; and they will have never more a portion in all that is done under the sun.
[While they were alive], they loved [some people], they hated [some people], they envied [some people], but that all ends when they die. They will never again be a part of anything that happens here on the earth.
7 Go, eat with joy thy bread, and drink with a merry heart thy wine, if God have already received thy works in favor.
[So I say], be joyful [DOU] while you eat your food and drink your wine, because that is what God wants you to do.
8 At all times let thy garments be white, and let oil not be wanting on thy head.
Wear nice [MTY] clothes and make your face look nice.
9 Enjoy life with the wife whom thou lovest all the days of the life of thy vanity, which God hath given thee under the sun, [yea, ] all the days of thy vanity; for this is thy portion in this life, and in thy toil with which thou toilest under the sun.
Enjoy living with your wife whom you love, all during the time that God has given to you to be alive here on this earth. And even though it is difficult to understand why many things happen, enjoy doing the work that you do here on this earth.
10 Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do with thy might, that do; for there is no work, nor experience, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the nether world, whither thou goest.— (Sheol h7585)
Whatever you are able to do, do it with all your energy, because [some time you will die], and in the place of the dead where you are going, no one works or plans to do anything or knows anything or is wise. (Sheol h7585)
11 I turned about, and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the mighty; and that also the wise have no bread, nor yet the men of understanding riches, nor yet men of knowledge favor; but time and fate will overtake them all.
I have seen something else here on the earth: The person who runs fastest does not [always] win the race, the strongest soldiers do not [always] win the battle, the wisest people do not [always] have food, the smartest people do not [always] become rich, and people who have studied a lot are not [always] (honored/treated very specially) by others; we cannot [always] control what things will happen to us and where they will happen.
12 For man also knoweth not his time, like the fishes that are caught in an evil net, and like the birds that are caught in the snare: like these are the sons of men ensnared at an evil time, when it falleth upon them suddenly.
No one knows when he will die [EUP]; fish are cruelly caught in a net, and birds are caught in snares/traps; similarly [SIM], people experience disasters at times when they do not expect them to happen.
13 Also in this manner have I seen wisdom under the sun, and it seemed great unto me:
Once I saw something that a wise man did that impressed me.
14 There was a little city, and the men therein were few; and there came against it a great king, who enclosed it, and built around it great works of siege;
There was a small town, where only a few people lived. The army of a great king came to that town and surrounded it. They built dirt ramps up against the walls in order to climb up and attack the town.
15 But there was found in it a poor wise man, and he delivered the city by his wisdom; yet no man had thought of that same poor man.
In that town there was a man who was poor but very wise. Because of doing what that man [suggested], the town was saved; but people [soon] forgot about him.
16 Then said I, Wisdom is better than might: although the poor man's wisdom is held in contempt, and his words are not heard.
So I realized that although being wise is better than being strong, if you are poor, no one will appreciate what you do, and people will soon forget what you said.
17 The words of wise men heard in quiet are better than the cry of him that ruleth among fools.
Speaking quietly what is [very] wise is [much] more sensible than a king shouting to foolish people.
18 Wisdom is better than weapons of war; but one sinner causes much good to be lost.
Being wise is more useful than [a lot of] weapons; but if you do one foolish thing, [it is possible that] because of doing that, you will ruin all the good things that you have done.
