Ecclesiastes
Chapter 9
1 I thought deeply about all this and decided to explain that the good and wise people, and what they do, are in God’s control. No one can understand whether they will experience love or hate based on what they see around them.
2 Everything happens to everyone: the same thing happens to good and bad people, to those who are pure and those who are not, to those who offer sacrifices and those who do not. Just as it is with the good person, so it is with the sinner; and it is the same for those who make promises and those who are afraid to.
3 This is a bad thing among everything done under the sun: everyone experiences the same fate. Also, people’s hearts are full of evil and insanity while they live, and afterward, they die.
4 Those who are still alive have hope; a living dog is better than a dead lion.
5 People who are alive know they will die, but the dead do not know anything and they no longer get rewards, because they are forgotten.
6 Their love, hatred, and jealousy are all gone; they will never again take part in anything that happens on earth.
7 Go on your way, enjoy your food, and be happy with your drink; for God accepts what you do now.
8 Always wear clean clothes and keep your head oiled.
9 Enjoy life with the wife you love all your days, which God has given you under the sun. This is your share in life and in your work while you are here.
10 Do whatever your hand finds to do, and do it with all your strength; because there is no work, planning, knowledge, or wisdom in the grave where you are headed.
11 I came back and saw that being fast doesn’t always win the race, being strong doesn’t always win the battle, being wise doesn’t always bring food, being smart doesn’t always bring wealth, and being skilled doesn’t always win favor; but time and chance happen to everyone.
12 People don’t know when their time will come, like fish caught in a cruel net or birds trapped in a snare; just like that, people are caught by sudden trouble.
13 I have also seen this wisdom on earth, and it seemed very important to me:
14 There was a small city with few people in it, and a great king attacked it, surrounded it, and built large barriers against it.
15 In the city, they found a poor but wise man. He used his wisdom to save the city, but nobody remembered that poor man afterward.
16 I said that wisdom is better than strength, but people ignore a poor man’s wisdom and don’t listen to his words.
17 Wise people’s words are heard better in silence than a ruler’s shout among fools.
18 Wisdom is better than tools of war, but one wrongdoer can ruin a lot of good.