Ecclesiastes 9

Is Death Fair?

1 I thought about all this and tried to understand it. I saw that God controls good people and wise people and what they do, but no one knows if they will experience love or hate.

2 Good and bad people end up the same— those who are right and those who are wrong,
those who are good and those who are evil, those who are clean and those who are unclean, those who sacrifice and those who do not.
The same things happen to a good person as happen to a sinner,
to a person who makes promises to God and to one who does not.
3 This is something wrong that happens here on earth: What happens to one happens to all. So people’s minds are full of evil and foolish thoughts while they live. After that, they join the dead.

4 But anyone still alive has hope; even a live dog is better off than a dead lion!

5 The living know they will die, but the dead know nothing.
Dead people have no more reward, and people forget them.

6 After people are dead, they can no longer love or hate or envy.
They will never again share in what happens here on earth.

Enjoy Life While You Can

7 So go eat your food and enjoy it; drink your wine and be happy,
because that is what God wants you to do.

8 Put on nice clothes and make yourself look good.
9 Enjoy life with the wife you love. Enjoy all the useless days of this useless life God has given you here on earth, because it is all you have. So enjoy the work you do here on earth.

10 Whatever work you do, do your best, because you are going to the grave, where there is no working, no planning, no knowledge, and no wisdom.

Time and Chance

11 I also saw something else here on earth:
The fastest runner does not always win the race, the strongest soldier does not always win the battle,
the wisest does not always have food, the smartest does not always become wealthy, and the talented one does not always receive praise.
Time and chance happen to everyone.

12 No one knows what will happen next.
Like a fish caught in a net, or a bird caught in a trap,
people are trapped by evil when it suddenly falls on them.

Wisdom Does Not Always Win

13 I also saw something wise here on earth that impressed me.14 There was a small town with only a few people in it. A great king fought against it and put his armies all around it.15 Now there was a poor but wise man in the town who used his wisdom to save his town. But later on, everyone forgot about him.

16 I still think wisdom is better than strength. But those people forgot about the poor man’s wisdom and stopped listening to what he said.

17 The quiet words of a wise person are better than the shouts of a foolish ruler.
18 Wisdom is better than weapons of war, but one sinner can destroy much good.

Ecclesiastes 9

Everyone Will Die

1 So I reflected on all this,t attempting to cleart it all up.
I concluded thatt the righteous and the wise, as well as their works, are in the hand of God;
whether a person will be loved or hatedt –
no one knows what lies ahead.t

2 Everyone shares the same fatet –
the righteous and the wicked,
the good and the bad,s
the ceremonially clean and unclean,
those who offer sacrifices and those who do not.
What happens to the good person, also happens to the sinner;t
what happens to those who make vows, also happens to those who are afraid to make vows.

3 This is the unfortunate factt about everything that happens on earth:t
the same fate awaitst everyone.
In addition to this, the hearts of all peoplet are full of evil,
and there is folly in their hearts during their lives – then they die.t

Better to Be Poor but Alive than Rich but Dead

4 But whoever is amongt the livingt has hope;
a live dog is better than a dead lion.

5 For the living know that they will die, but the dead do not know anything;
they have no further reward – and even the memory of them disappears.t

6 What they loved,t as well as what they hatedt and envied,t perished long ago,
and they no longer have a part in anything that happens on earth.t

Life is Brief, so Cherish its Joys

7 Go, eat your foodt with joy,
and drink your wine with a happy heart,
because God has already approved your works.

8 Let your clothes always be white,
and do not spare precious ointment on your head.

9 Enjoyt life with your beloved wifet during all the days of your fleetingt life
that Godt has given you on eartht during all your fleeting days;s
for that is your reward in life and in your burdensome workt on earth.t

10 Whatever you find to do with your hands,t
do it with all your might,
because there is neither work nor planning nor knowledge nor wisdom in the grave,t
the place where you will eventually go.t

Wisdom Cannot Protect against Seemingly Chance Events

11 Again,t I observed this on the earth:t
the race is not alwayst won by the swiftest,
the battle is not always won by the strongest;
prosperityt does not always belong to those who are the wisest,
wealth does not always belong to those who are the most discerning,
nor does successt always come to those with the most knowledge –
for time and chance may overcomet them all.

12 Surely, no onet knows his appointed time!t
Like fish that are caught in a deadlyt net, and like birds that are caught in a snare –
just like them, all peoplet are ensnaredt at an unfortunatet time that falls upon them suddenly.

Most People Are Not Receptive to Wise Counsel

13 This is what I also observed about wisdom on earth,t
and it is a great burdent to me:

14 There was oncet a small city with a few men in it,
and a mighty king attacked it, besiegingt it and building strongt siege works against it.

15 However, a poor but wise man lived in the city,t
and he could have deliveredt the city by his wisdom,
but no one listenedt to that poor man.

16 So I concluded that wisdom is better than might,t
but a poor man’s wisdom is despised; no one ever listenst to his advice.t

Wisdom versus Fools, Sin, and Folly

17 The words of the wise are heard in quiet,
more than the shouting of a ruler is heardt among fools.

18 Wisdom is better than weapons of war,
but one sinner can destroy much that is good.