EcclesiastesChapter 9

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¹So I thought about all this, and I came to see this. The righteous and the wise and all they do are in God's hands. No one knows what is ahead, whether love or hate. ²It is the same for everyone. The same end comes to the righteous and the wicked. It comes to the good and the bad. It comes to the clean and the unclean. It comes to the one who offers sacrifices and the one who does not. It is the same for the good person and for the sinner. It is the same for the one who makes a vow and the one who refuses to make one. ³This is an evil in all that is done under the sun. The same end comes to everyone. Also, people's hearts are full of evil. Madness is in their hearts while they live. After that, they join the dead. ⁴But there is hope for anyone who is still alive. Even a live dog is better than a dead lion. ⁵For the living know that they will die. But the dead know nothing. They have no more reward, because the memory of them is forgotten. ⁶Their love, their hate, and their envy are already gone. They will never again have a part in anything done under the sun. ⁷Go and eat your bread with joy. Drink your wine with a happy heart. For God has already accepted what you do. ⁸Always wear white clothes. Always put oil on your head. ⁹Enjoy life with the wife you love. Do this all the days of the short life God has given you under the sun. Do it all your short days. This is your share in life and in your work under the sun. ¹⁰Whatever your hands find to do, do it with all your strength. For you are going to the grave. And in the grave there is no work or planning. There is no knowledge or wisdom there.a ¹¹I saw something else under the sun. The race is not won by the fastest. The battle is not won by the strongest. Bread does not go to the wise. Riches do not go to the smart. Favor does not go to the skilled. For time and chance happen to them all. ¹²No one knows when his time will come. Fish are caught in a cruel net. Birds are trapped in a snare. In the same way, people are trapped by evil times that fall on them suddenly. ¹³I also saw this example of wisdom under the sun. It seemed great to me: ¹⁴There was a small city with only a few men in it. A mighty king came against it. He surrounded it and built large ramps to attack it. ¹⁵Now a poor but wise man lived in that city. He saved the city by his wisdom. But no one remembered that poor man. ¹⁶So I said, "Wisdom is better than strength. But people look down on the poor man's wisdom. They do not listen to his words." ¹⁷People listen to the quiet words of the wise more than to the shouts of a ruler among fools. ¹⁸Wisdom is better than weapons of war. But one sinner can destroy much good.