Ecclesiastes 9:1-16
New American Standard Bible
2It is the same for all. There is one fate for the righteous and for the wicked; for the good, for the clean and the unclean; for the person who offers a sacrifice and for the one who does not sacrifice. As the good person is, so is the sinner; the one who swears an oath is just as the one who is afraid to swear an oath.
3This is an evil in everything that is done under the sun, that there is one fate for everyone. Furthermore, the hearts of the sons of mankind are full of evil, and insanity is in their hearts throughout their lives. Afterward they go to the dead.
4For whoever is joined to all the living, there is hope; for better a live dog, than a dead lion.
5For the living know that they will die; but the dead do not know anything, nor do they have a reward any longer, for their memory is forgotten.
6Indeed their love, their hate, and their zeal have already perished, and they will no longer have a share in all that is done under the sun.
7Go then, eat your bread in happiness, and drink your wine with a cheerful heart; for God has already approved your works.
8See that your clothes are white all the time, and that there is no lack of oil on your head.
9Enjoy life with the wife whom you love all the days of your futile life which He has given you under the sun, all the days of your futility; for this is your reward in life and in your work which you have labored under the sun.
11I again saw under the sun that the race is not to the swift and the battle is not to the warriors, and neither is bread to the wise nor wealth to the discerning, nor favor to the skillful; for time and chance overtake them all.
12For indeed, a person does not know his time: like fish that are caught in a treacherous net and birds caught in a snare, so the sons of mankind are ensnared at an evil time when it suddenly falls on them.
13This too I saw as wisdom under the sun, and it impressed me:
14there was a small city with few men in it, and a great king came to it, surrounded it, and constructed large siegeworks against it.
15But there was found in it a poor wise man, and he saved the city by his wisdom. Yet no one remembered that poor man.
16So I said, 'Wisdom is better than strength.' But the wisdom of the poor man is despised, and his words are ignored.
King James Version
3This is an evil among all things that are done under the sun, that there is one event unto all: yea, also the heart of the sons of men is full of evil, and madness is in their heart while they live, and after that they go to the dead.
4For to him that is joined to all the living there is hope: for a living dog is better than a dead lion.
6Also their love, and their hatred, and their envy, is now perished; neither have they any more a portion for ever in any thing that is done under the sun.
7Go thy way, eat thy bread with joy, and drink thy wine with a merry heart; for God now accepteth thy works.
10Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest.
11I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favour to men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to them all.
Christian Standard Bible
Chapter 9
1Indeed, I took all this to heart and explained it all: The righteous, the wise, and their works are in God’s hands. People don’t know whether to expect love or hate. Everything lies ahead of them. 2Everything is the same for everyone: There is one fate for the righteous and the wicked, for the good and the bad, for the clean and the unclean, for the one who sacrifices and the one who does not sacrifice. As it is for the good, so also it is for the sinner; as it is for the one who takes an oath, so also for the one who fears an oath. 3This is an evil in all that is done under the sun: there is one fate for everyone. In addition, the hearts of people are full of evil, and madness is in their hearts while they live; after that they go to the dead. 4But there is hope for whoever is joined with all the living, since a live dog is better than a dead lion. 5For the living know that they will die, but the dead don’t know anything. There is no longer a reward for them because the memory of them is forgotten. 6Their love, their hate, and their envy have already disappeared, and there is no longer a portion for them in all that is done under the sun.
7Go, eat your bread with pleasure, and drink your wine with a cheerful heart, for God has already accepted your works.
8Let your clothes be white all the time, and never let oil be lacking on your head.
9Enjoy life with the wife you love all the days of your fleeting life, which has been given to you under the sun, all your fleeting days. For that is your portion in life and in your struggle under the sun.
10Whatever your hands find to do, do with all your strength, because there is no work, planning, knowledge, or wisdom in Sheol where you are going.
11Again I saw under the sun that the race is not to the swift, or the battle to the strong, or bread to the wise, or riches to the discerning, or favor to the skillful; rather, time and chance happen to all of them.
12For certainly no one knows his time: like fish caught in a cruel net or like birds caught in a trap, so people are trapped in an evil time as it suddenly falls on them.
13I have observed that this also is wisdom under the sun, and it is significant to me:
14There was a small city with few men in it. A great king came against it, surrounded it, and built large siege works against it.
15Now a poor wise man was found in the city, and he delivered the city by his wisdom. Yet no one remembered that poor man.
16And I said, "Wisdom is better than strength, but the wisdom of the poor man is despised, and his words are not heeded."
New Living Translation
Chapter 9
1This, too, I carefully explored: Even though the actions of godly and wise people are in God’s hands, no one knows whether God will show them favor. 2The same destiny ultimately awaits everyone, whether righteous or wicked, good or bad, ceremonially clean or unclean, religious or irreligious. Good people receive the same treatment as sinners, and people who make promises to God are treated like people who don’t.
3It seems so wrong that everyone under the sun suffers the same fate. Already twisted by evil, people choose their own mad course, for they have no hope. There is nothing ahead but death anyway.
4There is hope only for the living. As they say, 'It’s better to be a live dog than a dead lion!'
5The living at least know they will die, but the dead know nothing. They have no further reward, nor are they remembered.
6Whatever they did in their lifetime — loving, hating, envying — is all long gone. They no longer play a part in anything here on earth.
7So go ahead. Eat your food with joy, and drink your wine with a happy heart, for God approves of this!
8Wear fine clothes, with a splash of cologne!
9Live happily with the woman you love through all the meaningless days of life that God has given you under the sun. The wife God gives you is your reward for all your earthly toil.
10Whatever you do, do well. For when you go to the grave, there will be no work or planning or knowledge or wisdom.
13Here is another bit of wisdom that has impressed me as I have watched the way our world works.
14There was a small town with only a few people, and a great king came with his army and besieged it.
15A poor, wise man knew how to save the town, and so it was rescued. But afterward no one thought to thank him.
16So even though wisdom is better than strength, those who are wise will be despised if they are poor. What they say will not be appreciated for long.
English Standard Version
Chapter 9
1But all this I laid to heart, examining it all, how the righteous and the wise and their deeds are in the hand of God. Whether it is love or hate, man does not know; both are before him. 2It is the same for all, since the same event happens to the righteous and the wicked, to the good and the evil, to the clean and the unclean, to him who sacrifices and him who does not sacrifice. As the good one is, so is the sinner, and he who swears is as he who shuns an oath. 3This is an evil in all that is done under the sun, that the same event happens to all. Also, the hearts of the children of man are full of evil, and madness is in their hearts while they live, and after that they go to the dead. 4But he who is joined with all the living has hope, for a living dog is better than a dead lion. 5For the living know that they will die, but the dead know nothing, and they have no more reward, for the memory of them is forgotten. 6Their love and their hate and their envy have already perished, and forever they have no more share in all that is done under the sun.
9Enjoy life with the wife whom you love, all the days of your vain life that he has given you under the sun, because that is your portion in life and in your toil at which you toil under the sun.
10Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might, for there is no work or thought or knowledge or wisdom in Sheol, to which you are going.
11Again I saw that under the sun the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, nor bread to the wise, nor riches to the intelligent, nor favor to those with knowledge, but time and chance happen to them all.
12For man does not know his time. Like fish that are taken in an evil net, and like birds that are caught in a snare, so the children of man are snared at an evil time, when it suddenly falls upon them.
13I have also seen this example of wisdom under the sun, and it seemed great to me.
14There was a little city with few men in it, and a great king came against it and besieged it, building great siegeworks against it.
15But there was found in it a poor, wise man, and he by his wisdom delivered the city. Yet no one remembered that poor man.
16But I say that wisdom is better than might, though the poor man 's wisdom is despised and his words are not heard.
New International Version
3This is the evil in everything that happens under the sun: The same destiny overtakes all. The hearts of people, moreover, are full of evil and there is madness in their hearts while they live, and afterward they join the dead.
4Anyone who is among the living has hope —even a live dog is better off than a dead lion!
5For the living know that they will die, but the dead know nothing; they have no further reward, and even their name is forgotten.
6Their love, their hate and their jealousy have long since vanished; never again will they have a part in anything that happens under the sun.
7Go, eat your food with gladness, and drink your wine with a joyful heart, for God has already approved what you do.
8Always be clothed in white, and always anoint your head with oil.
9Enjoy life with your wife, whom you love, all the days of this meaningless life that God has given you under the sun—all your meaningless days. For this is your lot in life and in your toilsome labor under the sun.
10Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might, for in the realm of the dead, where you are going, there is neither working nor planning nor knowledge nor wisdom.
13I also saw under the sun this example of wisdom that greatly impressed me:
14There was once a small city with only a few people in it. And a powerful king came against it, surrounded it and built huge siege works against it.
15Now there lived in that city a man poor but wise, and he saved the city by his wisdom. But nobody remembered that poor man.
16So I said, "Wisdom is better than strength." But the poor man’s wisdom is despised, and his words are no longer heeded.
New King James Version
3This is an evil in all that is done under the sun: that one thing happens to all. Truly the hearts of the sons of men are full of evil; madness is in their hearts while they live, and after that they go to the dead.
4But for him who is joined to all the living there is hope, for a living dog is better than a dead lion.
5For the living know that they will die; But the dead know nothing, And they have no more reward, For the memory of them is forgotten.
6Also their love, their hatred, and their envy have now perished; Nevermore will they have a share In anything done under the sun.
7Go, eat your bread with joy, And drink your wine with a merry heart; For God has already accepted your works.
8Let your garments always be white, And let your head lack no oil.
11I returned and saw under the sun that— The race is not to the swift, Nor the battle to the strong, Nor bread to the wise, Nor riches to men of understanding, Nor favor to men of skill; But time and chance happen to them all.
12For man also does not know his time: Like fish taken in a cruel net, Like birds caught in a snare, So the sons of men are snared in an evil time, When it falls suddenly upon them.
13This wisdom I have also seen under the sun, and it seemed great to me:
14There was a little city with few men in it; and a great king came against it, besieged it, and built great snares around it.
15Now there was found in it a poor wise man, and he by his wisdom delivered the city. Yet no one remembered that same poor man.
