Ecclesiastes 9:8-17
New American Standard Bible
Chapter 9
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.
17The words of the wise heard in calm are better than the shouting of a ruler among fools.
King James Version
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
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
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
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
Chapter 9
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
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.
