Ecclesiastes 9
Legacy Standard Bible
Mankind Is in the Hand of God
9 For I have given all this to my heart and explain [a]it that righteous men, wise men, and their service are (A)in the hand of God. (B)Man does not know whether it will be (C)love or hatred; anything may be before him.
2 (D)It is the same for all. There is (E)one fate for the righteous and for the wicked; for the good, for the clean and for the unclean; for the man who offers a sacrifice and for the one who does not sacrifice. As the good man is, so is the sinner; as the swearer is, so is the one who [b]is afraid to swear. 3 This is an evil in all that is done under the sun, that there is (F)one fate for all. Furthermore, (G)the hearts of the sons of men are full of evil, and (H)madness is in their hearts throughout their lives. Afterwards they go to the dead. 4 For whoever is joined with all the living, there is confidence; surely a live dog is better than a dead lion. 5 For the living know they will die; but the dead (I)do not know anything, nor have they any longer a reward, for the (J)memory of them is forgotten. 6 Indeed their love, their hate, and their zeal have already perished, and they will never again have a (K)portion in all that is done under the sun.
7 Go then, (L)eat your bread in gladness and drink your wine with a merry heart; for God has already accepted your works. 8 Let your (M)clothes be white all the time, and let not (N)oil be lacking on your head. 9 See life with the woman whom you love all the days of your (O)vain life, which He has given to you under the sun—all the days of your (P)vanity; for this is your (Q)portion in life and in your labor in which you have labored under the sun.
Whatever Your Hand Finds to Do
10 Whatever your hand finds to do, (R)do it with all your might; for there is no (S)working or explaining or knowledge or wisdom in (T)Sheol where you are going.
11 I again saw under the sun that the (U)race is not to the swift and the (V)battle is not to the mighty, and neither is bread to the wise nor (W)riches to the discerning nor favor to men who know; for time and (X)misfortune overtake them all. 12 Moreover, man does not (Y)know his time: like fish seized in an evil net and (Z)birds seized in a trap, so the sons of men are (AA)ensnared at an evil time when it (AB)suddenly falls on them.
13 Also this I came to see as wisdom under the sun, and [c]it was great to me. 14 There (AC)was a small city with few men in it, and a great king came to it, surrounded it, and built large siegeworks against it. 15 But there was found in it a (AD)poor wise man, and he provided a way of escape for the city (AE)by his wisdom. Yet (AF)no one remembered that poor man. 16 So I said, “(AG)Wisdom is better than strength.” But the wisdom of the poor man is despised, and his words are not heard. 17 The (AH)words of the wise heard in restfulness are better than the shouting of a ruler among fools. 18 (AI)Wisdom is better than weapons of war, but (AJ)one sinner destroys much good.
Footnotes
- Ecclesiastes 9:1 Lit all this
- Ecclesiastes 9:2 Lit fears an oath
- Ecclesiastes 9:13 Lit great it was to me
Ecclesiastes 9
Expanded Bible
Is Death Fair?
9 I ·thought about [L gave my heart to] all this and ·tried to understand it [L examined all this]. ·I saw that God controls good people and wise people and what they do [L The righteous and the wise and their works are all in the hand of God], but no one knows if ·they will experience love or hate [L love or hate awaits them].
2 ·Good [Righteous] and ·bad [wicked] people ·end up the same [have the same fate]—
those who are good and those who are evil,
those who are clean [C in a ritual sense] 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 [swears; makes an oath]
and to one who ·does not [L is afraid to swear/make an oath].
3 This is ·something wrong [the evil] that happens ·here on earth [L under the sun; 1:3]: ·What happens to one happens to [L There is one fate for] all. So people’s ·minds [L hearts] are full of ·evil and foolish thoughts [madness] while they live. After that, they join the dead. 4 But anyone ·still alive [joined to the living] has hope; even a live dog [C considered contemptible] is better off than a dead lion [C a noble animal]!
5 The living know they will die,
but the dead know nothing.
Dead people have no more reward,
and ·people forget them [L the memory of them is forgotten].
6 ·After people are dead,
they can no longer love or hate or envy [L Their love, their hate, and their jealousy have already perished].
They will ·never again share [L have no portion]
in what happens ·here on earth [L under the sun; 1:3].
Enjoy Life While You Can
7 So go eat your food ·and enjoy it [L with gladness];
drink your wine ·and be happy [L with a glad heart],
because ·that is what God wants you to do [L God has already approved your deeds].
8 Put on ·nice [L white; C festive] clothes
and ·make yourself look good [L do not spare oil on your head; Ps. 23:5; 45:7; Prov. 27:9; Is. 61:3].
9 Enjoy life with the wife you love. Enjoy all the useless [1:2] days of this useless [1:2] life God has given you ·here on earth [L under the sun; 1:3], because it is ·all you have [L your lot/reward/portion in life]. So enjoy the ·work [toil] you do ·here on earth [L under the sun; 1:3]. 10 Whatever ·work you [L your hand finds to] do, do ·your best [L with all your strength], because you are going to ·the grave [L Sheol], where there is no ·working [or action], no ·planning [or thought], no knowledge, and no wisdom [2:24–26; 3:12–14, 22; 5:18–20; 8:15; C such activities and pleasures are distractions from the meaninglessness of life].
Time and Chance
11 I also ·saw [L turned and observed] something else ·here on earth [L under the sun; 1:3]:
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 [intelligent] one does not always receive ·praise [favor].
Time and chance happen to everyone.
12 No one knows ·what will happen next [L his time].
Like a fish caught in a cruel net,
or a bird caught in a trap,
people are trapped ·by evil [or in an evil time]
when it suddenly falls on them.
Wisdom Does Not Always Win
13 I also saw something wise ·here on earth [L under the sun; 1:3] that impressed me. 14 There was a small town with only a few people in it. A great king ·fought against [invaded] it and ·put his armies all around it [L built great siegeworks against it]. 15 Now there was a poor but wise man in the town who used his wisdom to ·save [rescue] his town. But later on, ·everyone forgot about him [L no one remembered that poor wise man]. 16 I ·still think [L said that] wisdom is better than strength. But ·those people forgot about the poor man’s wisdom [L the wisdom of the poor wise man was despised], and they 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.
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