11 I have seen something else under the sun:

The race is not to the swift
    or the battle to the strong,(A)
nor does food come to the wise(B)
    or wealth to the brilliant
    or favor to the learned;
but time and chance(C) happen to them all.(D)

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23 This is what the Lord says:

“Let not the wise boast of their wisdom(A)
    or the strong boast of their strength(B)
    or the rich boast of their riches,(C)

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30 There is no wisdom,(A) no insight, no plan
    that can succeed against the Lord.(B)

31 The horse is made ready for the day of battle,
    but victory rests with the Lord.(C)

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37 Who can speak and have it happen
    if the Lord has not decreed it?(A)
38 Is it not from the mouth of the Most High
    that both calamities and good things come?(B)

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11 The lowly he sets on high,(A)
    and those who mourn(B) are lifted(C) to safety.
12 He thwarts the plans(D) of the crafty,
    so that their hands achieve no success.(E)
13 He catches the wise(F) in their craftiness,(G)
    and the schemes of the wily are swept away.(H)
14 Darkness(I) comes upon them in the daytime;
    at noon they grope as in the night.(J)

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17 I said to myself,

“God will bring into judgment(A)
    both the righteous and the wicked,
for there will be a time for every activity,
    a time to judge every deed.”(B)

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14 The swift will not escape,(A)
    the strong(B) will not muster their strength,
    and the warrior will not save his life.(C)
15 The archer(D) will not stand his ground,
    the fleet-footed soldier will not get away,
    and the horseman(E) will not save his life.(F)
16 Even the bravest warriors(G)
    will flee naked on that day,”
declares the Lord.

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14 I know that everything God does will endure forever; nothing can be added to it and nothing taken from it. God does it so that people will fear him.(A)

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10 His pleasure is not in the strength(A) of the horse,(B)
    nor his delight in the legs of the warrior;
11 the Lord delights(C) in those who fear him,(D)
    who put their hope(E) in his unfailing love.(F)

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15 He said: “Listen, King Jehoshaphat and all who live in Judah and Jerusalem! This is what the Lord says to you: ‘Do not be afraid or discouraged(A) because of this vast army. For the battle(B) is not yours, but God’s.

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11 In him we were also chosen,[a] having been predestined(A) according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose(B) of his will,

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Footnotes

  1. Ephesians 1:11 Or were made heirs

14 The wise have eyes in their heads,
    while the fool walks in the darkness;
but I came to realize
    that the same fate overtakes them both.(A)

15 Then I said to myself,

“The fate of the fool will overtake me also.
    What then do I gain by being wise?”(B)
I said to myself,
    “This too is meaningless.”

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18 But remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth,(A) and so confirms his covenant, which he swore to your ancestors, as it is today.

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13 Consider what God has done:(A)

Who can straighten
    what he has made crooked?(B)

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And I saw that all toil and all achievement spring from one person’s envy of another. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.(A)

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“The swift cannot flee(A)
    nor the strong escape.
In the north by the River Euphrates(B)
    they stumble and fall.(C)

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Oppression, Toil, Friendlessness

Again I looked and saw all the oppression(A) that was taking place under the sun:

I saw the tears of the oppressed—
    and they have no comforter;
power was on the side of their oppressors—
    and they have no comforter.(B)

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Wisdom and Folly Are Meaningless

12 Then I turned my thoughts to consider wisdom,
    and also madness and folly.(A)
What more can the king’s successor do
    than what has already been done?(B)

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Therefore pride(A) is their necklace;(B)
    they clothe themselves with violence.(C)
From their callous hearts(D) comes iniquity[a];
    their evil imaginations have no limits.

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Footnotes

  1. Psalm 73:7 Syriac (see also Septuagint); Hebrew Their eyes bulge with fat

16 No king is saved by the size of his army;(A)
    no warrior escapes by his great strength.
17 A horse(B) is a vain hope for deliverance;
    despite all its great strength it cannot save.

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29 But if he remains silent,(A) who can condemn him?(B)
    If he hides his face,(C) who can see him?
Yet he is over individual and nation alike,(D)

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14 Absalom and all the men of Israel said, “The advice(A) of Hushai the Arkite is better than that of Ahithophel.”(B) For the Lord had determined to frustrate(C) the good advice of Ahithophel in order to bring disaster(D) on Absalom.(E)

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“Do not keep talking so proudly
    or let your mouth speak such arrogance,(A)
for the Lord is a God who knows,(B)
    and by him deeds(C) are weighed.(D)

“The bows of the warriors are broken,(E)
    but those who stumbled are armed with strength.(F)
Those who were full hire themselves out for food,
    but those who were hungry(G) are hungry no more.
She who was barren(H) has borne seven children,
    but she who has had many sons pines away.

“The Lord brings death and makes alive;(I)
    he brings down to the grave and raises up.(J)
The Lord sends poverty and wealth;(K)
    he humbles and he exalts.(L)
He raises(M) the poor(N) from the dust(O)
    and lifts the needy(P) from the ash heap;
he seats them with princes
    and has them inherit a throne of honor.(Q)

“For the foundations(R) of the earth are the Lord’s;
    on them he has set the world.
He will guard the feet(S) of his faithful servants,(T)
    but the wicked will be silenced in the place of darkness.(U)

“It is not by strength(V) that one prevails;
10     those who oppose the Lord will be broken.(W)
The Most High will thunder(X) from heaven;
    the Lord will judge(Y) the ends of the earth.

“He will give strength(Z) to his king
    and exalt the horn(AA) of his anointed.”

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23 When Ahithophel saw that his advice(A) had not been followed, he saddled his donkey and set out for his house in his hometown. He put his house in order(B) and then hanged himself. So he died and was buried in his father’s tomb.

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18 And you will again see the distinction between the righteous(A) and the wicked, between those who serve God and those who do not.(B)

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