Ecclesiastes 9:4-10

Lexham English Bible

Death Deprives Humans of Everything in Life

⁴ Whoever is joined^[a] to all the living has hope. After all, even a live dog is better than a dead lion! ⁵ For the living know that they will die, but the dead do not know anything. They no longer have a reward, and even the memory of them is forgotten. ⁶ What they loved and hated, as well as what they desired, has already perished. They no longer have any share in what is done under the sun.

Enjoy Life While It Lasts

⁷ Go—eat your food with joy, and drink your wine with a merry heart! For God already has approved your deeds. ⁸ Always be clothed in white garments, and never let your head lack oil! ⁹ Enjoy life with the wife whom you love all the days of your vain life which he gives you under the sun, because this is your lot in life and in the toil with which you toil under the sun. ¹⁰ Whatever your hand finds to do—do it with all your might; for in Sheol—where you are going—no one works, plans, knows, or thinks about anything.