Font Size
Ecclesiastes 9
1599 Geneva Bible
Ecclesiastes 9
1599 Geneva Bible
9 1 By no outward thing can man know whom God loveth or hateth. 12 No man knoweth his end. 16 Wisdom excelleth strength.
1 I have surely given mine heart to all this, and to declare all this, that the just, and the wise, and their works are in the hand of God: and no man knoweth either love or [a]hatred of all that is before them.
2 All things come alike to all: and the same condition is to the just and to the wicked, to the good and to the pure, and to the polluted, and to him that sacrificeth, and to him that sacrificeth not: as is the good, so is the sinner, he that sweareth, as he that feareth an oath.
3 This is evil among all that is done under the sun, that there is one [b]condition to all, and also the heart of the sons of men is full of evil, and madness is in their hearts while they live, and after that, they go to the dead.
4 Surely whosoever is joined to all the living, there is hope: for it is better to a [c]living dog, than to a dead lion.
5 For the living know that they shall die, but the dead know nothing at all: neither have they anymore a reward: for their remembrance is forgotten.
6 Also their love and their hatred, and their envy is now perished, and they have no more portion forever, in all that is done under the sun.
7 Go, eat thy bread with joy, and drink thy wine with a cheerful heart: for God now [d]accepteth thy works.
8 At all times let thy garments be [e]white, and let not oil be lacking upon thine head.
9 [f](A)Rejoice with the wife whom thou hast loved all the days of the life of thy vanity, which God hath given thee under the sun all the days of thy vanity: for this is thy portion in the life, and in thy travail wherein thou laborest under the sun.
10 All that thine hand shall find to do, do it with all thy power: for there is neither work nor invention, nor knowledge, nor wisdom in the grave whither thou goest.
11 I returned, and I saw under the sun that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, nor yet bread to the wise, nor also riches to men of understanding, neither yet favor to men of knowledge: but time and [g]chance cometh to them all.
12 For neither doth man know his [h]time, but as the fishes which are taken in an evil net, and as the birds that are caught in the snare: so are the children of men snared in the evil time, when it falleth upon them suddenly.
13 I have also seen this wisdom under the sun, and it is great unto me.
14 A little city and few men in it, and a great King came against it, and compassed it about, and built forts against it.
15 And there was found therein a poor and wise man, and he delivered the city by his wisdom, but none remembered this poor man.
16 Then said I, Better is wisdom than strength: yet the wisdom of the poor is despised, and his words are not heard.
17 The words of the wise are more heard in quietness, than the cry of him that ruleth among fools.
18 Better is wisdom than weapons of war: but one sinner destroyeth much good.
Footnotes
- Ecclesiastes 9:1 Meaning, what things he ought to choose or refuse: or man knoweth not by these outward things, that is, by prosperity or adversity, whom God doth favor or hate, for he sendeth them as well to the wicked as to the godly.
- Ecclesiastes 9:3 In outward things, as riches and poverty, sickness and health, there is no difference between the godly and the wicked: but the difference is that the godly are assured by faith of God’s favor and assistance.
- Ecclesiastes 9:4 He noteth the Epicureans and carnal men, which made their belly their god, and had no pleasure, but in this life, wishing rather to be an abased and vile person in this life, than a man of authority, and so to die, which is meant by the dog and lion.
- Ecclesiastes 9:7 They flatter themselves to be in God’s favor, because they have all things in abundance.
- Ecclesiastes 9:8 Rejoice, be merry, and spare for no cost, thus speak the wicked belly-gods.
- Ecclesiastes 9:9 Hebrew, regard the life.
- Ecclesiastes 9:11 Thus the worldlings say to prove that all things are lawful for them, and attribute that to chance and fortune, which is done by the providence of God.
- Ecclesiastes 9:12 That is, he doth not foresee what shall come.
Ecclesiastes 9
New International Version
Ecclesiastes 9
New International Version
A Common Destiny for All
9 So I reflected on all this and concluded that the righteous and the wise and what they do are in God’s hands, but no one knows whether love or hate awaits them.(A) 2 All share a common destiny—the righteous and the wicked, the good and the bad,[a] the clean and the unclean, those who offer sacrifices and those who do not.
As it is with the good,
so with the sinful;
as it is with those who take oaths,
so with those who are afraid to take them.(B)
3 This is the evil in everything that happens under the sun: The same destiny overtakes all.(C) The hearts of people, moreover, are full of evil and there is madness in their hearts while they live,(D) and afterward they join the dead.(E) 4 Anyone who is among the living has hope[b]—even a live dog is better off than a dead lion!
5 For the living know that they will die,
but the dead know nothing;(F)
they have no further reward,
and even their name(G) is forgotten.(H)
6 Their love, their hate
and their jealousy have long since vanished;
never again will they have a part
in anything that happens under the sun.(I)
7 Go, eat your food with gladness, and drink your wine(J) with a joyful heart,(K) for God has already approved what you do. 8 Always be clothed in white,(L) and always anoint your head with oil. 9 Enjoy life with your wife,(M) 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(N) in life and in your toilsome labor under the sun. 10 Whatever(O) your hand finds to do, do it with all your might,(P) for in the realm of the dead,(Q) where you are going, there is neither working nor planning nor knowledge nor wisdom.(R)
11 I have seen something else under the sun:
The race is not to the swift
or the battle to the strong,(S)
nor does food come to the wise(T)
or wealth to the brilliant
or favor to the learned;
but time and chance(U) happen to them all.(V)
12 Moreover, no one knows when their hour will come:
As fish are caught in a cruel net,
or birds are taken in a snare,
so people are trapped by evil times(W)
that fall unexpectedly upon them.(X)
Wisdom Better Than Folly
13 I also saw under the sun this example of wisdom(Y) that greatly impressed me: 14 There 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. 15 Now there lived in that city a man poor but wise, and he saved the city by his wisdom. But nobody remembered that poor man.(Z) 16 So I said, “Wisdom is better than strength.” But the poor man’s wisdom is despised, and his words are no longer heeded.(AA)
17 The quiet words of the wise are more to be heeded
than the shouts of a ruler of fools.
18 Wisdom(AB) is better than weapons of war,
but one sinner destroys much good.
Footnotes
- Ecclesiastes 9:2 Septuagint (Aquila), Vulgate and Syriac; Hebrew does not have and the bad.
- Ecclesiastes 9:4 Or What then is to be chosen? With all who live, there is hope
1599 Geneva Bible (GNV) 
Geneva Bible, 1599 Edition. Published by Tolle Lege Press. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, without written permission from the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations in articles, reviews, and broadcasts.
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.