Add parallel Print Page Options

14 There is vanity which is done on the earth, that is, there are (A)righteous men to whom it [a]happens according to the works of the wicked. On the other hand, there are (B)wicked men to whom it [b]happens according to the works of the righteous. I say that this too is vanity. 15 So I laud gladness, for there is nothing good for (C)a man under the sun except to eat and to drink and to [c]be merry, and this will join with him in his labor throughout the days of his life which God has given him under the sun.

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. Ecclesiastes 8:14 Lit strikes
  2. Ecclesiastes 8:14 Lit strikes
  3. Ecclesiastes 8:15 Or be glad, cf. 8:15a; 3:12, 22; 5:19; Luke 12:19

14 There is a vanity that happens on earth: sometimes the righteous suffer what the wicked deserve, and sometimes the wicked receive what the righteous deserve. I said, “This also is vanity!”

Humans Should Enjoy the Life That God Gives to Them

15 So I recommend enjoyment. For there is nothing better for man under the sun than to eat and to drink and to rejoice. This will accompany him in his toil the days of his life that God gives to him under the sun.

Read full chapter