Ecclesiastes 9:4-12

New King James Version

⁴But for him who is joined to all the living there is hope, for a living dog is better than a dead lion.

⁵For the living know that they will die;
But ^(A)the dead know nothing,
And they have no more reward,
For ^(B)the memory of them is forgotten.
⁶Also their love, their hatred, and their envy have now perished;
Nevermore will they have a share
In anything done under the sun.

⁷Go, ^(C)eat your bread with joy,
And drink your wine with a merry heart;
For God has already accepted your works.
⁸Let your garments always be white,
And let your head lack no oil.

⁹^[a]Live joyfully with the wife whom you love all the days of your vain life which He has given you under the sun, all your days of vanity; ^(D)for that is your portion in life, and in the labor which you perform under the sun.

¹⁰^(E)Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your ^(F)might; for there is no work or device or knowledge or wisdom in the grave where you are going.

¹¹I returned ^(G)and saw under the sun that—

The race is not to the swift,
Nor the battle to the strong,
Nor bread to the wise,
Nor riches to men of understanding,
Nor favor to men of skill;
But time and ^(H)chance happen to them all.
¹²For ^(I)man also does not know his time:
Like fish taken in a cruel net,
Like birds caught in a snare,
So the sons of men are ^(J)snared in an evil time,
When it falls suddenly upon them.