Ecclesiastes 9:4-12

New International Version

⁴Anyone who is among the living has hope^[a]—even a live dog is better off than a dead lion!

⁵For the living know that they will die,
    but the dead know nothing;^(A)
they have no further reward,
    and even their name^(B) is forgotten.^(C)
⁶Their love, their hate
    and their jealousy have long since vanished;
never again will they have a part
    in anything that happens under the sun.^(D)

⁷Go, eat your food with gladness, and drink your wine^(E) with a joyful heart,^(F) for God has already approved what you do. ⁸Always be clothed in white,^(G) and always anoint your head with oil. ⁹Enjoy life with your wife,^(H) 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^(I) in life and in your toilsome labor under the sun. ¹⁰Whatever^(J) your hand finds to do, do it with all your might,^(K) for in the realm of the dead,^(L) where you are going, there is neither working nor planning nor knowledge nor wisdom.^(M)

¹¹I have seen something else under the sun:

The race is not to the swift
    or the battle to the strong,^(N)
nor does food come to the wise^(O)
    or wealth to the brilliant
    or favor to the learned;
but time and chance^(P) happen to them all.^(Q)