Ecclesiastes 9:4-11

Contemporary English Version

⁴ As long as we are alive, we still have hope, just as a live dog is better off than a dead lion. ⁵ We know we will die, but the dead don't know a thing. Nothing good will happen to them—they are gone and forgotten. ⁶ Their loves, their hates, and their jealous feelings have all disappeared with them. They will never again take part in anything that happens on this earth.

⁷ So be happy and enjoy eating and drinking! God decided long ago that this is what you should do. ⁸ Dress up, comb your hair, and look your best. ⁹ Life is short, and you love your wife, so enjoy being with her. This is what you are supposed to do as you struggle through life on this earth. ¹⁰ Work hard at whatever you do. You will soon go to the world of the dead, where no one works or thinks or reasons or even knows anything.

¹¹ Here is something else I have learned: