People Are in the Hand of God

For I have taken all this to my heart, even to [a]examine [b]it all, that righteous people, wise people, and their deeds are (A)in the hand of God. (B)People do not know whether it will be (C)love or hatred; anything [c]awaits them.

(D)It is the same for all. There is (E)one fate for the righteous and for the wicked; for the good, for the clean and the unclean; for the person who offers a sacrifice and for the one who does not sacrifice. As the good person is, so is the sinner; the one who swears an oath is just as the one who [d]is afraid to swear an oath. This is an evil in everything that is done under the sun, that there is (F)one fate for everyone. Furthermore, (G)the hearts of the sons of mankind are full of evil, and (H)insanity is in their hearts throughout their lives. Afterward they go to the dead.

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Notas al pie

  1. Ecclesiastes 9:1 Or explain
  2. Ecclesiastes 9:1 Lit all this
  3. Ecclesiastes 9:1 Lit is before them
  4. Ecclesiastes 9:2 Lit fears an oath

Everyone faces the same fate

So I considered all of this carefully, examining all of it: The righteous and the wise and their deeds are in God’s hand, along with both love and hate. People don’t know anything that’s ahead of them. Everything is the same for everyone. The same fate awaits the righteous and the wicked, the good and the bad,[a] the pure and the impure, those who sacrifice and those who don’t sacrifice. The good person is like the wrongdoer; the same holds for those who make solemn pledges and those who are afraid to swear. This is the sad thing about all that happens under the sun: the same fate awaits everyone. Moreover, the human heart is full of evil; people’s minds are full of madness while they are alive, and afterward they die.

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Notas al pie

  1. Ecclesiastes 9:2 LXX