12 Behold, all of you have seen it yourselves;
    why then have you become altogether vain?

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12 You have all seen this yourselves.
    Why then this meaningless talk?

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Death Comes to All

But all this I laid to heart, examining it all, (A)how the righteous and the wise and their deeds are (B)in the hand of God. Whether it is love or hate, man does not know; both are before him. (C)It is the same for all, since (D)the same event happens to the righteous and the wicked, to the good and the evil,[a] to the clean and the unclean, to him who sacrifices and him who does not sacrifice. As the good one is, so is the sinner, and he who (E)swears is as he who shuns an oath. This is an evil in all that is done under the sun, that (F)the same event happens to all. Also, the hearts of the children of man are full of evil, and (G)madness is in their hearts while they live, and after that they go to the dead.

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Footnotes

  1. Ecclesiastes 9:2 Septuagint, Syriac, Vulgate; Hebrew lacks and the evil

A Common Destiny for All

So I reflected on all this and concluded that the righteous and the wise and what they do are in God’s hands, but no one knows whether love or hate awaits them.(A) All share a common destiny—the righteous and the wicked, the good and the bad,[a] the clean and the unclean, those who offer sacrifices and those who do not.

As it is with the good,
    so with the sinful;
as it is with those who take oaths,
    so with those who are afraid to take them.(B)

This is the evil in everything that happens under the sun: The same destiny overtakes all.(C) The hearts of people, moreover, are full of evil and there is madness in their hearts while they live,(D) and afterward they join the dead.(E)

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Footnotes

  1. Ecclesiastes 9:2 Septuagint (Aquila), Vulgate and Syriac; Hebrew does not have and the bad.

Man Cannot Know God's Ways

14 There is a vanity that takes place on earth, that there are righteous people (A)to whom it happens according to the deeds of the wicked, and there are wicked people (B)to whom it happens according to the deeds of the righteous. I said that this also is vanity.

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14 There is something else meaningless that occurs on earth: the righteous who get what the wicked deserve, and the wicked who get what the righteous deserve.(A) This too, I say, is meaningless.(B)

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“How you have (A)helped him who has no power!
    How you have saved (B)the arm that has no strength!
How you have (C)counseled him who has no wisdom,
    and plentifully declared sound knowledge!
With whose help have you uttered words,
    and whose breath (D)has come out from you?

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“How you have helped the powerless!(A)
    How you have saved the arm that is feeble!(B)
What advice you have offered to one without wisdom!
    And what great insight(C) you have displayed!
Who has helped you utter these words?
    And whose spirit spoke from your mouth?(D)

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28 For you say, (A)‘Where is the house of the prince?
    Where is (B)the tent in which the wicked lived?’
29 Have you not asked those who travel the roads,
    and do you not accept their testimony
30 that (C)the evil man is spared in the day of calamity,
    that he is rescued in the day of wrath?

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28 You say, ‘Where now is the house of the great,(A)
    the tents where the wicked lived?’(B)
29 Have you never questioned those who travel?
    Have you paid no regard to their accounts—
30 that the wicked are spared from the day of calamity,(C)
    that they are delivered from[a] the day of wrath?(D)

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Footnotes

  1. Job 21:30 Or wicked are reserved for the day of calamity, / that they are brought forth to

Bear with me, and I will speak,
    and after I have spoken, (A)mock on.

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Bear with me while I speak,
    and after I have spoken, mock on.(A)

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“How long will you torment me
    and break me in pieces with words?
These (A)ten times you have cast reproach upon me;
    are you not ashamed to wrong me?

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“How long will you torment(A) me
    and crush(B) me with words?
Ten times(C) now you have reproached(D) me;
    shamelessly you attack me.

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Surely there are mockers about me,
    and my eye dwells on their (A)provocation.

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Surely mockers(A) surround me;(B)
    my eyes must dwell on their hostility.

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Shall (A)windy words have an end?
    Or what provokes you that you answer?

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Will your long-winded speeches never end?(A)
    What ails you that you keep on arguing?(B)

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As for you, (A)you whitewash with lies;
    (B)worthless physicians are you all.
Oh that you would (C)keep silent,
    and it would be your wisdom!
Hear now my argument
    and listen to the pleadings of my lips.
Will you (D)speak falsely for God
    and speak (E)deceitfully for him?
Will you show partiality toward him?
    Will you (F)plead the case for God?
Will it be well with you when he (G)searches you out?
    Or (H)can you deceive him, as one deceives a man?

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You, however, smear me with lies;(A)
    you are worthless physicians,(B) all of you!(C)
If only you would be altogether silent!(D)
    For you, that would be wisdom.(E)
Hear now my argument;
    listen to the pleas of my lips.(F)
Will you speak wickedly on God’s behalf?
    Will you speak deceitfully for him?(G)
Will you show him partiality?(H)
    Will you argue the case for God?
Would it turn out well if he examined you?(I)
    Could you deceive him as you might deceive a mortal?(J)

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25 How forceful are upright words!
    But what does reproof from you reprove?
26 Do you think that you can reprove words,
    when the speech of a despairing man is (A)wind?
27 You would even (B)cast lots over the fatherless,
    and bargain over your friend.

28 “But now, be pleased to look at me,
    for I will not lie to your face.
29 (C)Please turn; let no injustice be done.
    Turn now; my vindication is at stake.

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25 How painful are honest words!(A)
    But what do your arguments prove?
26 Do you mean to correct what I say,
    and treat my desperate words as wind?(B)
27 You would even cast lots(C) for the fatherless(D)
    and barter away your friend.

28 “But now be so kind as to look at me.
    Would I lie to your face?(E)
29 Relent, do not be unjust;(F)
    reconsider, for my integrity(G) is at stake.[a](H)

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Footnotes

  1. Job 6:29 Or my righteousness still stands