Ecclesiastes 8:14-9:10

English Standard Version

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. ¹⁵ And I commend joy, for man ^(C)has nothing better under the sun but to ^(D)eat and drink and be joyful, for this will go with him in his toil through the days of his life that God has given him under the sun.

¹⁶ When I applied my heart to know wisdom, and to see ^(E)the business that is done on earth, how neither ^(F)day nor night do one's eyes see sleep, ¹⁷ then I saw all the work of God, that ^(G)man cannot find out the work that is done under the sun. However much man may toil in seeking, he will not find it out. Even though a wise man claims to know, ^(H)he cannot find it out.

Death Comes to All

9 But all this I laid to heart, examining it all, ^(I)how the righteous and the wise and their deeds are ^(J)in the hand of God. Whether it is love or hate, man does not know; both are before him. ^2 (K)It is the same for all, since ^(L)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 ^(M)swears is as he who shuns an oath. ³ This is an evil in all that is done under the sun, that ^(N)the same event happens to all. Also, the hearts of the children of man are full of evil, and ^(O)madness is in their hearts while they live, and after that they go to the dead. ⁴ But he who is joined with all the living has hope, for a living dog is better than a dead lion. ⁵ For the living know that they will die, but ^(P)the dead know nothing, and they have no more reward, for ^(Q)the memory of them is forgotten. ⁶ Their love and their hate and their envy have already perished, and forever they have no more share in all that is done under the sun.

Enjoy Life with the One You Love

⁷ Go, ^(R)eat your bread with joy, and drink your wine with a merry heart, for God has already approved what you do.

^8 (S)Let your garments be always white. Let not ^(T)oil be lacking on your head.

⁹ Enjoy life with the wife whom you love, all the days of your ^(U)vain^[b] life that he has given you under the sun, because that is your ^(V)portion in life and in your toil at which you toil under the sun. ¹⁰ Whatever your hand finds to do, ^(W)do it with your might,^{[c] (X)}for there is no work or thought or knowledge or wisdom in Sheol, to which you are going.