Beginning
9 Nevertheless, as I pondered all this in my heart, I wanted to make all this clear—that the righteous, the wise, and their works are in God’s hand. Will there be love or hate? No one knows anything that is ahead of him. 2 Everything turns out the same for everyone. One destination waits for the righteous and the wicked, and the good,[a] the ceremonially clean and the unclean, the one who brings sacrifices and the one who does not. As it will be for the good, so it will be for the sinner. As it will be for the one who swears an oath, so it will be for the one who is afraid to take an oath.
3 This is an evil that infects everything done under the sun. Yes, they all share one fate. What’s more, people’s hearts are full of evil, and madness is in their hearts as long as they live. After that they go to the dead.
4 Now, whoever is still joined to all the living has hope, because a living dog is better than a dead lion. 5 At least the living know that they will die, but the dead know nothing. They have no further reward, because all memory of them is forgotten. 6 Their love, their hate, and their envy have already perished, and they will never again take part in anything done under the sun.
7 Go ahead, eat your food with joy, and drink your wine with a happy heart, for God is already pleased with what you do. 8 Wear white clothes all the time. Always put lotion on your head.
9 Enjoy life with the wife you love all the days of your life, that vanishes like vapor, the life which God has given you under the sun, all the days that vanish like vapor,[b] for that is your portion in life and your reward from all the hard work at which you worked so hard under the sun.
10 Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your strength, for there is no work, planning, knowledge, or wisdom in the grave, where you are heading.
11 I looked again and saw that under the sun the race is not won by the swift, nor the battle by the strong. Food is not given to the wise, nor is wealth given to those who have good judgment, nor is success given to those who have knowledge, because time and chance come upon all of them.
12 Certainly, no man knows his time. Like fish caught in a deadly net and like birds caught in a trap, people are trapped at an evil time which falls on them suddenly.
Wisdom Has Some Value
13 I also saw this example of wisdom under the sun, and it impressed me.[c] 14 There was a small city that had few men in it. A great king came against it, surrounded it, and built great siege works against it. 15 A poor man who was wise was found in it, and he saved the city by his wisdom, but no one remembered that poor man. 16 So I said, “Wisdom is better than might, but the wisdom of the poor man gets despised, and his words are not heeded.”
17 Words of the wise, spoken quietly, should be heeded more than the rant of a ruler among fools.
18 Wisdom is better than weapons of war, but one sinner destroys much good.
10 Dead flies make perfumed oil ferment and stink, just as a little stupidity outweighs wisdom and honor.
2 A wise man’s heart heads right, but a fool’s heart heads left.
3 Even when a fool is walking down the road, he does not know where he is going, and he advertises to everyone that he is a fool.
4 If a ruler’s anger rises against you, do not abandon your post, because keeping calm puts serious sins to rest.
5 There is an evil I have seen under the sun. What a mistake rulers make! 6 Stupidity is placed in many high places, but the rich are seated in low positions. 7 I have seen slaves on horses, while princes walk on the ground like slaves.
8 A person who digs a pit might fall into it, and one who breaks through a wall might be bitten by a snake.
9 A person who quarries stones may be hurt by them. Someone who splits logs may be endangered by them.
10 If the ax is dull and no one sharpens its edge, the person chopping must apply more strength, but an advantage of wisdom is that it gives success.
11 If the snake bites before it is charmed, there is no advantage to having a charmer.[d]
12 Words from a wise man’s mouth bring favor, but a fool’s lips swallow him up.
13 The fool starts out by saying stupid things, but he ends up speaking wicked madness. 14 The fool multiplies words.
No one knows what will be in the future, and who can tell him what will come after him?
15 The hard work of fools wears them out so much that they no longer know their way to town.[e]
16 How unfortunate you are, O land, when your king once was a servant,[f] and your officials overeat in the morning. 17 How blessed you are, O land, when your king is a son of nobles, and your officials eat at the right time—to get stronger, not to get drunk.
18 Because of laziness, roof beams sag. Because of idle hands, the house leaks.
19 Food is made for pleasure. Wine makes life happy, but money is the answer for everything.
20 Do not curse the king even in your thoughts, and do not curse a rich person in your bedroom, for a bird in the skies might carry your voice, or a bird in flight might reveal the matter.
11 Cast your bread on the surface of the water. Then, after many days you will find it again.[g]
2 Put part of your investment into seven or even into eight ventures, for you do not know what disaster might come upon the land.
3 If the clouds are full, they pour out rain on the earth. Whether a tree falls to the south or to the north, wherever it falls, there it will lie.
4 Whoever keeps watching the wind will never sow, and anyone who keeps looking at the clouds will never reap.
5 Just as you do not know the path of the wind,[h] or how bones form in the womb of a pregnant woman, so you do not know the work of God, who makes everything.
6 In the morning sow your seed, and at evening do not let your hand rest, for you do not know which effort will succeed, this one or that, or if both of them will be equally good.
7 Light is sweet, and it is good for eyes to see the sun.
8 Yes, even if a man lives many years, in all of them let him find joy, but let him keep in mind the days of darkness, for they will be many. Everything that is to come is vapor.
Advice to the Young
9 Young man, be happy while you are a child, and let your heart make you glad during the days of your youth. Walk down the roads on which your heart leads you and on the way your eyes see—but know that for all these, God will bring you into judgment.
10 Put frustration out of your mind, and ignore the troubles of your body, because youth and the dawn of life are vapor.[i]
12 So remember your Creator in the days of your youth,
before the bad days come and the years arrive when you will say,
“I have no delight in them,”
2 before the sun and the light of the moon and the stars are darkened,
before the clouds return after the rain,
3 before the day when the watchmen of the house tremble,
and the strong men are bent over,
and the women who grind grain cease because they are few,
and those watching through the windows can barely see.
4 Then the double doors to the street are shut,
as the grinding of the mill grows quiet.
A person wakes up at the sound of a bird,
but all the sounds of music are muffled.
5 Then they fear heights and terrors along the road.
The almond blossoms become white.
The grasshopper drags himself along,
and the caperberry has no effect.[j]
Why? Because the man is heading to his eternal home.
Then the wailing mourners will go around in the street.
6 Remember your Creator
before the silver cord is snapped,
and the golden bowl is broken,
before the jar is shattered by the spring,
and the waterwheel is broken by the well,
7 and the dust goes back into the ground—just as it was before,
and the spirit goes back to God who gave it.
8 “Nothing but vapor,” said Ecclesiastes, the speaker.[k] “It is all vapor.”
9 Besides being wise, Ecclesiastes taught the people knowledge, and he weighed, collected, and arranged many proverbs. 10 Ecclesiastes searched to find just the right words. What was written was honest—they were true words. 11 Sayings of wise men are like cattle prods, and those sayings collected by experts are like firmly fixed nails, given by one Shepherd.
12 My son, beware of anything in addition to these. There is no end of making many books, and much study wears out the body.
13 This is the conclusion of the matter. Everything has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments. For mankind, this is everything.[l]
14 Yes, God will bring everything that is done into judgment, including everything that is hidden, whether good or evil.
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.