Ecclesiastes 9
9
Is Death Fair?
1I thought about something else and tried hard to understand it. I saw that God takes care of both good people and wise people and what they do. But no one knows if he will see good or bad times.
2Both good and bad things happen to everyone.
They happen to those who are fair and to those who are wicked.
They happen to those who are good and to those who are evil.
They happen to those who sacrifice and to those who do not.
The same things happen to a good person
as happen to a sinner.
The same things happen to a person who makes promises to God
as to one who does not.
3This is something unfair that happens here on earth. The same things happen to everyone. So men’s minds are full of evil and foolish thoughts while they live. After that, they join the dead. 4But anyone still alive has hope. Even a live dog is better off than a dead lion!
5The living know they will die.
But the dead no longer think about such things.
Dead people have no more reward.
People forget them.
6After a person is dead,
he can no longer show love or hate or jealousy.
And he will never again share
in the things that happen here on earth.
Enjoy Life While You Can
7So go eat your food and enjoy it.
Drink your wine and be happy.
It is all right with God
if you do this.
8Put on nice clothes
and make yourself look good.
9Enjoy life with the wife you love. Enjoy all the days of this short life God has given you here on earth. It is all you have. So enjoy the work you have to do here on earth. 10Whatever work you do, do your best. This is because you are going to the grave. There is no working, no planning, no knowledge and no wisdom there.
Time and Chance
11I also realized something else here on earth that is senseless:
The fast runner does not always win the race.
The strong army does not always win the battle.
The wise man does not always have food.
The smart man does not always become wealthy.
And the man with special skills does not always receive praise.
Bad things happen to everyone.
12A person never knows what will happen to him next.
He is like a fish caught in a cruel net.
He is like a bird caught in a trap.
In the same way, a person is trapped by bad things
that suddenly happen to him.
Wisdom Does Not Always Win
13I also saw something wise happen here on earth. And it was very impressive to me. 14There was a small town with only a few people in it. A great king fought against it and put his armies all around it. 15Now there was a wise man in the town. He was poor, but he used his wisdom to save his town. But later on, everyone forgot about him. 16I still think wisdom is better than strength. But those people forgot about the poor man’s wisdom. And they stopped listening to what he said.
17The quiet words of a wise man are better
than the shouts of a foolish ruler.
18Wisdom is better than weapons of war.
But one sinner can destroy much good.
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Ecclesiastes 9: ICB
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Copyright © 2015 by Tommy Nelson™, a Division of Thomas Nelson, Inc. All rights reserved. Used by permission.
Ecclesiastes 9
9
One Destiny for All
1For all this I laid on my heart and to ascertain all this: that the righteous and the wise, as well as their works are in the hand of God. Whether love or hatred, no one knows—everything awaits them.
2Everyone shares the same destiny: for the righteous and the wicked; for the good, the ritually clean and the defiled; for one who sacrifices and one who does not sacrifice; as the good person so the sinner; as the one who swears like the one who fears an oath.
3This is a misery in everything done under the sun: that the same destiny awaits everyone. Moreover, the hearts of all humans are full of evil, and folly is in their hearts during their lives—after that they die.
4Everyone who is among the living has hope—even a living dog is better off than a dead lion.
5For the living know that they will die, but the dead know nothing. They have no further reward, even the memory of them is forgotten.
6Their love, their hatred, and their zeal have already perished; never again will they have a share in anything that is done under the sun.
7Go! Eat your bread with gladness and drink your wine with a merry heart, for God has already accepted your deeds.
8Let your clothes always be white, and do not spare oil on your head.
9Live joyously with the wife whom you love all the days of your fleeting life that He has given you under the sun during all your fleeting days—for this is your portion in life and in your toil that you labor under the sun.
10Whatever your hand finds to do, do with all your strength, for there is no work or planning or knowledge or wisdom in Sheol, where you are going.
11I further observed under the sun: The race is not to the swift nor the battle to the mighty, nor does bread come to the wise, or wealth to the discerning, or favor to the skillful; for time and chance befall them all.
12Moreover, no man knows his time: like fish caught in a fatal net or birds caught in a snare, so people are trapped in a time of calamity, that falls upon them suddenly.
13I also observed this as wisdom under the sun, and it greatly impressed me.
14There was a little city with a few people in it and a mighty king came against it, surrounded it, and built great siege works against it.
15Now a poor, wise man was found in it, and he delivered the city by his shrewdness. Yet nobody remembered that poor man!
16So I said: “Wisdom is better than strength.” But the poor man’s wisdom is despised and his words are not heeded.
17The words of the wise heard in quiet are better than a ruler’s shout among fools.
18Wisdom is better than weapons of war, but one sinner destroys much good.
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Copyright © 2014 - Messianic Jewish Family Bible Society