Ecclesiastes 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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Ecclesiastes 9

A Common Destiny for All

1So 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. 2All share a common destiny—the righteous and the wicked, the good and the bad,#9:2 Septuagint (Aquila), Vulgate and Syriac; Hebrew does not have and the bad. 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.

3This is the evil in everything that happens under the sun: The same destiny overtakes all. The hearts of people, moreover, are full of evil and there is madness in their hearts while they live, and afterward they join the dead. 4Anyone who is among the living has hope#9:4 Or What then is to be chosen? With all who live, there is hope—even a live 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,

and even their name is forgotten.

6Their love, their hate

and their jealousy have long since vanished;

never again will they have a part

in anything that happens under the sun.

7Go, eat your food with gladness, and drink your wine with a joyful heart, for God has already approved what you do. 8Always be clothed in white, and always anoint your head with oil. 9Enjoy life with your wife, whom you love, all the days of this meaningless life that God has given you under the sun—all your meaningless days. For this is your lot in life and in your toilsome labor under the sun. 10Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might, for in the realm of the dead, where you are going, there is neither working nor planning nor knowledge nor wisdom.

11I have seen something else under the sun:

The race is not to the swift

or the battle to the strong,

nor does food come to the wise

or wealth to the brilliant

or favor to the learned;

but time and chance happen to them all.

12Moreover, no one knows when their hour will come:

As fish are caught in a cruel net,

or birds are taken in a snare,

so people are trapped by evil times

that fall unexpectedly upon them.

Wisdom Better Than Folly

13I also saw under the sun this example of wisdom that greatly impressed me: 14There was once a small city with only a few people in it. And a powerful king came against it, surrounded it and built huge siege works against it. 15Now there lived in that city a man poor but wise, and he saved the city by his wisdom. But 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 no longer heeded.

17The quiet words of the wise are more to be heeded

than the shouts of a ruler of fools.

18Wisdom is better than weapons of war,

but one sinner destroys much good.

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