Ecclesiastes 9
9
1I had my mind consider all this. Wise and good people and everything they do are in God's hands. Love or hate—who knows what will happen to them?#9:1. The meaning of this last sentence is debated as evidenced by the variety of translations. It seems to be emphasizing the uncertainty of life in terms of what may be experienced. 2Yet we all share the same destiny—those who do right, those who do evil, the good, the religiously-observant and those that are not,#9:2. “The religiously-observant and those that are not:” literally, “the clean and the unclean.” those who sacrifice and those who don't. Those who do good are as those who sin, those who make vows to God are as those who don't.
3This is just so wrong—that everyone here on earth should suffer the same fate! On top of that, people's minds are filled with evil. They spend their lives thinking about stupid things, and then they die. 4But the living still have hope—a live dog is better than a dead lion!
5The living are conscious of the fact that they're going to die, but the dead have no consciousness of anything. They don't receive any further benefit; they're forgotten. 6Their love, hate, and envy—it's all gone. They have no further part in anything that happens here on earth.
7So go ahead and eat your food, and enjoy it. Drink your wine with a happy heart. That's what God intends that you should do. 8Always wear smart clothes and look good.#9:8. Literally, “white clothes and be sure to put olive oil on your head.” The sense here is to always be in a celebratory mood—white clothes were used for festivals, along with the practice of anointing the head with olive oil. 9Enjoy life with the wife that you love—the one God gave you—during all the days of this brief life, all these passing days whose meaning is so hard to understand as you work here on earth. 10Whatever you do, do it with all your strength, for when you go to the grave there's no more working or thinking, no more knowing or being wise.
11I thought about other things that happen here on earth. Races are not always won by the fastest runner. Battles are not always decided by the strongest warrior. Also, the wise do not always have food, intelligent people do not always make money, and those who are clever do not always win favor. Time and chance affect all of them.
12You can't predict when your end#9:12. Literally, “time.” will come. Just like fish caught in a net, or birds caught in a trap, so people are suddenly caught by death when they least expect it.
13Here's another aspect of wisdom that impressed me about what happens here on earth. 14Once there was a small town with only a few inhabitants. A powerful king came and besieged the town, building great earth ramps against its walls. 15In that town lived a man who was wise, but poor. He saved the town by his wisdom. But no one remembered to thank#9:15. “To thank”: implied. that poor man. 16As I've always said, “Wisdom is better than strength.” Yet the wisdom of that poor man was dismissed—people didn't pay attention to what he said.
17It's better to listen to the calm words of a wise person than the shouts of a ruler of fools. 18It's better to have wisdom than weapons of war; but a sinner can destroy a lot of good.
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Dr. Jonathan Gallagher. Released under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 Unported License. Version 4.3. For corrections send email to jonathangallagherfbv@gmail.com
Ecclesiastes 9
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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