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Ecclesiastes 9:5–10

5 For the living know that they will die;

But cthe dead know nothing,

And they have no more reward,

For dthe memory of them is forgotten.

6 Also their love, their hatred, and their envy have now perished;

Nevermore will they have a share

In anything done under the sun.

7 Go, eeat your bread with joy,

And drink your wine with a merry heart;

For God has already accepted your works.

8 Let your garments always be white,

And let your head lack no oil.

3Live joyfully with the wife whom you love all the days of your vain life which He has given you under the sun, all your days of vanity; ffor that is your portion in life, and in the labor which you perform under the sun.

10 gWhatever your hand finds to do, do it with your hmight; for there is no work or device or knowledge or wisdom in the grave where you are going.

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Ecclesiastes 9:5–10 — The New International Version (NIV)

For the living know that they will die,

but the dead know nothing;

they have no further reward,

and even their name is forgotten.

Their love, their hate

and their jealousy have long since vanished;

never again will they have a part

in anything that happens under the sun.

Go, eat your food with gladness, and drink your wine with a joyful heart, for God has already approved what you do. Always be clothed in white, and always anoint your head with oil. Enjoy 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. 10 Whatever 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.

Ecclesiastes 9:5–10 — English Standard Version (ESV)

For the living know that they will die, but the dead know nothing, and they have no more reward, for the memory of them is forgotten. 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.

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

Let your garments be always white. Let not oil be lacking on your head.

Enjoy life with the wife whom you love, all the days of your vain life that he has given you under the sun, because that is your portion in life and in your toil at which you toil under the sun. 10 Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might, for there is no work or thought or knowledge or wisdom in Sheol, to which you are going.

Ecclesiastes 9:5–10 — King James Version (KJV 1900)

For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not any thing, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten. Also their love, and their hatred, and their envy, is now perished; neither have they any more a portion for ever in any thing that is done under the sun.

Go thy way, eat thy bread with joy, and drink thy wine with a merry heart; for God now accepteth thy works. Let thy garments be always white; and let thy head lack no ointment. Live joyfully with the wife whom thou lovest all the days of the life of thy vanity, which he hath given thee under the sun, all the days of thy vanity: for that is thy portion in this life, and in thy labour which thou takest under the sun. 10 Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest.

Ecclesiastes 9:5–10 — New Living Translation (NLT)

The living at least know they will die, but the dead know nothing. They have no further reward, nor are they remembered. Whatever they did in their lifetime—loving, hating, envying—is all long gone. They no longer play a part in anything here on earth. So go ahead. Eat your food with joy, and drink your wine with a happy heart, for God approves of this! Wear fine clothes, with a splash of cologne!

Live happily with the woman you love through all the meaningless days of life that God has given you under the sun. The wife God gives you is your reward for all your earthly toil. 10 Whatever you do, do well. For when you go to the grave, there will be no work or planning or knowledge or wisdom.

Ecclesiastes 9:5–10 — New Century Version (NCV)

The living know they will die,

but the dead know nothing.

Dead people have no more reward,

and people forget them.

After people are dead,

they can no longer love or hate or envy.

They will never again share

in what happens here on earth.

So go eat your food and enjoy it;

drink your wine and be happy,

because that is what God wants you to do.

Put on nice clothes

and make yourself look good.

Enjoy life with the wife you love. Enjoy all the useless days of this useless life God has given you here on earth, because it is all you have. So enjoy the work you do here on earth. 10 Whatever work you do, do your best, because you are going to the grave, where there is no working, no planning, no knowledge, and no wisdom.

Ecclesiastes 9:5–10 — American Standard Version (ASV)

For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not anything, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten. As well their love, as their hatred and their envy, is perished long ago; neither have they any more a portion for ever in anything that is done under the sun.

Go thy way, eat thy bread with joy, and drink thy wine with a merry heart; for God hath already accepted thy works. Let thy garments be always white; and let not thy head lack oil. Live joyfully with the wife whom thou lovest all the days of thy life of vanity, which he hath given thee under the sun, all thy days of vanity: for that is thy portion in life, and in thy labor wherein thou laborest under the sun. 10 Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in Sheol, whither thou goest.

Ecclesiastes 9:5–10 — 1890 Darby Bible (DARBY)

For the living know that they shall die; but the dead know not anything, neither have they any more a reward, for the memory of them is forgotten. Their love also, and their hatred, and their envy is already perished; neither have they any more for ever a portion in all that is done under the sun. Go, eat thy bread with joy, and drink thy wine with a merry heart; for God hath already accepted thy works. Let thy garments be always white, and let not thy head lack oil. Enjoy life with the wife whom thou lovest all the days of the life of thy vanity, which he hath given thee under the sun, all the days of thy vanity; for that is thy portion in life, and in thy labour wherein thou art labouring under the sun. 10 Whatever thy hand findeth to do, do with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in Sheol, whither thou goest.

Ecclesiastes 9:5–10 — GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)

The living know that they will die, but the dead don’t know anything. There is no more reward for the dead when the memory of them has faded. Their love, their hate, and their passions have already vanished. They will never again take part in anything that happens under the sun. 

Go, enjoy eating your food, and drink your wine cheerfully, because God has already accepted what you’ve done. Always wear clean clothes, and never go without lotion on your head. Enjoy life with your wife, whom you love, during all your brief, pointless life. God has given you your pointless life under the sun. This is your lot ⸤in life⸥ and what you get for the hard work that you do under the sun. 

10 Whatever presents itself for you to do, do it with ⸤all⸥ your might, because there is no work, planning, knowledge, or skill in the grave where you’re going. 

Ecclesiastes 9:5–10 — The Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)

For the living know that they will die, but the dead don’t know anything. There is no longer a reward for them because the memory of them is forgotten. Their love, their hate, and their envy have already disappeared, and there is no longer a portion for them in all that is done under the sun.

Go, eat your bread with pleasure, and drink your wine with a cheerful heart, for God has already accepted your works. Let your clothes be white all the time, and never let oil be lacking on your head. Enjoy life with the wife you love all the days of your fleeting life, which has been given to you under the sun, all your fleeting days. For that is your portion in life and in your struggle under the sun. 10 Whatever your hands find to do, do with all your strength, because there is no work, planning, knowledge, or wisdom in Sheol where you are going.

Ecclesiastes 9:5–10 — The New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

The living know that they will die, but the dead know nothing; they have no more reward, and even the memory of them is lost. Their love and their hate and their envy have already perished; never again will they have any share in all that happens under the sun.

Go, eat your bread with enjoyment, and drink your wine with a merry heart; for God has long ago approved what you do. Let your garments always be white; do not let oil be lacking on your head. Enjoy life with the wife whom you love, all the days of your vain life that are given you under the sun, because that is your portion in life and in your toil at which you toil under the sun. 10 Whatever your hand finds to do, do with your might; for there is no work or thought or knowledge or wisdom in Sheol, to which you are going.

Ecclesiastes 9:5–10 — The Lexham English Bible (LEB)

For the living know that they will die, but the dead do not know anything. They no longer have a reward, and even the memory of them is forgotten. What they loved and hated, as well as what they desired, has already perished. They no longer have any share in what is done under the sun.

Go—eat your food with joy, and drink your wine with a merry heart! For God already has approved your deeds. Always be clothed in white garments, and never let your head lack oil! Enjoy life with the wife whom you love all the days of your vain life which he gives you under the sun, because this is your lot in life and in the toil with which you toil under the sun. 10 Whatever your hand finds to do—do it with all your might; for in Sheol—where you are going—no one works, plans, knows, or thinks about anything.

Ecclesiastes 9:5–10 — New International Reader’s Version (1998) (NIrV)

People who are still alive know they’ll die.

But those who have died don’t know anything.

They don’t receive any more rewards.

And they are soon forgotten.

Their love, hate and jealousy disappear.

They will never share again

in anything that happens on earth.

Go and enjoy your food. Be joyful as you drink your wine. Now is the time God favors what you do. Always wear white clothes to show you are happy. Anoint your head with olive oil.

You love your wife. So enjoy life with her. Do it all the days of this meaningless life God has given you on earth. That’s what he made you for. That’s what you get for all of your hard work on earth.

10 No matter what you do, work at it with all your might. Remember, you are going to your grave. And there isn’t any work or planning or knowledge or wisdom there.

Ecclesiastes 9:5–10 — New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update (NASB95)

For the living know they will die; but the dead do not know anything, nor have they any longer a reward, for their memory is forgotten.

Indeed their love, their hate and their zeal have already perished, and they will no longer have a share in all that is done under the sun.

Go then, eat your bread in happiness and drink your wine with a cheerful heart; for God has already approved your works.

Let your clothes be white all the time, and let not oil be lacking on your head.

Enjoy life with the woman whom you love all the days of your fleeting life which He has given to you under the sun; for this is your reward in life and in your toil in which you have labored under the sun.

10 Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might; for there is no activity or planning or knowledge or wisdom in Sheol where you are going.


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