Ecclesiastes 9

¹But all this I have laid unto my heart, so as to clear up the whole of this, that the righteous and the wise, and their works, are in the hand of God, neither love nor hatred doth man know, the whole is before them. ²The whole is as to the whole; one event is to the righteous and to the wicked, to the good, and to the clean, and to the unclean, and to him who is sacrificing, and to him who is not sacrificing; as is the good, so is the sinner, he who is swearing as he who is fearing an oath. ³This is an evil among all that hath been done under the sun, that one event is to all, and also the heart of the sons of man is full of evil, and madness is in their heart during their life, and after it—unto the dead.

⁴But to him who is joined unto all the living there is confidence, for to a living dog it is better than to the dead lion. ⁵For the living know that they die, and the dead know not anything, and there is no more to them a reward, for their remembrance hath been forgotten. ⁶Their love also, their hatred also, their envy also, hath already perished, and they have no more a portion to the age in all that hath been done under the sun. ⁷Go, eat with joy thy bread, and drink with a glad heart thy wine, for already hath God been pleased with thy works. ⁸At all times let thy garments be white, and let not perfume be lacking on thy head. ⁹See life with the wife whom thou hast loved, all the days of the life of thy vanity, that He hath given to thee under the sun, all the days of thy vanity, for it is thy portion in life, even of thy labour that thou art labouring at under the sun. ¹⁰All that thy hand findeth to do, with thy power do, for there is no work, and device, and knowledge, and wisdom in Sheol whither thou art going.

¹¹I have turned so as to see under the sun, that not to the swift is the race, nor to the mighty the battle, nor even to the wise bread, nor even to the intelligent wealth, nor even to the skilful grace, for time and chance happen with them all. ¹²For even man knoweth not his time; as fish that are taken hold of by an evil net, and as birds that are taken hold of by a snare, like these are the sons of man snared at an evil time, when it falleth upon them suddenly.

¹³This also I have seen: wisdom under the sun, and it is great to me. ¹⁴A little city, and few men in it, and a great king hath come unto it, and hath surrounded it, and hath built against it great bulwarks; ¹⁵and there hath been found in it a poor wise man, and he hath delivered the city by his wisdom, and men have not remembered that poor man! ¹⁶And I said, ‘Better is wisdom than might, and the wisdom of the poor is despised, and his words are not heard.’— ¹⁷The words of the wise in quiet are heard, More than the cry of a ruler over fools. ¹⁸Better is wisdom than weapons of conflict, And one sinner destroyeth much good!

Chapter 10