Ecclesiastes 9

¹I have drawn all these things through my heart, so that I might carefully understand. There are just men as well as wise men, and their works are in the hand of God. And yet a man does not know so much as whether he is worthy of love or of hatred.

²But all things in the future remain uncertain, because all things happen equally to the just and to the impious, to the good and to the bad, to the pure and to the impure, to those who offer sacrifices and to those who despise sacrifices. As the good are, so also are sinners. As those who commit perjury are, so also are those who swear to the truth.

³This is a very great burden among all things that are done under the sun: that the same things happen to everyone. And when the hearts of the sons of men are filled with malice and contempt in their lives, afterwards they shall be dragged down to hell.

⁴There is no one who lives forever, or who even has confidence in this regard. A living dog is better than a dead lion.

⁵For the living know that they themselves will die, yet truly the dead know nothing anymore, nor do they have any recompense. For the memory of them is forgotten.

⁶Likewise, love and hatred and envy have all perished together, nor have they any place in this age and in the work which is done under the sun.

⁷So then, go and eat your bread with rejoicing, and drink your wine with gladness. For your works are pleasing to God.

⁸Let your garments be white at all times, and let not oil be absent from your head.

⁹Enjoy life with the wife whom you love, all the days of your uncertain life which have been given to you under the sun, during all the time of your vanity. For this is your portion in life and in your labor, with which you labor under the sun.

¹⁰Whatever your hand is able to do, do it earnestly. For neither work, nor reason, nor wisdom, nor knowledge will exist in death, toward which you are hurrying.

¹¹I turned myself toward another thing, and I saw that under the sun, the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, nor bread to the wise, nor wealth to the learned, nor grace to the skillful: but there is a time and an end for all these things.

¹²Man does not know his own end. But, just as fish are caught with a hook, and birds are captured with a snare, so are men seized in the evil time, when it will suddenly overwhelm them.

¹³This wisdom, likewise, I have seen under the sun, and I have examined it intensely.

¹⁴There was a small city, with a few men in it. There came against it a great king, who surrounded it, and built fortifications all around it, and the blockade was completed.

¹⁵And there was found within it, a poor and wise man, and he freed the city through his wisdom, and nothing was recorded afterward of that poor man.

¹⁶And so, I declared that wisdom is better than strength. But how is it, then, that the wisdom of the poor man is treated with contempt, and his words are not heeded?

¹⁷The words of the wise are heard in silence, more so than the outcry of a prince among the foolish.

¹⁸Wisdom is better than weapons of war. And whoever offends in one thing, shall lose many good things.

Ecclesiastes 9

¹All these things have I considered in my heart, that I might carefully understand them: there are just men and wise men, and their works are in the hand of God: and yet man knoweth not whether he be worthy of love, or hatred:

²But all things are kept uncertain for the time to come, because all things equally happen to the just and to the wicked, to the good and to the evil, to the clean and to the unclean, to him that offereth victims, and to him that despiseth sacrifices. As the good is, so also is the sinner: as the perjured, so he also that sweareth truth.

³This is a very great evil among all things that are done under the sun, that the same things happen to all men: whereby also the hearts of the children of men are filled with evil, and with contempt while they live, and afterwards they shall be brought down to hell.

⁴There is no man that liveth always, or that hopeth for this: a living dog is better than a dead lion.

⁵For the living know that they shall die, but the dead know nothing more, neither have they a reward any more: for the memory of them is forgotten.

⁶Their love also, and their hatred, and their envy are all perished, neither have they any part in this world, and in the work that is done under the sun.

⁷Go then, and eat thy bread with joy, and drink thy wine with gladness: because thy works please God.

⁸At all times let thy garments be white, and let not oil depart from thy head.

⁹Live joyfully with the wife whom thou lovest, all the days of thy unsteady life, which are given to thee under the sun, all the time of thy vanity: for this is thy portion in life, and in thy labour wherewith thou labourest under the sun.

¹⁰Whatsoever thy hand is able to do, do it earnestly: for neither work, nor reason, nor wisdom, nor knowledge shall be in hell, whither thou art hastening.

¹¹I turned me to another thing, and I saw that under the sun, the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, nor bread to the wise, nor riches to the learned, nor favour to the skilful: but time and chance in all.

¹²Man knoweth not his own end: but as fishes are taken with the hook, and as birds are caught with the snare, so men are taken in the evil time, when it shall suddenly come upon them.

¹³This wisdom also I have seen under the sun, and it seemed to me to be very great:

¹⁴A little city, and few men in it: there came against it a great king, and invested it, and built bulwarks round about it, and the siege was perfect.

¹⁵Now there was found in it a man poor and wise, and he delivered the city by his wisdom, and no man afterward remembered that poor man.

¹⁶And I said that wisdom is better than strength: how then is the wisdom of the poor man slighted, and his words not heard?

¹⁷The words of the wise are heard in silence, more than the cry of a prince among fools.

¹⁸Better is wisdom, than weapons of war: and he that shall offend in one, shall lose many good things.