Ecclesiastes 9

¹I tretide alle these thingis in myn herte, to vndirstonde diligentli. Iust men, and wise men ben, and her werkis ben in the hond of God; and netheles a man noot, whether he is worthi of loue or of hatrede.

²But alle thingis ben kept vncerteyn in to tyme to comynge; for alle thingis bifallen euenli to a iust man and to a wickid man, to a good man and to an yuel man, to a cleene man and to an vnclene man, to a man offrynge offryngis and sacrifices, and to a man dispisynge sacrifices; as a good man, so and a synnere; as a forsworun man, so and he that greetli swerith treuthe.

³This thing is the worste among alle thingis, that ben don vndur the sunne, that the same thingis bifallen to alle men; wherfor and the hertis of the sones of men ben fillid with malice and dispisyng in her lijf; and aftir these thingis thei schulen be led doun to hellis.

⁴No man is, that lyueth euere, and that hath trist of this thing; betere is a quik dogge than a deed lioun.

⁵For thei that lyuen witen that thei schulen die; but deed men knowen no thing more, nether han meede ferthere; for her mynde is youun to foryetyng.

⁶Also the loue, and hatrede, and enuye perischiden togidere; and thei han no part in this world, and in the werk that is don vndur the sunne.

⁷Therfor go thou, iust man, and ete thi breed in gladnesse, and drynke thi wiyn with ioie; for thi werkis plesen God.

⁸In ech tyme thi clothis be white, and oile faile not fro thin heed.

⁹Vse thou lijf with the wijf which thou louest, in alle the daies of lijf of thin vnstablenesse, that ben youun to thee vndur sunne, in al the tyme of thi vanyte; for this is thi part in thi lijf and trauel, bi which thou trauelist vndur the sunne.

¹⁰Worche thou bisili, what euer thing thin hond mai do; for nether werk, nether resoun, nethir kunnyng, nether wisdom schulen be at hellis, whidir thou haastist.

¹¹I turnede me to another thing, and Y siy vndur sunne, that rennyng is not of swift men, nethir batel is of stronge men, nether breed is of wise men, nether richessis ben of techeris, ne grace is of crafti men; but tyme and hap is in alle thingis.

¹²A man knowith not his ende; but as fischis ben takun with an hook, and as briddis ben takun with a snare, so men ben takun in yuel tyme, whanne it cometh sudeynli on hem.

¹³Also Y siy this wisdom vndur the sunne, and Y preuede it the mooste.

¹⁴A litil citee, and a fewe men ther ynne; a greet kyng cam ayens it, and cumpasside it with palis, and he bildide strengthis bi cumpas; and bisegyng was maad perfit.

¹⁵And a pore man and a wijs was foundun ther ynne; and he delyuerede the citee bi his wisdom, and no man bithouyte aftirward on that pore man.

¹⁶And Y seide, that wisdom is betere than strengthe; hou therfor is the wisdom of a pore man dispisid, and hise wordis ben not herd?

¹⁷The wordis of wise men ben herd in silence, more than the cry of a prince among foolis.

¹⁸Betere is wisdom than armuris of batel; and he that synneth in o thing, schal leese many goodis.

Ecclesiastes 9

¹For all this I considered in my heart even to declare all this, that the righteous, and the wise, and their works, are in the hand of God: no man knoweth either love or hatred by all that is before them.

²All things come alike to all: there is one event to the righteous, and to the wicked; to the good and to the clean, and to the unclean; to him that sacrificeth, and to him that sacrificeth not: as is the good, so is the sinner; and he that sweareth, as he that feareth an oath.

³This is an evil among all things that are done under the sun, that there is one event unto all: yea, also the heart of the sons of men is full of evil, and madness is in their heart while they live, and after that they go to the dead.

⁴For to him that is joined to all the living there is hope: for a living dog is better than a dead lion.

⁵For 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.

⁶Also 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.

⁷Go thy way, eat thy bread with joy, and drink thy wine with a merry heart; for God now accepteth thy works.

⁸Let thy garments be always white; and let thy head lack no ointment.

⁹Live 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.

¹⁰Whatsoever 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.

¹¹I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favour to men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to them all.

¹²For man also knoweth not his time: as the fishes that are taken in an evil net, and as the birds that are caught in the snare; so are the sons of men snared in an evil time, when it falleth suddenly upon them.

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

¹⁴There was a little city, and few men within it; and there came a great king against it, and besieged it, and built great bulwarks against it:

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

¹⁶Then said I, Wisdom is better than strength: nevertheless the poor man’s wisdom is despised, and his words are not heard.

¹⁷The words of wise men are heard in quiet more than the cry of him that ruleth among fools.

¹⁸Wisdom is better than weapons of war: but one sinner destroyeth much good.