Ecclesiastes 9

1For I took all this to heart and examined it all: the righteous, the wise, and their servants are in the hand of God. No one knows love or hate; everything lies before them.

2All is the same for all: one fate comes to the righteous and to the wicked, to the good and to the clean and to the unclean, to the one who sacrifices and to the one who does not sacrifice; the good person is like the sinner; the one who swears is like the one who is afraid to swear.

3This is an evil in everything done under the sun: one fate comes to everyone. Moreover, the hearts of human beings are full of evil, and madness is in their hearts while they live; afterward, they go to the dead.

4For anyone joined with the living has hope, because a living dog is better than a dead lion.

5For the living know that they will die, but the dead know nothing at all, and there is no longer any reward for them, because their memory is forgotten.

6Their love, their hatred, and their jealousy have already perished, and never again will they have a share in anything that is done under the sun.

7Go, eat your bread with joy, and drink your wine with a glad heart, for God has already approved your works.

8Let your garments always be white, and do not let your head lack oil.

9Enjoy life with the wife whom you love all the days of your fleeting life that he has given you under the sun—all your fleeting days—for that is your portion in life and in your labor at which you toil under the sun.

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

11I again saw under the sun that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the mighty, nor bread to the wise, nor riches to the discerning, nor favor to those who know; for time and chance happen to them all.

12For man does not even know his time: like fish that are caught in a deadly net, and like birds that are caught in a snare, so human beings are trapped at a time of calamity, when it suddenly falls upon them.

13I also saw this wisdom under the sun, and it seemed great to me:

14There was a small city, and few men were in it; and a great king came against it, surrounded it, and built great siegeworks against it.

15A poor wise man was found in it, and he saved the city by his wisdom; yet no one remembered that poor man.

16And I said, “Wisdom is better than strength,” but the wisdom of the poor man is despised, and his words are not heard.

17The words of the wise, spoken quietly, are heard more than the shouting of a ruler among fools.

18Wisdom is better than weapons of war, but one sinner destroys much good.