Ecclesiastes 9
1 I had my mind consider all this. Wise and good people and everything they do are in God's hands. Love or hate—who knows what will happen to them?
omnia haec tractavi in corde meo ut curiose intellegerem sunt iusti atque sapientes et opera eorum in manu Dei et tamen nescit homo utrum amore an odio dignus sit
2 Yet we all share the same destiny—those who do right, those who do evil, the good, the religiously-observant and those that are not, those who sacrifice and those who don't. Those who do good are as those who sin, those who make vows to God are as those who don't.
sed omnia in futuro servantur incerta eo quod universa aeque eveniant iusto et impio bono et malo mundo et inmundo immolanti victimas et sacrificia contemnenti sicut bonus sic et peccator ut periurus ita et ille qui verum deierat
3 This is just so wrong—that everyone here on earth should suffer the same fate! On top of that, people's minds are filled with evil. They spend their lives thinking about stupid things, and then they die.
hoc est pessimum inter omnia quae sub sole fiunt quia eadem cunctis eveniunt unde et corda filiorum hominum implentur malitia et contemptu in vita sua et post haec ad inferos deducentur (questioned)
4 But the living still have hope—a live dog is better than a dead lion!
nemo est qui semper vivat et qui huius rei habeat fiduciam melior est canis vivens leone mortuo
5 The living are conscious of the fact that they're going to die, but the dead have no consciousness of anything. They don't receive any further benefit; they're forgotten.
viventes enim sciunt se esse morituros mortui vero nihil noverunt amplius nec habent ultra mercedem quia oblivioni tradita est memoria eorum
6 Their love, hate, and envy—it's all gone. They have no further part in anything that happens here on earth.
amor quoque et odium et invidia simul perierunt nec habent partem in hoc saeculo et in opere quod sub sole geritur
7 So go ahead and eat your food, and enjoy it. Drink your wine with a happy heart. That's what God intends that you should do.
vade ergo et comede in laetitia panem tuum et bibe cum gaudio vinum tuum quia Deo placent opera tua
8 Always wear smart clothes and look good.
omni tempore sint vestimenta tua candida et oleum de capite tuo non deficiat
9 Enjoy life with the wife that you love—the one God gave you—during all the days of this brief life, all these passing days whose meaning is so hard to understand as you work here on earth.
perfruere vita cum uxore quam diligis cunctis diebus vitae instabilitatis tuae qui dati sunt tibi sub sole omni tempore vanitatis tuae haec est enim pars in vita et in labore tuo quod laboras sub sole
10 Whatever you do, do it with all your strength, for when you go to the grave there's no more working or thinking, no more knowing or being wise. (Sheol h7585)
quodcumque potest manus tua facere instanter operare quia nec opus nec ratio nec scientia nec sapientia erunt apud inferos quo tu properas (Sheol h7585)
11 I thought about other things that happen here on earth. Races are not always won by the fastest runner. Battles are not always decided by the strongest warrior. Also, the wise do not always have food, intelligent people do not always make money, and those who are clever do not always win favor. Time and chance affect all of them.
verti me alio vidique sub sole nec velocium esse cursum nec fortium bellum nec sapientium panem nec doctorum divitias nec artificum gratiam sed tempus casumque in omnibus
12 You can't predict when your end will come. Just like fish caught in a net, or birds caught in a trap, so people are suddenly caught by death when they least expect it.
nescit homo finem suum sed sicut pisces capiuntur hamo et sicut aves conprehenduntur laqueo sic capiuntur homines tempore malo cum eis extemplo supervenerit
13 Here's another aspect of wisdom that impressed me about what happens here on earth.
hanc quoque vidi sub sole sapientiam et probavi maximam
14 Once there was a small town with only a few inhabitants. A powerful king came and besieged the town, building great earth ramps against its walls.
civitas parva et pauci in ea viri venit contra eam rex magnus et vallavit eam extruxitque munitiones per gyrum et perfecta est obsidio
15 In that town lived a man who was wise, but poor. He saved the town by his wisdom. But no one remembered to thank that poor man.
inventusque in ea vir pauper et sapiens liberavit urbem per sapientiam suam et nullus deinceps recordatus est hominis illius pauperis
16 As I've always said, “Wisdom is better than strength.” Yet the wisdom of that poor man was dismissed—people didn't pay attention to what he said.
et dicebam ego meliorem esse sapientiam fortitudine quomodo ergo sapientia pauperis contempta est et verba eius non sunt audita
17 It's better to listen to the calm words of a wise person than the shouts of a ruler of fools.
verba sapientium audiuntur in silentio plus quam clamor principis inter stultos
18 It's better to have wisdom than weapons of war; but a sinner can destroy a lot of good.
melior est sapientia quam arma bellica et qui in uno peccaverit multa bona perdet
