Ecclesiastes 9

1 But 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.

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?

2 The 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.

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.

3 This [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.

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.

4 But [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.

But the living still have hope—a live dog is better than a dead lion!

5 For 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.

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.

6 Their 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.

Their love, hate, and envy—it's all gone. They have no further part in anything that happens here on earth.

7 Go, eat with joy thy bread, and drink with a glad heart thy wine, for already hath God been pleased with thy works.

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.

8 At all times let thy garments be white, and let not perfume be lacking on thy head.

Always wear smart clothes and look good.

9 See 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.

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.

10 All 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. (Sheol h7585)

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)

11 I 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.

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.

12 For 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.

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.

13 This also I have seen: wisdom under the sun, and it is great to me.

Here's another aspect of wisdom that impressed me about what happens here on earth.

14 A 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;

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.

15 and 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!

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.

16 And I said, 'Better [is] wisdom than might, and the wisdom of the poor is despised, and his words are not heard.' —

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.

17 The words of the wise in quiet are heard, More than the cry of a ruler over fools.

It's better to listen to the calm words of a wise person than the shouts of a ruler of fools.

18 Better [is] wisdom than weapons of conflict, And one sinner destroyeth much good!

It's better to have wisdom than weapons of war; but a sinner can destroy a lot of good.