Ecclesiastes 9

1 I thought about all those things, and I concluded that God controls [what happens to] everyone, even those who are wise and those who are righteous. No one knows whether [others] will love them or whether they will hate 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 [But we know that some time in the future] we will all die; it does not matter whether we act righteously or wickedly, whether we are good or whether we are bad, whether we are acceptable for [worshiping God] or whether [we have done things to cause us to be] unacceptable; it does not matter if we offer sacrifices [to God] or if we do not; it does not matter if we do what we have promised God that we will do or if we do not; [we all die]. The same thing will happen to good people and to sinful people, to those who solemnly promise [to do things for God] and to those who are afraid to make such promises.

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 It seems wrong that the same thing happens to everyone on this earth: Everyone dies [EUP]. Furthermore, people’s inner beings are full of evil. People do foolish things while they are alive, and then they die and join those who are already 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 While we are alive, we confidently expect [that good things will happen to us]. [We despise] dogs, but it is better to be a dog that is alive than to be a [majestic] lion that is dead.

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

5 We who are alive know that [some day] we will die, but dead people do not know anything. Dead people do not receive any more rewards, and people soon forget them.

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 [While they were alive], they loved [some people], they hated [some people], they envied [some people], but that all ends when they die. They will never again be a part of anything that happens here on the earth.

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

7 [So I say], be joyful [DOU] while you eat your food and drink your wine, because that is what God wants you to do.

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 Wear nice [MTY] clothes and make your face look nice.

Always wear smart clothes and look good.

9 Enjoy living with your wife whom you love, all during the time that God has given to you to be alive here on this earth. And even though it is difficult to understand why many things happen, enjoy doing the work that you do here on this earth.

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 Whatever you are able to do, do it with all your energy, because [some time you will die], and in the place of the dead where you are going, no one works or plans to do anything or knows anything or is wise. (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 seen something else here on the earth: The person who runs fastest does not [always] win the race, the strongest soldiers do not [always] win the battle, the wisest people do not [always] have food, the smartest people do not [always] become rich, and people who have studied a lot are not [always] (honored/treated very specially) by others; we cannot [always] control what things will happen to us and where they will happen.

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 No one knows when he will die [EUP]; fish are cruelly caught in a net, and birds are caught in snares/traps; similarly [SIM], people experience disasters at times when they do not expect them to happen.

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 Once I saw something that a wise man did that impressed me.

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

14 There was a small town, where only a few people lived. The army of a great king came to that town and surrounded it. They built dirt ramps up against the walls in order to climb up and attack the town.

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 In that town there was a man who was poor but very wise. Because of doing what that man [suggested], the town was saved; but people [soon] forgot about him.

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 So I realized that although being wise is better than being strong, if you are poor, no one will appreciate what you do, and people will soon forget what you said.

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 Speaking quietly what is [very] wise is [much] more sensible than a king shouting to foolish people.

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

18 Being wise is more useful than [a lot of] weapons; but if you do one foolish thing, [it is possible that] because of doing that, you will ruin all the good things that you have done.

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