UST by section ECC 9:1

⌂ ← ECC 9:1–9:18 → ║ ═ ©

Ecclesiastes 9

9 Truly, I thought deeply about all these realities so that I could study them, including this one. Ultimately, it is God who controls what happens to everyone and what the difficult labor that they do produces. This is especially true for wise people and those who live fairly and justly. However, people never know what will happen to them in the future. Even for wise and righteous people, both undesirable and enjoyable things may happen to them, but they never know which is going to happen. 2 Furthermore, everyone dies eventually, no matter who they are—

whether they lived righteously or wickedly;

whether they lived well and were ceremonially clean and able to worship God, or they were ceremonially unclean and unable to worship God;

whether they offered sacrifices to God or refrained from offering sacrifices.

Good people and sinful people will both eventually die alike,

whether they did what they promised God that they would do, or they were afraid to make such promises.

None of this matters. Everyone eventually dies.

3 Yes, this is a truly lamentable part of being alive on this earth. Eventually, everyone dies, no matter who they are. But, even more so, people live lamentably during the short time that they are alive. It seems that everyone is fully intent on disobeying God by living like evil people. They also live so foolishly that they live like crazy people! And then, after they live such poor lives, they die just like everyone else!

4 Yet, as long as someone is alive,

one will have the opportunity to enjoy the few good things that people experience while alive.

Because of this, it is better to be alive than to be dead.

Even though people think little of dogs in comparison to lions,

the loathsome dog that is alive is better off than the proud, majestic lion that is dead.

5 This is because people who are still alive are generally aware that they will die someday,

but dead people know nothing!

Also, dead people have lost their opportunity to enjoy the good things that people can experience during their lives.

Furthermore, people will eventually forget about them!

6 While they are alive, people love other people.

They hate people, and they envy people.

However, even the things and people they felt these things toward died a long time ago.

Those who have died will never again have the chance

to enjoy anything good that happens during people's lives.

7 So, go and live your life! Allow yourself to be happy when you eat your food and to enjoy the experience of drinking wine. Remember: God wants you to do this! 8 Wear your best, most celebratory clothing all the time, and keep yourself groomed as if you were going to a party! 9 Enjoy the experience of living your fleeting life with your beloved wife. God has given you whatever fleeting time you continue to breathe, though it is as brief as the fading mist of my breath. God has apportioned this time for you to enjoy with your wife, even while you labor at your difficult and stressful work. 10 Whatever you can do, do it with all your energy. You should do this because you will die eventually. When you die, and your family buries you in the ground, you will no longer be able to accomplish anything meaningful or understand why life happens the way it does—or know or understand anything, for that matter!
11 Once again, I witnessed this reality about life:

The person who runs fastest does not always win the race,

nor do the strongest, most courageous soldiers always win the battle,

nor do the wisest people always have enough food to eat,

nor do the most insightful people always become financially prosperous,

nor are the people who know the most always the most successful.

No human being can control or predict what will happen to them.

12 Even more so, no one can predict when he will die.

People catch fish in deadly nets,

and people fowl birds in traps.

Similarly, every human being will experience their inevitable death

just like those fish and birds,

like a deadly trap that seizes them unexpectedly.

13 I also observed this truth about wisdom in this life, and it made a lasting emotional impact on me: 14 There was once a small town, and only a few people lived there. Then, a powerful and renowned king and his army attacked that town and besieged it on all sides. The army built massive ramps against the walls so that they could climb up and conquer the town. 15 Now, in that town, there was a man who was poor but wise nonetheless. Remarkably, the man thought wisely and counseled actions that rescued the town from the attacks of the powerful king and his army. However, in a little while, nobody remembered the poor man who rescued them. 16 So I concluded that it is truly more beneficial for people to be wise than merely being strong. Nonetheless, it is also true that no one values the wise thinking of poor people, nor will they ever pay attention to what they say.

17 People will always listen to a wise person who speaks softly more attentively

than they will to a king who merely shouts at a crowd of foolish people.

18 Being wise is actually a more effective and powerful instrument

than the weapons that soldiers use to fight wars.

Even so, the decisions and actions of a single sinful person have the potential to ruin

the good things that many other people have accomplished.

ECC C1 C2 C3 C4 C5 C6 C7 C8 C9 C10 C11 C12