Ecc 9 | NASB2020 | STEP | For I have taken all this to my heart , even to examine it all , that righteous people , wise people , and their deeds are in the hand of God . People do not know whether it will be love or hatred ; anything awaits them.

Ecclesiastes 9

People Are in the Hand of God

1 For I have taken all this to my heart, even to ^{▼▼Or explain}examine ^{▼▼Lit all this}it all, that righteous people, wise people, and their deeds are ^cin the hand of God. ^dPeople do not know whether it will be ^elove or hatred; anything ^{▼▼Lit is before them}awaits them.

2 ^gIt is the same for all. There is ^hone fate for the righteous and for the wicked; for the good, for the clean and the unclean; for the person who offers a sacrifice and for the one who does not sacrifice. As the good person is, so is the sinner; the one who swears an oath is just as the one who ^{▼▼Lit fears an oath}is afraid to swear an oath. 3 This is an evil in everything that is done under the sun, that there is ^jone fate for everyone. Furthermore, ^kthe hearts of the sons of mankind are full of evil, and ^linsanity is in their hearts throughout their lives. Afterward they go to the dead. 4 For whoever is joined to all the living, there is hope; for better a live dog, than a dead lion. 5 For the living know that they will die; but the dead ^mdo not know anything, nor do they have a reward any longer, for their ⁿmemory is forgotten. 6 Indeed their love, their hate, and their zeal have already perished, and they will no longer have a ^oshare in all that is done under the sun.

7 Go then, ^peat your bread in happiness, and drink your wine with a cheerful heart; for God has already approved your works. 8 See that your ^qclothes are white all the time, and that there is no lack of ^roil on your head. 9 ^{▼▼Lit See}Enjoy life with the wife whom you love all the days of your ^tfutile life which He has given you under the sun, ^{▼▼all...your futility not found in some ancient versions}all the days of your futility; for this is your ^vreward in life and in your work which you have labored under the sun.

Whatever Your Hand Finds to Do

10 Whatever your hand finds to do, ^wdo it with all your might; for there is no ^xactivity, planning, knowledge, or wisdom in ^ySheol where you are going.

11 I again saw under the sun that the ^zrace is not to the swift and the ^aabattle is not to the warriors, and neither is bread to the wise nor ^abwealth to the discerning, nor favor to the skillful; for time and ^acchance overtake them all. 12 For indeed, a person does not ^adknow his time: like fish that are caught in a treacherous net and ^aebirds caught in a snare, so the sons of mankind are ^afensnared at an evil time when it ^agsuddenly falls on them.

13 This too I saw as wisdom under the sun, and ^{▼▼Lit it was great to me}it impressed me: 14 there ^aiwas a small city with few men in it, and a great king came to it, surrounded it, and constructed large siegeworks against it. 15 But there was found in it a ^ajpoor wise man, and he ^{▼▼Or might have saved}saved the city ^alby his wisdom. Yet ^amno one remembered that poor man. 16 So I said, “ ^anWisdom is better than strength.” But the wisdom of the poor man is despised, and his words are ^{▼▼Lit not listened to}ignored. 17 The ^apwords of the wise heard in calm are better than the shouting of a ruler among fools. 18 ^aqWisdom is better than weapons of war, but ^arone sinner destroys much good.