1 But all this I laid to heart, examining it all,c[ch. 8:14] how the righteous and the wise and their deeds aredDeut. 33:3 in the hand of God. Whether it is love or hate, man does not know; both are before him. 2 eJob 9:22 It is the same for all, sincefSee ch. 2:14 the same event happens to the righteous and the wicked, to the good and the evil, to the clean and the unclean, to him who sacrifices and him who does not sacrifice. As is the good, so is the sinner, and he whogZech. 5:3; [Mal. 3:5] swears is as he who shuns an oath. 3 This is an evil in all that is done under the sun, thate[See ver. 2 above] the same event happens to all. Also, the hearts of the children of man are full of evil, andhch. 1:17 madness is in their hearts while they live, and after that they go to the dead. 4 But he who is joined with all the living has hope, for a living dog is better than a dead lion. 5 For the living know that they will die, butiJob 14:21 the dead know nothing, and they have no more reward, forjch. 1:11; 8:10; Ps. 31:12; 88:5, 12; Isa. 26:14 the memory of them is forgotten. 6 Their love and their hate and their envy have already perished, and forever they have no more share in all that is done under the sun.
7 Go,kSee ch. 2:24 eat your bread in joy, and drink your wine with a merry heart, for God has already approved what you do.
8 l[Rev. 3:4] Let your garments be always white. Let notmPs. 23:5 oil be lacking on your head.
9 Enjoy life with the wife whom you love, all the days of yournch. 6:12; 7:15 vain life that he has given you under the sun, because that is youroSee ch. 2:10 portion in life and in your toil at which you toil under the sun. 10 Whatever your hand finds to do,pRom. 12:11; Col. 3:23 do it with your might,1Or finds to do with your might, do itq[ver. 5] for there is no work or thought or knowledge or wisdom in Sheol, to which you are going.
11 rch. 4:1, 7 Again I saw that under the sunsAmos 2:14, 15; [Rom. 9:16] the race is not to the swift, nort[2 Chr. 20:15; Jer. 9:23] the battle to the strong, nor bread to the wise, nor riches to the intelligent, nor favor to those with knowledge, but time andu[1 Kgs. 22:34] chancevSee ch. 2:14 happen to them all. 12 For manw[ch. 8:7] does not know his time. Like fish that are taken in an evil net, andxProv. 7:23 like birds that are caught in a snare, so the children of man arey[Prov. 29:6; Ezek. 12:13; Hos. 7:12; Luke 21:34, 35; 1 Thess. 5:3] snared at an evil time, when it suddenly falls upon them.
13 I have also seen this example of wisdom under the sun, and it seemed great to me. 14 There was a little city with few men in it, and a great king came against it and besieged it, building great siegeworks against it. 15 But there was found in itz[ch. 4:13] a poor, wise man, and he by hisaver. 18; [2 Sam. 20:22] wisdom delivered the city. Yet no one remembered that poor man. 16 But I say thatbSee ch. 7:19 wisdom is better than might, thoughc[Mark 6:2, 3] the poor man's wisdom is despised and his words are not heard.
17 The words of the wise heard indch. 4:6 quiet are better than the shouting of a ruler among fools. 18 ever. 16 Wisdom is better than weapons of war, butf[Josh. 7:1] one sinner destroys much good.