전도서 9

One fate for all

¹So I took all this to heart and examined it all: the righteous and the wise and what they do are in God’s hand. Whether it will be love or hate, no one knows; everything lies ahead of them.^{a 2}It is the same for everyone: one fate comes to the righteous and the wicked, to the good, to the clean and the unclean, to those who offer sacrifices and those who do not. As it is with the good, so it is with the sinner; as it is with those who swear oaths, so it is with those who are afraid to swear.^{b 3}This is the wrong in everything that is done under the sun: the same fate comes to all. The hearts of people are full of evil, and madness is in their hearts while they live, and after that, they go to the dead. ⁴But whoever is joined with all the living has hope, since a living dog is better off than a dead lion.^{c 5}For the living know that death will come, but the dead know nothing. They have no more reward, for even the memory of them is forgotten. ⁶Their love, their hate and their envy have long since perished, and never again will they have a share in anything that is done under the sun. ⁷Go, eat your food with joy, and drink your wine with a glad heart, for God has already approved what you do. ⁸Let your clothes always be white, and do not let your head lack oil. ⁹Enjoy life with the wife you love, all the days of your brief life, a breath, which God has given you under the sun, all your days that pass like a breath. That is your share in life and in the hard work you do under the sun. ¹⁰Whatever your hand finds to do, put all your strength into it, for in Sheol, where you are going, there is no work and no planning, no knowledge and no wisdom.

Time and chance

¹¹Again I saw under the sun that the race does not go to the fastest, nor the battle to the strongest; food does not go to the wise, nor wealth to the clever, nor favor to the skilled. Time and chance come to them all. ¹²For no one knows when their time will come. Like fish caught in a cruel net, like birds caught in a snare, so people are trapped by a time of disaster that falls on them without warning. ¹³I have also seen this example of wisdom under the sun, and it impressed me greatly. ¹⁴There was a small city with few people in it. A great king came against it, surrounded it and built great siegeworks against it. ¹⁵Now there lived in it a poor man who was wise, and by his wisdom he saved the city. Yet no one remembered that poor man.^{d 16}So I said, “Wisdom is better than strength.” But the poor man’s wisdom is despised, and no one listens to his words. ¹⁷The quiet words of the wise are heeded more than the shouting of a ruler among fools. ¹⁸Wisdom is better than weapons of war, but a single sinner can ruin a great deal of good.