Ecclesiastes 9 (New American Standard)
View In My BibleMen Are in the Hand of God
1 For I have taken all this to my heart and explain ait that righteous men, wise men, and their deeds are 1in the hand of God. 2Man does not know whether it will be 3love or hatred ; anything bawaits him. 2 4It is the same for all. There is 5one fate for the righteous and for the wicked ; for the good, for the clean and for the unclean ; for the man who offers a sacrifice and for the one who does not sacrifice. As the good man is, so is the sinner ; as the swearer is, so is the one who cis afraid to swear. 3 This is an evil in all that is done under the sun, that there is 6one fate for all men. Furthermore, 7the hearts of the sons of men are full of evil and 8insanity is in their hearts throughout their lives. Afterwards they go to the dead. 4 For whoever is joined with all the living, there is hope ; surely a live dog is better than a dead lion. 5 For the living know they will die ; but the dead 9do not know anything, nor have they any longer a reward, for their 10memory is forgotten. 6 Indeed their love, their hate and their zeal have already perished, and they will no longer have a 11share in all that is done under the sun. 7 Go then, 12eat your bread in happiness and drink your wine with a cheerful heart ; for God has already approved your works. 8 Let your 13clothes be white all the time, and let not 14oil be lacking on your head. 9 Enjoy life with the woman whom you love all the days of your d15fleeting life which He has given to you under the sun e; for this is your 16reward in life and in your toil in which you have labored under the sun.Whatever Your Hand Finds to Do
10 Whatever your hand finds to do, 17do it with all your might ; for there is no 18activity or planning or knowledge or wisdom in 19Sheol where you are going. 11 I again saw under the sun that the 20race is not to the swift and the 21battle is not to the warriors, and neither is bread to the wise nor 22wealth to the discerning nor favor to men of ability ; for time and 23chance overtake them all. 12 Moreover , man does not 24know his time : like fish caught in a treacherous net and 25birds trapped in a snare, so the sons of men are 26ensnared at an evil time when it 27suddenly falls on them. 13 Also this I came to see as wisdom under the sun, and fit impressed me. 14 There 28was 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 29poor wise man and he gdelivered the city 30by his wisdom. Yet 31no one remembered that poor man. 16 So I said, "32Wisdom is better than strength." But the wisdom of the poor man is despised and his words are not heeded. 17 The 33words of the wise heard in quietness are better than the shouting of a ruler among fools. 18 34Wisdom is better than weapons of war, but 35one sinner destroys much good.New American Standard Bible Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, California. All rights reserved. (New American Standard Version - Holy Bible)
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