Ecclesiastes 9 - Living Bible (TLB)

9 This, too, I carefully explored—that godly and wise men are in God’s will; no one knows whether he will favor them or not. All is chance! 2-3 The same providence confronts everyone, whether good or bad, religious or irreligious, profane or godly. It seems so unfair that one fate comes to all. That is why men are not more careful to be good but instead choose their own mad course, for they have no hope—there is nothing but death ahead anyway.

4 There is hope only for the living. “It is better to be a live dog than a dead lion!” 5 For the living at least know that they will die! But the dead know nothing ; they don’t even have their memories.[a] 6 Whatever they did in their lifetimes—loving, hating, envying—is long gone, and they have no part in anything here on earth anymore. 7 So go ahead, eat, drink, and be merry, for it makes no difference to God! 8 Wear fine clothes—with a dash of cologne! 9 Live happily with the woman you love through the fleeting days of life, for the wife God gives you is your best reward down here for all your earthly toil. 10 Whatever you do, do well, for in death, where you are going, there is no working or planning, or knowing, or understanding.*

11 Again I looked throughout the earth and saw that the swiftest person does not always win the race, nor the strongest man the battle, and that wise men are often poor, and skillful men are not necessarily famous; but it is all by chance, by happening to be at the right place at the right time. 12 A man never knows when he is going to run into bad luck. He is like a fish caught in a net, or a bird caught in a snare.

13 Here is another thing that has made a deep impression on me as I have watched human affairs: 14 There was a small city with only a few people living in it, and a great king came with his army and besieged it. 15 There was in the city a wise man, very poor, and he knew what to do to save the city, and so it was rescued. But afterwards no one thought any more about him. 16 Then I realized that though wisdom is better than strength, nevertheless, if the wise man is poor, he will be despised, and what he says will not be appreciated. 17 But even so, the quiet words of a wise man are better than the shout of a king of fools. 18 Wisdom is better than weapons of war, but one rotten apple can spoil a barrelful.

Footnotes

  1. Ecclesiastes 9:5 But the dead know nothing; they don’t even have their memories. These statements are Solomon’s discouraged opinion and do not reflect a knowledge of God’s truth on these points. Also v. 10.

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Ecclesiastes 9 - Young's Literal Translation (YLT)

9 But all this I have laid unto my heart, so as to clear up the whole of this, that the righteous and the wise, and their works, [are] in the hand of God, neither love nor hatred doth man know, the whole [is] before them. 2 The whole [is] as to the whole; one event is to the righteous and to the wic...
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Ecclesiastes 9 - Wycliffe Bible (WYC)

9 I treated all these things in mine heart, to understand diligently. Just men, and wise men there be, and their works be in the hand of God; and nevertheless a man knoweth not, whether he is worthy of love or of hate. (I treated, or considered, all these things in my mind, to diligently understand ...
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Ecclesiastes 9 - World English Bible (WEB)

9 For all this I laid to my heart, even to explore all this: that the righteous, and the wise, and their works, are in the hand of God; whether it is love or hatred, man doesn’t know it; all is before them. 2 All things come alike to all. There is one event to the righteous and to the wicked; to th...
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Ecclesiastes 9 - The Voice (VOICE)

9 Teacher: So I set my mind on all of this, examined it thoroughly, and here’s what I think: The righteous and the wise and all their deeds are in God’s hands. Whether they are destined to be loved or hated, no one but God knows. 2 Everyone shares a common destiny—the righteous and the wicked, the ...
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Ecclesiastes 9 - Tree of Life Version (TLV)

One Destiny for All9 For all this I laid on my heart and to ascertain all this: that the righteous and the wise, as well as their works are in the hand of God. Whether love or hatred, no one knows—everything awaits them. 2 Everyone shares the same destiny: for the righteous and the wicked; for the g...
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Ecclesiastes 9 - Revised Standard Version (RSV)

Take Life as It Comes9 But all this I laid to heart, examining it all, how the righteous and the wise and their deeds are in the hand of God; whether it is love or hate man does not know. Everything before them is vanity,[a] 2 since one fate comes to all, to the righteous and the wicked, to the goo...
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Ecclesiastes 9 - New Revised Standard Version, Anglicised (NRSVA)

Take Life as It Comes9 All this I laid to heart, examining it all, how the righteous and the wise and their deeds are in the hand of God; whether it is love or hate one does not know. Everything that confronts them 2 is vanity,[a] since the same fate comes to all, to the righteous and the wicked, t...
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Ecclesiastes 9 - New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

Take Life as It Comes9 All this I laid to heart, examining it all, how the righteous and the wise and their deeds are in the hand of God; whether it is love or hate one does not know. Everything that confronts them 2 is vanity,[a] since the same fate comes to all, to the righteous and the wicked, to...
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Ecclesiastes 9 - New Living Translation (NLT)

Death Comes to All9 This, too, I carefully explored: Even though the actions of godly and wise people are in God’s hands, no one knows whether God will show them favor. 2 The same destiny ultimately awaits everyone, whether righteous or wicked, good or bad,[a] ceremonially clean or unclean, religiou...
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Ecclesiastes 9 - New Life Version (NLV)

9 For I have thought of all this, how good and wise men and their works are in the hand of God. Man does not know if love or hate is waiting for them. 2 It is the same for all. The same thing will happen to both the man who is good and the man who is sinful. The same thing will happen to the clean a...
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Ecclesiastes 9 - New King James Version (NKJV)

Death Comes to All9 For I [a]considered all this in my heart, so that I could declare it all: (A)that the righteous and the wise and their works are in the hand of God. People know neither love nor hatred by anything they see before them. 2 (B)All things come alike to all:One event happens to the r...
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Ecclesiastes 9 - New International Version - UK (NIVUK)

A common destiny for all9 So I reflected on all this and concluded that the righteous and the wise and what they do are in God’s hands, but no one knows whether love or hate awaits them. 2 All share a common destiny – the righteous and the wicked, the good and the bad,[a] the clean and the unclean,...
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Ecclesiastes 9 - New International Version (NIV)

A Common Destiny for All9 So I reflected on all this and concluded that the righteous and the wise and what they do are in God’s hands, but no one knows whether love or hate awaits them.(A) 2 All share a common destiny—the righteous and the wicked, the good and the bad,[a] the clean and the unclean,...
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Ecclesiastes 9 - New International Reader's Version (NIRV)

Everyone Dies9 I thought about all these things. I realized that those who are wise and do what is right are under God’s control. What they do is also under his control. But no one knows whether they will be loved or hated. 2 Everyone will die someday. Death comes to godly and sinful people alike. ...
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Ecclesiastes 9 - New English Translation (NET)

Everyone Will Die9 So I reflected on all this,[a] attempting to clear[b] it all up.I concluded that[c] the righteous and the wise, as well as their works, are in the hand of God;whether a person will be loved or hated[d]—no one knows what lies ahead.[e]2 Everyone shares the same fate[f]—the righteou...
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