Ecclesiastes 9

¹ For I laid all this on my heart, and my heart saw all this: That the righteous and the wise and their services are in the hand of the One, Elohim; Whether it will be love or hate, a man is not able to know; Everything before them is vanity. ² Just as to all, one event happens, to the righteous one and to the wicked one, to the good one and to the bad one, To the clean one and to the unclean one, To the one who sacrifices and to him who makes no sacrifice, So it is for the good person as for the sinner, For the one who swears just as for one fearful of an oath. ³ This is the evil in all that is done under the sun: That one destiny is for all; Moreover the heart of the sons of humanity is full of evil, And ravings are in their heart throughout their life, Yet after it, they are joined to the dead. ⁴ Indeed for anyone who is joined with all the living there is trust; For it is better for a living cur than a dead lion. ⁵ For the living know that they shall die, But the dead know nothing whatsoever; There is no further hire for them; Indeed remembrance of them is forgotten. ⁶ Both their love and their hate as well as their jealousy have perished already, And there is no further portion for them for the eon In all that is done under the sun. ⁷ Go, eat your bread with rejoicing, and drink your wine with good heart, For already the One, Elohim, has approved of your works. ⁸ In every season, let your garments be white, And oil on your head, let in not be lacking. ⁹ See life with a wife whom you love all the days of your vain life, Which He gives to you under the sun - all your vain days, For this is your portion in life And in your toil that you are toiling under the sun. ¹⁰ All that your hand finds to do, do with your vigor, For there is no doing or devising or knowledge or wisdom In the unseen where you are going. ¹¹ Again I saw under the sun That the race is not to the fleet, Nor the battle to valiant masters, Nor even bread for the wise, Nor even riches for the understanding, Nor even favor for the knowing, For season and mischance shall happen to them all. ¹² For, moreover, a man does not know his season; Like fish that are held in a vicious weir, And like birds that are held in a snare, So the sons of humanity themselves are trapped by a season of evil, When it falls on them suddenly. ¹³ I also saw this wisdom under the sun, And it seemed great to me: ¹⁴ There was a small city with only a few mortals in it, And a great king came against it and surrounded it, And he built great siege works against it. ¹⁵ Now a man was available in it, provident and wise, And he would have provided escape for the city by his wisdom, Yet not one person remembered that provident man. ¹⁶ So I said, Better is wisdom than mastery, Yet the wisdom of a provident man is despised, And his words are no longer hearkened to. ¹⁷ The words of wise men, hearkened to in rest, Are better than the outcry of a ruler among the stupid. ¹⁸ Wisdom is better than implements of attack, Yet one sinner destroys much good.