Ecclesiastes Chapter 9
Showing all 18 verses for Ecclesiastes Chapter 9.
The People's Bible is written by people, for the people. Each verse below shows:
"For all this I considered in my heart even to declare all this, that the righteous, and the wise, and their works, are in the hand of God: no man knoweth either love or hatred by all that is before them. "
"I turned all this over in my heart, examining it closely: the righteous and the wise, and everything they do, are in God's hands. No one knows in advance whether they'll meet love or hatred in what's ahead."
You can't predict how people or circumstances will treat you tomorrow, and trying to guess or control it will only make you anxious. Put your trust in God's care rather than your own foresight, and meet whatever comes with the same steady faith either way.
"All things come alike to all: there is one event to the righteous, and to the wicked; to the good and to the clean, and to the unclean; to him that sacrificeth, and to him that sacrificeth not: as is the good, so is the sinner; and he that sweareth, as he that feareth an oath. "
"Everyone experiences the same things: one outcome comes to the righteous and the wicked, the good and the impure, those who sacrifice and those who don't; as it is with the good person, so with the sinner, and with the one who swears oaths as with the one who's afraid to."
Don't do good only because you expect a different outcome from everyone else — that's not why goodness matters. Live rightly because it's who you are and how you love, not as a transaction you expect this life to repay in kind.
"This is an evil among all things that are done under the sun, that there is one event unto all: yea, also the heart of the sons of men is full of evil, and madness is in their heart while they live, and after that they go to the dead. "
"This is a troubling thing about everything that happens under the sun: the same fate comes to everyone. And on top of that, people's hearts are full of evil, and madness fills their minds while they live — and after that, they go to the dead."
I know life can feel deeply unfair, and I won't ask you to pretend otherwise. What I ask is that you don't let that unfairness talk you into carelessness or despair — keep choosing goodness even when the scoreboard doesn't obviously reward it.
"For to him that is joined to all the living there is hope: for a living dog is better than a dead lion. "
"But there's hope for anyone still among the living — because a living dog is better off than a dead lion."
However hard your life feels right now, being alive still means there's possibility ahead of you — a chance to change, to love, to make things right. Don't waste the gift of still having time; it's worth more than any status or achievement someone else has already lost through death.
"For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not any thing, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten. "
"The living know that they will die, but the dead know nothing at all; they have no further reward, because even the memory of them fades away."
The time you have now is genuinely precious, precisely because it won't last forever and won't be remembered forever either. Use it — love people, do meaningful work, be present — instead of postponing life for some later moment that isn't guaranteed.
"Also their love, and their hatred, and their envy, is now perished; neither have they any more a portion for ever in any thing that is done under the sun. "
"Also, whatever love, hatred, or envy they had has now vanished; they no longer have any share in anything done under the sun."
Don't let grudges, envy, or unresolved feelings simmer indefinitely — your time to act on love, and to let go of hatred and envy, is now, not later. Settle what needs settling in your heart while you still can.
"Go thy way, eat thy bread with joy, and drink thy wine with a merry heart; for God now accepteth thy works. "
"Go and eat your food with joy, and drink your wine with a glad heart, because God has already approved of what you do."
You don't need permission to enjoy a good meal, a shared drink, an ordinary happy moment — I've already given it. Stop treating joy as something suspicious or as a reward you haven't earned yet; receive it as the gift it actually is.
"Let thy garments be always white; and let thy head lack no ointment. "
"Let your clothes always be white, and never let your head lack oil."
Don't save your joy, your best clothes, your celebration, for some distant special occasion — live today as though it's worth celebrating, because it is. Gladness isn't reserved for the few big days; it's meant for the ordinary ones too.
"Live joyfully with the wife whom thou lovest all the days of the life of thy vanity, which he hath given thee under the sun, all the days of thy vanity: for that is thy portion in this life, and in thy labour which thou takest under the sun. "
"Live joyfully with the wife you love, all the days of your fleeting life that God has given you under the sun — all your meaningless days — because that is your reward in this life and in the work you labour at under the sun."
Don't let the person you love become background noise in your busy life — actively enjoy them, today, while you have the time. Companionship freely given and received is one of the plainest, realest gifts you'll ever get; don't wait to appreciate it.
"Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest. "
"Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your strength, because there is no work, planning, knowledge, or wisdom in the grave, where you're going."
Give whatever you're doing right now your full effort and attention — not out of pressure, but because this moment is genuinely all you have to work with. Don't drift through your days half-present; throw yourself into the life and work in front of you.
"I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favour to men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to them all. "
"I turned again and saw under the sun that the race doesn't go to the fastest, nor the battle to the strongest, nor bread to the wise, nor riches to the intelligent, nor favour to the skilful — but time and chance happen to them all."
Don't measure your worth by outcomes alone — some of what happens to you is simply beyond your control, however skilled or hardworking you are. Do your best with what's in your hands, and hold the results with an open hand rather than a clenched fist of anxiety or pride.
"For man also knoweth not his time: as the fishes that are taken in an evil net, and as the birds that are caught in the snare; so are the sons of men snared in an evil time, when it falleth suddenly upon them. "
"For no one knows their own time: like fish caught in a cruel net, or birds caught in a snare, so people are trapped by disaster when it suddenly falls on them."
Don't assume you have all the time in the world — none of us know when our own "net" will fall. Let that awareness make you more urgent about loving well and living rightly today, not anxious, but attentive.
"This wisdom have I seen also under the sun, and it seemed great unto me: "
"I also observed this example of wisdom under the sun, and it struck me as significant."
Pay attention to real examples, not just abstract ideas, when you're trying to learn wisdom. Stories of how wisdom actually plays out in people's lives teach more than principles alone.
"There was a little city, and few men within it; and there came a great king against it, and besieged it, and built great bulwarks against it: "
"There was a small city with few people in it, and a great king came against it, surrounded it, and built massive siege works against it."
Don't assume you're beaten just because the odds look impossible — sometimes the smallest, humblest resource is exactly what turns the situation around. Stay alert for wisdom even, especially, in a crisis.
"Now there was found in it a poor wise man, and he by his wisdom delivered the city; yet no man remembered that same poor man. "
"Now there was found in the city a poor wise man, and he saved the city by his wisdom — yet no one remembered that poor man afterwards."
Do good and use whatever wisdom you have to help others, even if — especially if — no one will ever thank you or remember your name for it. The value of what you do doesn't depend on receiving credit for it.
"Then said I, Wisdom is better than strength: nevertheless the poor man’s wisdom is despised, and his words are not heard. "
"So I said, wisdom is better than strength, yet the poor man's wisdom is looked down on, and his words aren't listened to."
Don't dismiss good counsel just because it comes from someone with no status, and don't assume your own worth depends on other people recognising your wisdom. Speak what's true and helpful anyway, even when you know it might be ignored.
"The words of wise men are heard in quiet more than the cry of him that ruleth among fools. "
"The quiet words of wise people are heard more than the shouting of a ruler among fools."
You don't need to shout to be heard — speak calmly and truthfully, and trust that substance outlasts noise. Don't measure your influence by volume; measure it by whether what you say is actually worth hearing.
"Wisdom is better than weapons of war: but one sinner destroyeth much good. "
"Wisdom is better than weapons of war, but one sinner can destroy a great deal of good."
Never underestimate how much damage one careless or malicious choice can do to something many people built together with care. Guard your integrity seriously — not out of fear, but because your choices really do carry weight for others, not just yourself.