9¹ 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 wicked, to the good, and to the clean, and to the unclean, and to him who is sacrificing, and to him who is not sacrificing; as 'is' the good, so 'is' the sinner, he who is swearing as he who is fearing an oath. ³ This 'is' an evil among all that hath been done under the sun, that one event 'is' to all, and also the heart of the sons of man is full of evil, and madness 'is' in their heart during their life, and after it—unto the dead.

⁴ But 'to' him who is joined unto all the living there is confidence, for to a living dog it 'is' better than to the dead lion. ⁵ For the living know that they die, and the dead know not anything, and there is no more to them a reward, for their remembrance hath been forgotten. ⁶ Their love also, their hatred also, their envy also, hath already perished, and they have no more a portion to the age in all that hath been done under the sun. ⁷ Go, eat with joy thy bread, and drink with a glad heart thy wine, for already hath God been pleased with thy works. ⁸ At all times let thy garments be white, and let not perfume be lacking on thy head. ⁹ See life with the wife whom thou hast loved, all the days of the life of thy vanity, that He hath given to thee under the sun, all the days of thy vanity, for it 'is' thy portion in life, even of thy labour that thou art labouring at under the sun. ¹⁰ All that thy hand findeth to do, with thy power do, for there is no work, and device, and knowledge, and wisdom in Sheol whither thou art going.

¹¹ I have turned so as to see under the sun, that not to the swift 'is' the race, nor to the mighty the battle, nor even to the wise bread, nor even to the intelligent wealth, nor even to the skilful grace, for time and chance happen with them all. ¹² For even man knoweth not his time; as fish that are taken hold of by an evil net, and as birds that are taken hold of by a snare, like these 'are' the sons of man snared at an evil time, when it falleth upon them suddenly.

¹³ This also I have seen: wisdom under the sun, and it is great to me. ¹⁴ A little city, and few men in it, and a great king hath come unto it, and hath surrounded it, and hath built against it great bulwarks; ¹⁵ and there hath been found in it a poor wise man, and he hath delivered the city by his wisdom, and men have not remembered that poor man! ¹⁶ And I said, 'Better 'is' wisdom than might, and the wisdom of the poor is despised, and his words are not heard.'— ¹⁷ The words of the wise in quiet are heard, More than the cry of a ruler over fools. ¹⁸ Better 'is' wisdom than weapons of conflict, And one sinner destroyeth much good!

9¹ 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; both are before him. ² It is the same for all, since the same event happens to the righteous and the wicked, to the good and the evil,[1] to the clean and the unclean, to him who sacrifices and him who does not sacrifice. As the good one is, so is the sinner, and he who swears is as he who shuns an oath. ³ This is an evil in all that is done under the sun, that the same event happens to all. Also, the hearts of the children of man are full of evil, and madness is in their hearts while they live, and after that they go to the dead.

⁴ But he who is joined with all the living has hope, for a living dog is better than a dead lion. ⁵ For the living know that they will die, but the dead know nothing, and they have no more reward, for the memory of them is forgotten. ⁶ Their love and their hate and their envy have already perished, and forever they have no more share in all that is done under the sun. ⁷ Go, eat your bread with joy, and drink your wine with a merry heart, for God has already approved what you do. ⁸ Let your garments be always white. Let not oil be lacking on your head. ⁹ Enjoy life with the wife whom you love, all the days of your vain life that he has given you under the sun, because that is your portion in life and in your toil at which you toil under the sun. ¹⁰ Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might,[2] for there is no work or thought or knowledge or wisdom in Sheol, to which you are going.

¹¹ Again I saw that under the sun the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, nor bread to the wise, nor riches to the intelligent, nor favor to those with knowledge, but time and chance happen to them all. ¹² For man does not know his time. Like fish that are taken in an evil net, and like birds that are caught in a snare, so the children of man are snared at an evil time, when it suddenly falls upon them.

¹³ I have also seen this example of wisdom under the sun, and it seemed great to me. ¹⁴ There was a little city with few men in it, and a great king came against it and besieged it, building great siegeworks against it. ¹⁵ But there was found in it a poor, wise man, and he by his wisdom delivered the city. Yet no one remembered that poor man. ¹⁶ But I say that wisdom is better than might, though the poor man's wisdom is despised and his words are not heard. ¹⁷ The words of the wise heard in quiet are better than the shouting of a ruler among fools. ¹⁸ Wisdom is better than weapons of war, but one sinner destroys much good.