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9:1 So I reflected <05414> on all <03605> this <03820> <02088>, attempting to <0413> clear it all <03605> up. I concluded <0952> that <0834> the righteous <06662> and the wise <02450>, as well as their works <05652>, are in the hand <03027> of God <0430>; whether a person will be loved <0160> or hated <08135>– no <0369> one <0120> knows <03045> what lies <03605> ahead <06440>. 9:2 Everyone <03605> shares the same <0259> fate <04745>– the righteous <06662> and the wicked <07563>, the good <02896> and the bad, the ceremonially clean <02889> and unclean <02931>, those who offer sacrifices <02076> and those who <0834> do not <0369>. What happens to the good person <02896>, also happens to the sinner <02398>; what happens to those who make vows <07650>, also happens to those who <0834> are afraid <03372> to make vows <07621>. 9:3 This <02088> is the unfortunate fact <07451> about everything <03605> that <0834> happens <06213> on earth <08121> <08478>: the same <0259> fate <04745> awaits everyone <03605>. In addition to this, the hearts <03820> of all people <0120> <01121> are full <04390> of evil <07451>, and there is folly <01947> in their hearts <03824> during their lives <02416>– then they die <04191>. 9:4 But whoever <0834> <04310> is among <0413> the living <02416> has <03426> hope <0986>; a live <02416> dog <03611> is better <02896> than <04480> a dead <04191> lion <0738>. 9:5 For <03588> the living <02416> know <03045> that they will die <04191>, but the dead <04191> do not <0369> know <03045> anything <03972>; they have no <0369> further <05750> reward <07939>– and even the memory <02143> of them disappears <07911>. 9:6 What they loved <0160>, as well as <01571> what they hated <08135> and envied <07068>, perished <06> long ago, and they <01992> no <0369> longer <05769> <05750> have a part <02506> in anything <03605> that <0834> happens <06213> on earth <08121> <08478>. 9:7 Go <01980>, eat <0398> your food <03899> with joy <08057>, and drink <08354> your wine <03196> with a happy <02896> heart <03820>, because <03588> God <0430> has already <03528> approved <07521> your works <04639>. 9:8 Let your clothes <0899> always <06256> <03605> be <01961> white <03836>, and do not <0408> spare <02637> precious ointment <08081> on <05921> your head <07218>. 9:9 Enjoy <07200> life <02416> with <05973> your beloved <0157> wife <0802> during all <03605> the days <03117> of your fleeting <01892> life <02416> that God has <0834> given <05414> you on <08478> earth <08121> during all <03605> your fleeting <01892> days <03117>; for <03588> that <01931> is your reward <02506> in life <02416> and in your <0859> burdensome <05999> work <06001> on earth <08121> <08478>. 9:10 Whatever <0834> you find <04672> to do <06213> with your hands <03027>, do <06213> it with all <03605> your might <03581>, because <03588> there is neither <0369> work <04639> nor planning <02808> nor knowledge <01847> nor wisdom <02451> in the grave <07585>, the place where <0834> you <0859> will eventually go <01980>. 9:11 Again <07725>, I observed <07200> this on <08478> the earth <08121>: the race <04793> is not <03808> always won by the swiftest <07031>, the battle <04421> is not <03808> always won by the strongest <01368>; prosperity <03899> does not <03808> always belong to those who are the wisest <02450>, wealth <06239> does not <03808> always belong to those who are the most discerning <0995>, nor <03808> does success <02580> always come to those with the most knowledge <03045>– for <03588> time <06256> and chance <06294> may overcome <07136> them all <03605>. 9:12 Surely <01571> <03588>, no <03808> one <0120> knows <03045> his appointed time <06256>! Like fish <01709> that are caught <0270> in a deadly <07451> net <04686>, and like birds <06833> that are caught <0270> in a snare <06341>– just like them <01992>, all people <0120> <01121> are ensnared <03369> at an unfortunate <07451> time <06256> that falls <05307> upon <05921> them suddenly <06597>.

• Ecc 9:1-3 -- Everyone Will Die
• Ecc 9:4-6 -- Better to Be Poor but Alive than Rich but Dead
• Ecc 9:7-10 -- Life is Brief, so Cherish its Joys
• Ecc 9:11-12 -- Wisdom Cannot Protect against Seemingly Chance Events

• Instruction

  [nave] INSTRUCTION From nature, Prov. 24:30-34; Eccl. 1:13-18; 3; 4:1; Matt. 6:25-30. See: Parables. From the study of human nature, Eccl. 3-12. By Object Lessons: The pot of maa, Ex. 16:32. The pillar of twelve stones at the f...
  

• WISDOM

  [isbe] WISDOM - wiz'-dum: 1. Linguistic 2. History 3. Religious Basis 4. Ideals 5. Teaching of Christ 6. Remainder of the New Testament (1) James (2) Paul 7. Hypostasis LITERATURE 1. Linguistic: In the Revised Version (British and ...
  

• PSALMS, BOOK OF

  [isbe] PSALMS, BOOK OF - samz, (tehillim, "praises," cepher tehillim, "book of praises"; Psalmoi, Psalterion): I. INTRODUCTORY TOPICS 1. Title 2. Place in the Canon 3. Number of Psalms 4. Titles in the Hebrew Text II. AUTHORSHIP AN...
  

• Death

  [isbe] DEATH - (maweth; thanatos): PHYSIOLOGICAL AND FIGURATIVE VIEW The word "Death" is used in the sense of (1) the process of dying (Gen 21:16); (2) the period of decease (Gen 27:7); (3) as a possible synonym for poison (2 Ki 4:...
  [nave] DEATH. Called in some versions &ld;Giving Up the Ghost,&rd; Gen. 25:8; 35:29; Lam. 1:19; Acts 5:10. King of Terrors Job 18:14. A Change Job 14:14. Going to your Fathers Gen. 15:15; 25:8; 35:29. Putting Off This Tabe...
  

• CHANCE

  [ebd] (Luke 10:31). "It was not by chance that the priest came down by that road at that time, but by a specific arrangement and in exact fulfilment of a plan; not the plan of the priest, nor the plan of the wounded traveller, but...
  [isbe] CHANCE - chans: The idea of chance in the sense of something wholly fortuitous was utterly foreign to the Hebrew creed. Throughout the whole course of Israel's history, to the Hebrew mind, law, not chance, ruled the universe...
  

• DECEASE, IN THE OLD TESTAMENT AND APOCYPHRA

  [isbe] DECEASE, IN THE OLD TESTAMENT AND APOCYPHRA - de-ses' (rapha', plural repha'im, "ghosts," "shades," is translated by "dead," "dead body," and "deceased" in both the King James Version and the Revised Version (British and Ame...
  

• ESCHATOLOGY OF THE OLD TESTAMENT

  [isbe] ESCHATOLOGY OF THE OLD TESTAMENT - es-ka-tol'-o-ji A) Scope of Article B) Dr. Charles' Work C) Individual Religion in Israel I. FUNDAMENTAL IDEAS 1. Idea of God 2. Idea of Man Body, Soul and Spirit 3. Sin and Death II. CONCE...
  

• God

  [nave] GOD. List of Sub-Topics Miscellany; Unclassified Scriptures Relating to; Access to; Compassion of; Creator; Creator of Mankind; Eternity of; Faithfulness of; Fatherhood of; Favor of; Foreknowledge of; Glory of; Goodness of...
  

• Dead

  [isbe] DEAD - ded (muth; nekros): Used in several senses: (1) as a substantive, denoting the body deprived of life, as when Abraham speaks of burying his dead (Gen 23); (2) as a collective noun including all those that have passed ...
  [nave] DEAD Raised to life, instances of: Son of the widow of Zarephath, 1 Kin. 17:17-23; Shunammite's son, 2 Kin. 4:32-37; young man laid in Elisha's sepulchre, 2 Kin. 13:21; widow's son, Luke 7:12-15; Jairus' daughter, Luke 8:49-...
  

• Contentment

  [nave] CONTENTMENT. Psa. 16:6; Psa. 37:7, 16; Prov. 14:14 v. 10.; Prov. 15:13, 15, 30; Prov. 16:8; Prov. 17:1, 22; Prov. 30:8; Eccl. 2:24 Eccl. 3:12, 13; 8:15. Eccl. 4:6; Eccl. 5:12; Eccl. 6:9 vs. 7,8.; Eccl. 9:7-9; Luke 3:14; 1 C...
  

• Hades

  [nave] HADES 1. The unseen world, translated hell in A.V., Matt. 11:23; 16:18; Luke 10:15; 16:23; Acts 2:27, 31; Rev. 1:18; 6:8; 20:13, 14. See: Hell; Sheol. Realm, or State, of the Dead usually expressed in Hebrew by Sheol and ...
  

• HAP; HAPLY

  [isbe] HAP; HAPLY - hap, hap'-li (miqreh, lu; mepote): Hap (a Saxon word for "luck, chance") is the translation of miqreh, "a fortuitous chance," "a lot" (Ruth 2:3, the King James Version "Her hap was to light on a part of the fiel...
  

• Hunting

  [isbe] HUNTING - hunt'-ing (tsayidh): The hunting of wild animals for sport, or for the defense of men and flocks, or for food, was common in Western Asia and Egypt, especially in early times. Some of the Egyptian and Assyrian king...
  [nave] HUNTING Authorized in the Mosaic law, Lev. 17:13. By Nimrod, Gen. 10:9. By Esau, Gen. 27:3, 5, 30, 33. By Ishmael, Gen. 21:20. Of lion, Job 10:16. Fowling, 1 Sam. 26:20; Psa. 140:5; 141:9, 10; Prov. 1:17; Eccl. 9:12; La...
  

• HAIR

  [isbe] HAIR - har (se`ar, sa`ar, Aramaic se`ar, and their derivatives; thrix, gen. case trichos, kome): 1. Hair Fashions: Hair was worn in different fashions by the Orientals of Biblical times, and not always in the same way among ...
  [smith] The Hebrews were fully alive to the importance of the hair as an element of personal beauty. Long hair was admired in the case of young men. (2 Samuel 14:26) In times of affliction the hair was altogether cut off. (Isaiah ...
  

• PROVIDENCE, 1

  [isbe] PROVIDENCE, 1 - prov'-i-dens: I. PROVIDENCE DEFINED II. DIFFERENT SPHERES OF PROVIDENTIAL ACTIVITY DISTINGUISHED III. BIBLICAL PRESENTATION OF THE DOCTRINE OF PROVIDENCE 1. Divine Providence in the Old Testament Scriptures (...
  

• GAMES

  [ebd] (1.) Of children (Zech. 8:5; Matt. 11:16). The Jewish youth were also apparently instructed in the use of the bow and the sling (Judg. 20:16; 1 Chr. 12:2). (2.) Public games, such as were common among the Greeks and Romans, ...
  [isbe] GAMES - gamz: I. ISRAELITISH GAMES 1. Children's Games Mimicry 2. Sports 3. Games of Chance and Skill 4. Story-Telling 5. Dancing 6. Proverbs 7. Riddles II. THE GAMES OF GREECE AND ROME 1. Historical Introduction 2. General ...
  

• Net

  [ebd] in use among the Hebrews for fishing, hunting, and fowling. The fishing-net was probably constructed after the form of that used by the Egyptians (Isa. 19:8). There were three kinds of nets. (1.) The drag-net or hauling-net ...
  [nave] NET Of checker work, 1 Kin. 7:17. Hidden in a pit, Psa. 35:7, 8. Set for birds, Prov. 1:17; wild animals, Isa. 51:20. Fish caught in, Matt. 4:18-21; 13:47; Luke 5:4; John 21:6-11. See: Snare. Figurative Job 18:8; 19:6;...
  

• Anointing

  [isbe] ANOINTING - a-noint'-ing: A distinction was made by the ancient Hebrews between anointing with oil in private use, as in making one's toilet (cukh), and anointing as a religious rite (mashach). 1. Ordinary Use: (1) As regard...
  [nave] ANOINTING Of the body, Deut. 28:40; Ruth 3:3; Esth. 2:12; Psa. 92:10; 104:15; 141:5; Prov. 27:9, 16; Eccl. 9:8; Song 1:3; 4:10; Isa. 57:9; Amos 6:6; Mic. 6:15. Of guests, 2 Chr. 28:15; Luke 7:46; the sick, Isa. 1:6; Mark 6:...
  

• EVENT

  [isbe] EVENT - e-vent': In Eccl 2:14; 9:2,3, the translation of miqreh, "what happens," "lot," "fate." The English word bore this sense at the time of the King James Version. The meaning of "result," "outcome" ekbaseis), attaches t...
  

• Heart

  [nave] HEART, seat of the affections. Renewed Deut. 30:6; Psa. 51:10; Ezek. 11:19; 18:31; 36:26; Rom. 2:29; Eph. 4:23; Col. 3:10. Regenerated, John 3:3, 7. Graciously affected of God, 1 Sam. 10:26; 1 Chr. 29:18; Ezra 6:22; 7:27;...
  

• A Common Destiny for All

  

• [Ecc 9:4] Life Is The Time To Serve The Lord

  Life is the time to serve the Lord, The time to ensure the great reward; And while the lamp holds out to burn, The vilest sinner may return. Life is the hour that God has given To ’scape from hell and fly to Heav’n; The day of grace, and mortals may Secure the blessings of the day. The living know that they must die, But all the dead forgotten lie; Their memory and their sense is gone, Alike unknowing and unknown. Their hatred and their love is lost, Their envy is buried in the dust; They have no share in all that’s done Beneath the circuit of the sun. Then what my thoughts design to do, My hands, with all your might pursue; Since no device nor work is found, Nor faith, nor hope, beneath the ground. There are no acts of pardon passed In the cold grave, to which we haste; But darkness, death, and long despair, Reign in eternal silence there.

  Play

  source: Cyberhymnal

• What Are We to Understand by "Time and Chains Happeneth to Them All"?
  You are not to take all the words of Ecclesiastes 9:11 as true and inspired because, as the writer shows, he found out that what he said at one time was disproved later on. He is relating his experience. He was seeking happin...
• Does the Bible speak more about Hell than Heaven?
  I've heard and read the same statement a number of times, but have never troubled myself to look up each passage. I'm not surprised that looking up "heaven" and "hell" in a concordance would give you contradictory results. T...

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