Ecclesiastes 9:1-7

Everyone Will Die

9:1 So I reflected on all this, attempting to clear it all up.

I concluded that the righteous and the wise, as well as their works, are in the hand of God;

whether a person will be loved or hated –

no one knows what lies ahead.

9:2 Everyone shares the same fate –

the righteous and the wicked,

the good and the bad,

the ceremonially clean and unclean,

those who offer sacrifices and those who do not.

What happens to the good person, also happens to the sinner;

what happens to those who make vows, also happens to those who are afraid to make vows.

9:3 This is the unfortunate fact about everything that happens on earth:

the same fate awaits everyone.

In addition to this, the hearts of all people are full of evil,

and there is folly in their hearts during their lives – then they die.

Better to Be Poor but Alive than Rich but Dead

9:4 But whoever is among the living has hope;

a live dog is better than a dead lion.

9:5 For the living know that they will die, but the dead do not know anything;

they have no further reward – and even the memory of them disappears.

9:6 What they loved, as well as what they hated and envied, perished long ago,

and they no longer have a part in anything that happens on earth.

Life is Brief, so Cherish its Joys

9:7 Go, eat your food with joy,

and drink your wine with a happy heart,

because God has already approved your works.