Ecclesiastes 9:4-10

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.

9:8 Let your clothes always be white,

and do not spare precious ointment on your head.

9:9 Enjoy life with your beloved wife during all the days of your fleeting life

that God has given you on earth during all your fleeting days;

for that is your reward in life and in your burdensome work on earth.

9:10 Whatever you find to do with your hands,

do it with all your might,

because there is neither work nor planning nor knowledge nor wisdom in the grave,

the place where you will eventually go.