9This, too, I carefully explored: Even though the actions of godly and wise people are in God’s hands, no one knows whether God will show them favor.H5414H3820H952H6662H2450H5652H3027H430H120H3045H1571H160H8135H64402The same destiny ultimately awaits everyone, whether righteous or wicked, good or bad, ceremonially clean or unclean, religious or irreligious. Good people receive the same treatment as sinners, and people who make promises to God are treated like people who don’t.H259H4745H6662H7563H2896H2889H2931H2076H834H2076H2896H2398H7650H3373H76213It seems so tragic that everyone under the sun suffers the same fate. That is why people are not more careful to be good. Instead, they choose their own mad course, for they have no hope. There is nothing ahead but death anyway.H7451H6213H8121H259H4745H3820H1121H120H4390H7451H1947H3824H2416H310H41914There is hope only for the living. As they say, “It’s better to be a live dog than a dead lion!”H4310H3426H2266H977H2416H986H2416H3611H2896H4191H7385The living at least know they will die, but the dead know nothing. They have no further reward, nor are they remembered.H2416H3045H4191H4191H3045H3972H7939H2143H79116Whatever they did in their lifetime—loving, hating, envying—is all long gone. They no longer play a part in anything here on earth.H160H8135H7068H3528H6H2506H5769H6213H81217So go ahead. Eat your food with joy, and drink your wine with a happy heart, for God approves of this!H3212H398H3899H8057H8354H3196H2896H3820H430H3528H7521H46398Wear fine clothes, with a splash of cologne!H899H6256H3836H7218H2637H80819Live happily with the woman you love through all the meaningless days of life that God has given you under the sun. The wife God gives you is your reward for all your earthly toil.H2416H7200H802H157H3117H2416H1892H5414H8121H3117H1892H2506H2416H5999H6001H812110Whatever you do, do well. For when you go to the grave, there will be no work or planning or knowledge or wisdom.H3027H4672H6213H6213H3581H4639H2808H1847H2451H7585H198011I have observed something else under the sun. The fastest runner doesn’t always win the race, and the strongest warrior doesn’t always win the battle. The wise sometimes go hungry, and the skillful are not necessarily wealthy. And those who are educated don’t always lead successful lives. It is all decided by chance, by being in the right place at the right time.H7725H7200H8121H4793H7031H4421H1368H3899H2450H6239H995H2580H3045H6256H6294H713612People can never predict when hard times might come. Like fish in a net or birds in a trap, people are caught by sudden tragedy.H120H3045H6256H1709H270H7451H4685H6833H270H6341H1992H1121H120H3369H7451H6256H5307H6597
Thoughts on Wisdom and Folly
13Here is another bit of wisdom that has impressed me as I have watched the way our world works.H2090H2451H7200H8121H141914There was a small town with only a few people, and a great king came with his army and besieged it.H6996H5892H4592H582H935H1419H4428H5437H1129H1419H468515A poor, wise man knew how to save the town, and so it was rescued. But afterward no one thought to thank him.H4672H4542H2450H376H2451H4422H5892H120H2142H4542H37616So even though wisdom is better than strength, those who are wise will be despised if they are poor. What they say will not be appreciated for long.H559H2451H2896H1369H4542H2451H959H1697H808517Better to hear the quiet words of a wise person than the shouts of a foolish king.H1697H2450H8085H5183H2201H4910H368418Better to have wisdom than weapons of war, but one sinner can destroy much that is good.H2451H2896H3627H7128H259H2398H6H7235H2896
10As dead flies cause even a bottle of perfume to stink, so a little foolishness spoils great wisdom and honor.H4194H2070H8081H7543H5042H887H4592H5531H3368H2451H35192A wise person chooses the right road; a fool takes the wrong one.H2450H3820H3225H3684H3820H80403You can identify fools just by the way they walk down the street!H5530H1980H1870H3820H2638H559H55304If your boss is angry at you, don’t quit! A quiet spirit can overcome even great mistakes.H7307H4910H5927H3240H4725H4832H3240H1419H2399
The Ironies of Life
5There is another evil I have seen under the sun. Kings and rulers make a grave mistakeH3426H7451H7200H8121H7684H3318H6440H79896when they give great authority to foolish people and low positions to people of proven worth.H5529H5414H7227H4791H6223H3427H82167I have even seen servants riding horseback like princes—and princes walking like servants!H7200H5650H5483H8269H1980H5650H7768When you dig a well, you might fall in. When you demolish an old wall, you could be bitten by a snake.H2658H1475H5307H6555H1447H5175H53919When you work in a quarry, stones might fall and crush you. When you chop wood, there is danger with each stroke of your ax.H5265H68H6087H1234H6086H553310Using a dull ax requires great strength, so sharpen the blade. That’s the value of wisdom; it helps you succeed.H1270H6949H7043H6440H1396H2428H2451H3504H378711If a snake bites before you charm it, what’s the use of being a snake charmer?H5175H5391H3908H3956H1167H350412Wise words bring approval, but fools are destroyed by their own words.H1697H2450H6310H2580H8193H3684H110413Fools base their thoughts on foolish assumptions, so their conclusions will be wicked madness;H8462H1697H6310H5531H319H6310H7451H194814they chatter on and on. No one really knows what is going to happen; no one can predict the future.H5530H7235H1697H120H3045H310H504615Fools are so exhausted by a little work that they can’t even find their way home.H5999H3684H3021H3045H3212H589216What sorrow for the land ruled by a servant, the land whose leaders feast in the morning.H337H776H4428H5288H8269H398H124217Happy is the land whose king is a noble leader and whose leaders feast at the proper time to gain strength for their work, not to get drunk.H835H776H4428H1121H2715H8269H398H6256H1369H835818Laziness leads to a sagging roof; idleness leads to a leaky house.H6103H4746H4355H8220H3027H1004H181119A party gives laughter, wine gives happiness, and money gives everything!H3899H6213H7814H3196H8055H2416H3701H603020Never make light of the king, even in your thoughts. And don’t make fun of the powerful, even in your own bedroom. For a little bird might deliver your message and tell them what you said.H7043H4428H4093H7043H6223H2315H4904H5775H8064H3212H6963H1167H3671H5046H1697
The Uncertainties of Life
11Send your grain across the seas, and in time, profits will flow back to you.H7971H3899H6440H4325H4672H7230H31172But divide your investments among many places, for you do not know what risks might lie ahead.H5414H2506H7651H8083H3045H7451H7763When clouds are heavy, the rains come down. Whether a tree falls north or south, it stays where it falls.H5645H4390H1653H7324H776H6086H5307H1864H6828H4725H6086H5307H19334Farmers who wait for perfect weather never plant. If they watch every cloud, they never harvest.H8104H7307H2232H7200H5645H71145Just as you cannot understand the path of the wind or the mystery of a tiny baby growing in its mother’s womb, so you cannot understand the activity of God, who does all things.H3045H1870H7307H6106H990H4392H3045H4639H430H62136Plant your seed in the morning and keep busy all afternoon, for you don’t know if profit will come from one activity or another—or maybe both.H1242H2232H2233H6153H3240H3027H3045H335H3787H8147H259H2896
Advice for Young and Old
7Light is sweet; how pleasant to see a new day dawning.H216H4966H2896H5869H7200H81218When people live to be very old, let them rejoice in every day of life. But let them also remember there will be many dark days. Everything still to come is meaningless.H120H2421H7235H8141H8055H2142H3117H2822H7235H935H18929Young people, it’s wonderful to be young! Enjoy every minute of it. Do everything you want to do; take it all in. But remember that you must give an account to God for everything you do.H8055H970H3208H3820H2895H3117H979H1980H1870H3820H4758H5869H3045H430H935H494110So refuse to worry, and keep your body healthy. But remember that youth, with a whole life before you, is meaningless.H5493H3708H3820H5674H7451H1320H3208H7839H1892
12Don’t let the excitement of youth cause you to forget your Creator. Honor him in your youth before you grow old and say, “Life is not pleasant anymore.”H2142H1254H3117H979H7451H3117H935H8141H5060H559H26562Remember him before the light of the sun, moon, and stars is dim to your old eyes, and rain clouds continually darken your sky.H8121H216H3394H3556H2821H5645H7725H310H16533Remember him before your legs—the guards of your house—start to tremble; and before your shoulders—the strong men—stoop. Remember him before your teeth—your few remaining servants—stop grinding; and before your eyes—the women looking through the windows—see dimly.H3117H8104H1004H2111H2428H582H5791H2912H988H4591H7200H699H28214Remember him before the door to life’s opportunities is closed and the sound of work fades. Now you rise at the first chirping of the birds, but then all their sounds will grow faint.H1817H5462H7784H6963H2913H8217H6965H6963H6833H1323H7892H78175Remember him before you become fearful of falling and worry about danger in the streets; before your hair turns white like an almond tree in bloom, and you drag along without energy like a dying grasshopper, and the caperberry no longer inspires sexual desire. Remember him before you near the grave, your everlasting home, when the mourners will weep at your funeral.H3372H1364H2849H1870H8247H5006H2284H5445H35H6565H120H1980H5769H1004H5594H5437H77846Yes, remember your Creator now while you are young, before the silver cord of life snaps and the golden bowl is broken. Don’t wait until the water jar is smashed at the spring and the pulley is broken at the well.H3808H3701H2256H7576H7368H2091H1543H7533H3537H7665H4002H1534H7533H9537For then the dust will return to the earth, and the spirit will return to God who gave it.H6083H7725H776H7307H7725H430H5414
Concluding Thoughts about the Teacher
8“Everything is meaningless,” says the Teacher, “completely meaningless.”H1892H1892H559H6953H18929Keep this in mind: The Teacher was considered wise, and he taught the people everything he knew. He listened carefully to many proverbs, studying and classifying them.H3148H6953H2450H3925H5971H1847H239H2713H8626H7235H491210The Teacher sought to find just the right words to express truths clearly.H6953H1245H4672H2656H1697H3789H3476H1697H57111The words of the wise are like cattle prods—painful but helpful. Their collected sayings are like a nail-studded stick with which a shepherd drives the sheep.H1697H2450H1861H4930H5193H1167H627H5414H259H746212But, my child, let me give you some further advice: Be careful, for writing books is endless, and much study wears you out.H3148H1992H1121H2094H6213H7235H5612H7093H7235H3854H3024H132013That’s the whole story. Here now is my final conclusion: Fear God and obey his commands, for this is everyone’s duty.H8085H5490H1697H3372H430H8104H4687H12014God will judge us for everything we do, including every secret thing, whether good or bad.H430H935H4639H4941H5956H2896H7451
10O LORD, why do you stand so far away? Why do you hide when I am in trouble?H5975H7350H3068H5956H6256H68692The wicked arrogantly hunt down the poor. Let them be caught in the evil they plan for others.H7563H1346H1814H6041H8610H4209H2098H28033For they brag about their evil desires; they praise the greedy and curse the LORD.H7563H1984H5315H8378H1288H1214H3068H50064The wicked are too proud to seek God. They seem to think that God is dead.H7563H1363H639H1875H430H42095Yet they succeed in everything they do. They do not see your punishment awaiting them. They sneer at all their enemies.H1870H6256H2342H4941H4791H6887H63156They think, "Nothing bad will ever happen to us! We will be free of trouble forever!"H559H3820H4131H1755H1755H74517Their mouths are full of cursing, lies, and threats. Trouble and evil are on the tips of their tongues.H6310H4390H423H4820H8496H3956H5999H2058They lurk in ambush in the villages, waiting to murder innocent people. They are always searching for helpless victims.H3427H3993H2691H4565H2026H5355H5869H6845H24899Like lions crouched in hiding, they wait to pounce on the helpless. Like hunters they capture the helpless and drag them away in nets.H693H4565H738H5520H693H2414H6041H2414H6041H4900H756810Their helpless victims are crushed; they fall beneath the strength of the wicked.H1794H7817H2426H2489H2489H5307H609911The wicked think, "God isn't watching us! He has closed his eyes and won't even see what we do!"H559H3820H410H7911H5641H6440H5331H720012Arise, O LORD! Punish the wicked, O God! Do not ignore the helpless!H6965H3068H410H5375H3027H7911H6035H604113Why do the wicked get away with despising God? They think, "God will never call us to account."H7563H5006H430H559H3820H187514But you see the trouble and grief they cause. You take note of it and punish them. The helpless put their trust in you. You defend the orphans.H7200H5027H5999H3708H5414H3027H2489H5800H5826H349015Break the arms of these wicked, evil people! Go after them until the last one is destroyed.H7665H2220H7563H7451H1875H7562H4672H107716The LORD is king forever and ever! The godless nations will vanish from the land.H3068H4428H5769H5703H1471H6H77617LORD, you know the hopes of the helpless. Surely you will hear their cries and comfort them.H3068H8085H8378H6035H3559H3820H241H718118You will bring justice to the orphans and the oppressed, so mere people can no longer terrify them.H8199H3490H1790H582H776H3254H6206
Unknown
, ceremonially clean or unclean, religious or irreligious. Good people receive the same treatment as sinners, and people who make promises to God are treated like people who don’t.H259
