For I have taken all this to heart, exploring and examining it all, how the righteous (those in right standing with God) and the wise and their deeds are ^ain the hands of God. ^bNo man knows whether it will be ^clove or hatred; anything awaits him.

2 ^aIt is the same for all. There is ^bone fate for the righteous and for the wicked; for the good, for the clean and for the unclean; for the man who offers sacrifices and for the one who does not sacrifice. As the good man is, so is the sinner; as he who swears an oath is, so is he who is afraid to swear an oath. 3 This evil is in all that is done under the sun, that ^aone fate comes to all. Also, ^bthe hearts of the sons of men are full of evil, and ^cmadness is in their hearts while they live, and afterwards they go to the dead. 4 There is no exemption, but whoever is joined with all the living, has hope; surely a live dog is better than a dead lion. 5 For the living know that they will die; but the dead ^aknow nothing, and they no longer have a reward here, for the ^bmemory of them is forgotten. 6 Indeed their love, their hatred and their zeal have already perished, and they will no longer have a ^ashare in this age in anything that is done under the sun.

7 Go your way, ^aeat your bread with joy and drink your wine with a cheerful heart if you are righteous, wise, and in the hands of God; for God has already approved and accepted your works. 8 Let your ^aclothes always be white with purity, and do not let the ^boil of gladness be lacking on your head. 9 Live joyfully with the wife whom you love all the days of your ^afleeting life which He has given you under the sun—all the days of vanity and futility. For this is your ^breward in life and in your work in which you have labored under the sun.

10 Whatever your hand finds to do, ^ado it with all your might; for there is no ^bactivity or planning or knowledge or wisdom in ^cSheol (the nether world, the place of the dead) where you are going.

11 I again saw under the sun that the ^arace is not to the swift and the ^bbattle is not to the strong, and neither is bread to the wise nor ^criches to those of intelligence and understanding nor favor to men of ability; but time and ^dchance overtake them all. Ps 33:16-19; Rom 9:16 12 For man also does not ^aknow his time of death; like fish caught in a treacherous net, and ^bbirds caught in the snare, so the sons of men ^care ensnared in an evil time when a dark cloud ^dsuddenly falls on them.

13 This illustration of wisdom I have also seen under the sun, and great it was to me: 14 There ^awas a little city with few men in it and a great king came against it and besieged it and built great battlements against it. 15 But there was found in it a ^apoor wise man, and ^bby his wisdom he rescued the city. Yet ^cno man seriously remembered that poor man. 16 But I say that ^awisdom is better than strength, though the poor man’s wisdom is despised and his words are not heeded. 17 The ^awords of wise men heard in quietness are better than the shouting of one who rules among fools. 18 ^aWisdom is better than weapons of war, but ^bone sinner destroys much good.