For I have taken all this to my heart, even to ¹examine ²it all, that righteous people, wise people, and their deeds are ^ain the hand of God. ^bPeople do not know whether it will be ^clove or hatred; anything ³awaits them.

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 the unclean; for the person who offers a sacrifice and for the one who does not sacrifice. As the good person is, so is the sinner; the one who swears an oath is just as the one who ¹is afraid to swear an oath. 3 This is an evil in everything that is done under the sun, that there is ^aone fate for everyone. Furthermore, ^bthe hearts of the sons of mankind are full of evil, and ^cinsanity is in their hearts throughout their lives. Afterward they go to the dead. 4 For whoever is joined to all the living, there is hope; for better a live dog, than a dead lion. 5 For the living know that they will die; but the dead ^ado not know anything, nor do they have a reward any longer, for their ^bmemory is forgotten. 6 Indeed their love, their hate, and their zeal have already perished, and they will no longer have a ^ashare in all that is done under the sun.

7 Go then, ^aeat your bread in happiness, and drink your wine with a cheerful heart; for God has already approved your works. 8 See that your ^aclothes are white all the time, and that there is no lack of ^boil on your head. 9 ¹Enjoy life with the wife whom you love all the days of your ^afutile life which He has given you under the sun, ²all the days of your futility; for this is your ^breward in life and in your work 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, planning, knowledge, or wisdom in ^cSheol 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 warriors, and neither is bread to the wise nor ^cwealth to the discerning, nor favor to the skillful; for time and ^dchance overtake them all. 12 For indeed, a person does not ^aknow his time: like fish that are caught in a treacherous net and ^bbirds caught in a snare, so the sons of mankind are ^censnared at an evil time when it ^dsuddenly falls on them.

13 This too I saw as wisdom under the sun, and ¹it impressed me: 14 there ^awas a small city with few men in it, and a great king came to it, surrounded it, and constructed large siegeworks against it. 15 But there was found in it a ^apoor wise man, and he ¹saved the city ^bby his wisdom. Yet ^cno one remembered that poor man. 16 So I said, “^aWisdom is better than strength.” But the wisdom of the poor man is despised, and his words are ¹ignored. 17 The ^awords of the wise heard in calm are better than the shouting of a ruler among fools. 18 ^aWisdom is better than weapons of war, but ^bone sinner destroys much good.