Each Decision Matters

9 For I have taken all this to my heart, even to examine it all, that righteous people, wise people, and their deeds are in the hand of God. People do not know whether it will be love or hatred; anything awaits them.

² It is the same for all. There is one 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 is afraid to swear an oath.³ This is an evil in everything that is done under the sun, that there is one fate for everyone. Furthermore, the hearts of the sons of mankind are full of evil, and insanity 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 do not know anything, nor do they have a reward any longer, for their memory is forgotten. ⁶ Indeed their love, their hate, and their zeal have already perished, and they will no longer have a share in all that is done under the sun.

⁷ Go then, eat your bread in happiness, and drink your wine with a cheerful heart; for God has already approved your works. ⁸ See that your clothes are white all the time, and that there is no lack of oil on your head. ⁹ Enjoy life with the wife whom you love all the days of your futile life which He has given you under the sun, all the days of your futility; for this is your reward in life and in your work which you have labored under the sun.

Whatever Your Hand Finds to Do

¹⁰ Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might; for there is no activity, planning, knowledge, or wisdom in Sheol where you are going.

¹¹ I again saw under the sun that the race is not to the swift and the battle is not to the warriors, and neither is bread to the wise nor wealth to the discerning, nor favor to the skillful; for time and chance overtake them all. ¹² For indeed, a person does not know his time: like fish that are caught in a treacherous net and birds caught in a snare, so the sons of mankind are ensnared at an evil time when it suddenly falls on them.

¹³ This too I saw as wisdom under the sun, and it impressed me:¹⁴ there was 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 poor wise man, and he saved the city by his wisdom. Yet no one remembered that poor man. ¹⁶ So I said, “Wisdom is better than strength.” But the wisdom of the poor man is despised, and his words are ignored. ¹⁷ The words of the wise heard in calm are better than the shouting of a ruler among fools.¹⁸ Wisdom is better than weapons of war, but one sinner destroys much good.

A Little Foolishness

10 Dead flies turn a perfumer’s oil rancid, so a little foolishness is more potent than wisdom and honor. ² A wise person’s heart directs him toward the right, but the foolish person’s heart directs him toward the left. ³ Even when the fool walks along the road, his sense is lacking, and he demonstrates to everyone that he is a fool. ⁴ If the ruler’s temper rises against you, do not abandon your place, because composure puts great offenses to rest.

⁵ There is an evil I have seen under the sun, like a mistake that proceeds from the ruler: ⁶ foolishness is set in many exalted places while the rich sit in humble places. ⁷ I have seen slaves riding on horses and princes walking like slaves on the land.