8 Who is like the wise?

Who knows the explanation of things?

A person’s wisdom brightens their face

and changes its hard appearance.

Obey the King

2 Obey the king’s command, I say, because you took an oath before God. 3 Do not be in a hurry to leave the king’s presence.e Do not stand up for a bad cause, for he will do whatever he pleases. 4 Since a king’s word is supreme, who can say to him, “What are you doing?f”

5 Whoever obeys his command will come to no harm,

and the wise heart will know the proper time and procedure.

6 For there is a proper time and procedure for every matter,g

though a person may be weighed down by misery.

7 Since no one knows the future,

who can tell someone else what is to come?

8 As no one has power over the wind to contain it,

soa no one has power over the time of their death.

As no one is discharged in time of war,

so wickedness will not release those who practice it.

9 All this I saw, as I applied my mind to everything done under the sun. There is a time when a man lords it over others to his ownb hurt. 10 Then too, I saw the wicked buriedh—those who used to come and go from the holy place and receive praisec in the city where they did this. This too is meaningless.

11 When the sentence for a crime is not quickly carried out, people’s hearts are filled with schemes to do wrong. 12 Although a wicked person who commits a hundred crimes may live a long time, I know that it will go betteri with those who fear God,j who are reverent before him.k 13 Yet because the wicked do not fear God,l it will not go well with them, and their daysm will not lengthen like a shadow.

14 There is something else meaningless that occurs on earth: the righteous who get what the wicked deserve, and the wicked who get what the righteous deserve.n This too, I say, is meaningless.o 15 So I commend the enjoyment of lifep, because there is nothing better for a person under the sun than to eat and drinkq and be glad.r Then joy will accompany them in their toil all the days of the life God has given them under the sun.

16 When I applied my mind to know wisdoms and to observe the labor that is done on eartht—people getting no sleep day or night—17 then I saw all that God has done.u No one can comprehend what goes on under the sun. Despite all their efforts to search it out, no one can discover its meaning. Even if the wise claim they know, they cannot really comprehend it.v

A Common Destiny for All

9 So I reflected on all this and concluded that the righteous and the wise and what they do are in God’s hands, but no one knows whether love or hate awaits them.w 2 All share a common destiny—the righteous and the wicked, the good and the bad,a the clean and the unclean, those who offer sacrifices and those who do not.

As it is with the good,

so with the sinful;

as it is with those who take oaths,

so with those who are afraid to take them.x

3 This is the evil in everything that happens under the sun: The same destiny overtakes all.y The hearts of people, moreover, are full of evil and there is madness in their hearts while they live,z and afterward they join the dead.a 4 Anyone who is among the living has hopeb—even a live dog is better off than a dead lion!

5 For the living know that they will die,

but the dead know nothing;b

they have no further reward,

and even their namec is forgotten.d

6 Their love, their hate

and their jealousy have long since vanished;

never again will they have a part

in anything that happens under the sun.e

7 Go, eat your food with gladness, and drink your winef with a joyful heart,g for God has already approved what you do. 8 Always be clothed in white,h and always anoint your head with oil. 9 Enjoy life with your wife,i whom you love, all the days of this meaningless life that God has given you under the sun—all your meaningless days. For this is your lotj in life and in your toilsome labor under the sun. 10 Whateverk your hand finds to do, do it with all your might,l for in the realm of the dead,m where you are going, there is neither working nor planning nor knowledge nor wisdom.n

11 I have seen something else under the sun:

The race is not to the swift

or the battle to the strong,o

nor does food come to the wisep

or wealth to the brilliant

or favor to the learned;

but time and chanceq happen to them all.r

12 Moreover, no one knows when their hour will come:

As fish are caught in a cruel net,

or birds are taken in a snare,

so people are trapped by evil timess

that fall unexpectedly upon them.t

Wisdom Better Than Folly

13 I also saw under the sun this example of wisdomu that greatly impressed me: 14 There was once a small city with only a few people in it. And a powerful king came against it, surrounded it and built huge siege works against it. 15 Now there lived in that city a man poor but wise, and he saved the city by his wisdom. But nobody remembered that poor man.v 16 So I said, “Wisdom is better than strength.” But the poor man’s wisdom is despised, and his words are no longer heeded.w

17 The quiet words of the wise are more to be heeded

than the shouts of a ruler of fools.

18 Wisdomx is better than weapons of war,

but one sinner destroys much good.

10 As dead flies give perfume a bad smell,

so a little follyy outweighs wisdom and honor.

2 The heart of the wise inclines to the right,

but the heart of the fool to the left.

3 Even as fools walk along the road,

they lack sense

and show everyonez how stupid they are.

4 If a ruler’s anger rises against you,

do not leave your post;a

calmness can lay great offenses to rest.b

5 There is an evil I have seen under the sun,

the sort of error that arises from a ruler:

6 Fools are put in many high positions,c

while the rich occupy the low ones.

7 I have seen slaves on horseback,

while princes go on foot like slaves.d

8 Whoever digs a pit may fall into it;e

whoever breaks through a wall may be bitten by a snake.f

9 Whoever quarries stones may be injured by them;

whoever splits logs may be endangered by them.g

10 If the ax is dull

and its edge unsharpened,

more strength is needed,

but skill will bring success.

11 If a snake bites before it is charmed,

the charmer receives no fee.h

12 Words from the mouth of the wise are gracious,i

but fools are consumed by their own lips.j

13 At the beginning their words are folly;

at the end they are wicked madness—

14 and fools multiply words.k

No one knows what is coming—

who can tell someone else what will happen after them?l

15 The toil of fools wearies them;

they do not know the way to town.

16 Woe to the land whose king was a servanta m

and whose princes feast in the morning.

17 Blessed is the land whose king is of noble birth

and whose princes eat at a proper time—

for strength and not for drunkenness.n

18 Through laziness, the rafters sag;

because of idle hands, the house leaks.o

19 A feast is made for laughter,

winep makes life merry,

and money is the answer for everything.

20 Do not revile the kingq even in your thoughts,

or curse the rich in your bedroom,

because a bird in the sky may carry your words,

and a bird on the wing may report what you say.

Invest in Many Ventures

11 Shipr your grain across the sea;

after many days you may receive a return.s

2 Invest in seven ventures, yes, in eight;

you do not know what disaster may come upon the land.

3 If clouds are full of water,

they pour rain on the earth.

Whether a tree falls to the south or to the north,

in the place where it falls, there it will lie.

4 Whoever watches the wind will not plant;

whoever looks at the clouds will not reap.

5 As you do not know the path of the wind,t

or how the body is formeda in a mother’s womb,u

so you cannot understand the work of God,

the Maker of all things.

6 Sow your seed in the morning,

and at evening let your hands not be idle,v

for you do not know which will succeed,

whether this or that,

or whether both will do equally well.

Remember Your Creator While Young

7 Light is sweet,

and it pleases the eyes to see the sun.w

8 However many years anyone may live,

let them enjoy them all.

But let them rememberx the days of darkness,

for there will be many.

Everything to come is meaningless.

9 You who are young, be happy while you are young,

and let your heart give you joy in the days of your youth.

Follow the ways of your heart

and whatever your eyes see,

but know that for all these things

God will bring you into judgment.y

10 So then, banish anxietyz from your heart

and cast off the troubles of your body,

for youth and vigor are meaningless.a

12 Rememberb your Creator

in the days of your youth,

before the days of troublec come

and the years approach when you will say,

“I find no pleasure in them”—

2 before the sun and the light

and the moon and the stars grow dark,

and the clouds return after the rain;

3 when the keepers of the house tremble,

and the strong men stoop,

when the grinders cease because they are few,

and those looking through the windows grow dim;

4 when the doors to the street are closed

and the sound of grinding fades;

when people rise up at the sound of birds,

but all their songs grow faint;d

5 when people are afraid of heights

and of dangers in the streets;

when the almond tree blossoms

and the grasshopper drags itself along

and desire no longer is stirred.

Then people go to their eternal homee

and mournersf go about the streets.

6 Remember him—before the silver cord is severed,

and the golden bowl is broken;

before the pitcher is shattered at the spring,

and the wheel broken at the well,

7 and the dust returnsg to the ground it came from,

and the spirit returns to Godh who gave it.i

8 “Meaningless! Meaningless!” says the Teacher.a j

“Everything is meaningless!k”

The Conclusion of the Matter

9 Not only was the Teacher wise, but he also imparted knowledge to the people. He pondered and searched out and set in order many proverbs.l 10 The Teacherm searched to find just the right words, and what he wrote was upright and true.n

11 The words of the wise are like goads, their collected sayings like firmly embedded nailso—given by one shepherd.b 12 Be warned, my son, of anything in addition to them.

Of making many books there is no end, and much study wearies the body.p

13 Now all has been heard;

here is the conclusion of the matter:

Fear Godq and keep his commandments,r

for this is the duty of all mankind.s

14 For God will bring every deed into judgment,t

including every hidden thing,u

whether it is good or evil.