| Berean Study Bible | English Standard Version |
| 1So I took all this to heart and concluded that the righteous and the wise, as well as their deeds, are in God’s hands. Man does not know what lies ahead, whether love or hate. | 1But all this I laid to heart, examining it all, how the righteous and the wise and their deeds are in the hand of God. Whether it is love or hate, man does not know; both are before him. |
| 2It is the same for all: There is a common fate for the righteous and the wicked, for the good and the bad, for the clean and the unclean, for the one who sacrifices and the one who does not. As it is for the good, so it is for the sinner; as it is for the one who makes a vow, so it is for the one who refuses to take a vow. | 2It is the same for all, since the same event happens to the righteous and the wicked, to the good and the evil, to the clean and the unclean, to him who sacrifices and him who does not sacrifice. As the good one is, so is the sinner, and he who swears is as he who shuns an oath. |
| 3This is an evil in everything that is done under the sun: There is one fate for everyone. Furthermore, the hearts of men are full of evil and madness while they are alive, and afterward they join the dead. | 3This is an evil in all that is done under the sun, that the same event happens to all. Also, the hearts of the children of man are full of evil, and madness is in their hearts while they live, and after that they go to the dead. |
| 4There is hope, however, for anyone who is among the living; for even a live dog is better than a dead lion. | 4But he who is joined with all the living has hope, for a living dog is better than a dead lion. |
| 5For the living know that they will die, but the dead know nothing. They have no further reward, because the memory of them is forgotten. | 5For the living know that they will die, but the dead know nothing, and they have no more reward, for the memory of them is forgotten. |
| 6Their love, their hate, and their envy have already vanished, and they will never again have a share in all that is done under the sun. | 6Their love and their hate and their envy have already perished, and forever they have no more share in all that is done under the sun. |
| 7Go, eat your bread with joy, and drink your wine with a cheerful heart, for God has already approved your works: | 7Go, eat your bread with joy, and drink your wine with a merry heart, for God has already approved what you do. |
| 8Let your garments always be white, and never spare the oil for your head. | 8Let your garments be always white. Let not oil be lacking on your head. |
| 9Enjoy life with your beloved wife all the days of the fleeting life that God has given you under the sun—all your fleeting days. For this is your portion in life and in your labor under the sun. | 9Enjoy life with the wife whom you love, all the days of your vain life that he has given you under the sun, because that is your portion in life and in your toil at which you toil under the sun. |
| 10Whatever you find to do with your hands, do it with all your might, for in Sheol, where you are going, there is no work or planning or knowledge or wisdom. | 10Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might, for there is no work or thought or knowledge or wisdom in Sheol, to which you are going. |
| 11I saw something else under the sun: The race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong; neither is the bread to the wise, nor the wealth to the intelligent, nor the favor to the skillful. For time and chance happen to all. | 11Again I saw that under the sun the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, nor bread to the wise, nor riches to the intelligent, nor favor to those with knowledge, but time and chance happen to them all. |
| 12For surely no man knows his time: Like fish caught in a cruel net or birds trapped in a snare, so men are ensnared in an evil time that suddenly falls upon them. | 12For man does not know his time. Like fish that are taken in an evil net, and like birds that are caught in a snare, so the children of man are snared at an evil time, when it suddenly falls upon them. |
| 13I have also seen this wisdom under the sun, and it was great to me: | 13I have also seen this example of wisdom under the sun, and it seemed great to me. |
| 14There was a small city with few men. A mighty king came against it, surrounded it, and built large siege ramps against it. | 14There was a little city with few men in it, and a great king came against it and besieged it, building great siegeworks against it. |
| 15Now a poor wise man was found in the city, and he saved the city by his wisdom. Yet no one remembered that poor man. | 15But there was found in it a poor, wise man, and he by his wisdom delivered the city. Yet no one remembered that poor man. |
| 16And I said, “Wisdom is better than strength, but the wisdom of the poor man is despised, and his words are not heeded.” | 16But I say that wisdom is better than might, though the poor man’s wisdom is despised and his words are not heard. |
| 17The calm words of the wise are heeded over the shouts of a ruler among fools. | 17The words of the wise heard in quiet are better than the shouting of a ruler among fools. |
| 18Wisdom is better than weapons of war, but one sinner destroys much good. | 18Wisdom is better than weapons of war, but one sinner destroys much good. |
| The Berean Bible (Berean Study Bible (BSB) © 2016, 2018 by Bible Hub and Berean.Bible. Used by Permission. All rights Reserved. | ESV Text Edition: 2016. The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®) copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. The ESV® text has been reproduced in cooperation with and by permission of Good News Publishers. Unauthorized reproduction of this publication is prohibited. All rights reserved. |
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