Ecclesiastes 9 NIV NLT Parallel

◄ Ecclesiastes 9 ►

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New International Version

New Living Translation

1So 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.

1This, too, I carefully explored: Even though the actions of godly and wise people are in God’s hands, no one knows whether God will show them favor.

2All share a common destiny--the righteous and the wicked, the good and the bad, 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.

2The same destiny ultimately awaits everyone, whether righteous or wicked, good or bad, ceremonially clean or unclean, religious or irreligious. Good people receive the same treatment as sinners, and people who make promises to God are treated like people who don’t.

3This is the evil in everything that happens under the sun: The same destiny overtakes all. The hearts of people, moreover, are full of evil and there is madness in their hearts while they live, and afterward they join the dead.

3It seems so wrong that everyone under the sun suffers the same fate. Already twisted by evil, people choose their own mad course, for they have no hope. There is nothing ahead but death anyway.

4Anyone who is among the living has hope --even a live dog is better off than a dead lion!

4There is hope only for the living. As they say, “It’s better to be a live dog than a dead lion!”

5For the living know that they will die, but the dead know nothing; they have no further reward, and even their name is forgotten.

5The living at least know they will die, but the dead know nothing. They have no further reward, nor are they remembered.

6Their love, their hate and their jealousy have long since vanished; never again will they have a part in anything that happens under the sun.

6Whatever they did in their lifetime—loving, hating, envying—is all long gone. They no longer play a part in anything here on earth.

7Go, eat your food with gladness, and drink your wine with a joyful heart, for God has already approved what you do.

7So go ahead. Eat your food with joy, and drink your wine with a happy heart, for God approves of this!

8Always be clothed in white, and always anoint your head with oil.

8Wear fine clothes, with a splash of cologne!

9Enjoy life with your wife, 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 lot in life and in your toilsome labor under the sun.

9Live happily with the woman you love through all the meaningless days of life that God has given you under the sun. The wife God gives you is your reward for all your earthly toil.

10Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might, for in the realm of the dead, where you are going, there is neither working nor planning nor knowledge nor wisdom.

10Whatever you do, do well. For when you go to the grave, there will be no work or planning or knowledge or wisdom.

11I have seen something else under the sun: The race is not to the swift or the battle to the strong, nor does food come to the wise or wealth to the brilliant or favor to the learned; but time and chance happen to them all.

11I have observed something else under the sun. The fastest runner doesn’t always win the race, and the strongest warrior doesn’t always win the battle. The wise sometimes go hungry, and the skillful are not necessarily wealthy. And those who are educated don’t always lead successful lives. It is all decided by chance, by being in the right place at the right time.

12Moreover, 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 times that fall unexpectedly upon them.

12People can never predict when hard times might come. Like fish in a net or birds in a trap, people are caught by sudden tragedy. Thoughts on Wisdom and Folly

13I also saw under the sun this example of wisdom that greatly impressed me:

13Here is another bit of wisdom that has impressed me as I have watched the way our world works.

14There 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.

14There was a small town with only a few people, and a great king came with his army and besieged it.

15Now there lived in that city a man poor but wise, and he saved the city by his wisdom. But nobody remembered that poor man.

15A poor, wise man knew how to save the town, and so it was rescued. But afterward no one thought to thank him.

16So I said, "Wisdom is better than strength." But the poor man's wisdom is despised, and his words are no longer heeded.

16So even though wisdom is better than strength, those who are wise will be despised if they are poor. What they say will not be appreciated for long.

17The quiet words of the wise are more to be heeded than the shouts of a ruler of fools.

17Better to hear the quiet words of a wise person than the shouts of a foolish king.

18Wisdom is better than weapons of war, but one sinner destroys much good.

18Better to have wisdom than weapons of war, but one sinner can destroy much that is good.

New International Version (NIV)

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