Ecclesiastes 9

³Surely You love the people; all the holy ones are in Your hand, and they sit down at Your feet; each receives Your words—

²⁷My sheep listen to My voice; I know them, and they follow Me.

²⁸I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one can snatch them out of My hand.

¹⁰The life of every living thing is in His hand, as well as the breath of all mankind.

¹⁴There is a futility that is done on the earth: There are righteous men who get what the actions of the wicked deserve, and there are wicked men who get what the actions of the righteous deserve. I say that this too is futile.

⁵who through faith are shielded by God’s power for the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.

¹⁵In my futile life I have seen both of these: A righteous man perishing in his righteousness, and a wicked man living long in his wickedness.

¹⁸So you will again distinguish between the righteous and the wicked, between those who serve God and those who do not.”

¹⁴The wise man has eyes in his head, but the fool walks in darkness. Yet I also came to realize that one fate overcomes them both.

¹⁵So I said to myself, “The fate of the fool will also befall me. What then have I gained by being wise?” And I said to myself that this too is futile.

²²It is all the same, and so I say, ‘He destroys both the blameless and the wicked.’

³For I envied the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.

⁵“Then I will draw near to you for judgment. And I will be a swift witness against sorcerers and adulterers and perjurers, against oppressors of the widowed and fatherless, and against those who defraud laborers of their wages and deny justice to the foreigner but do not fear Me,” says the Lord of Hosts.

¹⁵So now we call the arrogant blessed. Not only do evildoers prosper, they even test God and escape.’”

⁹The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?

¹¹When the sentence for a crime is not speedily executed, the hearts of men become fully set on doing evil.

¹⁷So I set my mind to know wisdom and madness and folly; I learned that this, too, is a pursuit of the wind.

¹⁶how much less man, who is vile and corrupt, who drinks injustice like water?

³For at one time we too were foolish, disobedient, misled, and enslaved to all sorts of desires and pleasures—living in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another.

⁵Surely I was brought forth in iniquity; I was sinful when my mother conceived me.

⁷For there is hope for a tree: If it is cut down, it will sprout again, and its tender shoots will not fail.

⁸If its roots grow old in the ground and its stump dies in the soil,

¹⁸For Sheol cannot thank You; Death cannot praise You. Those who descend to the Pit cannot hope for Your faithfulness.

²⁶And besides all this, a great chasm has been fixed between us and you, so that even those who wish cannot cross from here to you, nor can anyone cross from there to us.’

²⁷‘Then I beg you, father,’ he said, ‘send Lazarus to my father’s house,

²¹Yet I call this to mind, and therefore I have hope:

²²Because of the loving devotion of the Lord we are not consumed, for His mercies never fail.

⁸For what is the hope of the godless when he is cut off, when God takes away his life?

¹⁴The dead will not live; the departed spirits will not rise. Therefore You have punished and destroyed them; You have wiped out all memory of them.

¹¹There is no remembrance of those who came before, and those yet to come will not be remembered by those who follow after.

⁵For there is no mention of You in death; who can praise You from Sheol?

¹⁰Do You work wonders for the dead? Do departed spirits rise up to praise You? Selah

¹¹Can Your loving devotion be proclaimed in the grave, Your faithfulness in Abaddon?

²⁷Just as man is appointed to die once, and after that to face judgment,

²¹If his sons receive honor, he does not know it; if they are brought low, he is unaware.

³Put not your trust in princes, in mortal man, who cannot save.

⁴When his spirit departs, he returns to the ground; on that very day his plans perish.

²⁰“Get up!” he said. “Take the Child and His mother and go to the land of Israel, for those seeking the Child’s life are now dead.”

¹²For who knows what is good for a man during the few days in which he passes through his fleeting life like a shadow? Who can tell a man what will come after him under the sun?

¹⁷There the wicked cease from raging, and there the weary find rest.

¹⁸The captives enjoy their ease; they do not hear the voice of the oppressor.

¹⁸I hated all for which I had toiled under the sun, because I must leave it to the man who comes after me.

¹⁹And who knows whether that man will be wise or foolish? Yet he will take over all the labor at which I have worked skillfully under the sun. This too is futile.

⁸Then a new king, who did not know Joseph, came to power in Egypt.

¹²I know that there is nothing better for them than to rejoice and do good while they live,

¹³and also that every man should eat and drink and find satisfaction in all his labor—this is the gift of God.

⁷There, in the presence of the Lord your God, you and your households shall eat and rejoice in all you do, because the Lord your God has blessed you.

¹⁹A feast is prepared for laughter, and wine makes life merry, but money is the answer for everything.

¹⁵So I commended the enjoyment of life, because there is nothing better for a man under the sun than to eat and drink and be merry. For this joy will accompany him in his labor during the days of his life that God gives him under the sun.

²⁴Nothing is better for a man than to eat and drink and enjoy his work. I have also seen that this is from the hand of God.

²⁵For apart from Him, who can eat and who can find enjoyment?

¹⁰Then Nehemiah told them, “Go and eat what is rich, drink what is sweet, and send out portions to those who have nothing prepared, since today is holy to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.”

¹¹And the Levites calmed all the people, saying, “Be still, since today is holy. Do not grieve.”

¹⁴The armies of heaven, dressed in fine linen, white and pure, follow Him on white horses.

⁴But you do have a few people in Sardis who have not soiled their garments, and because they are worthy, they will walk with Me in white.

⁵Like them, he who overcomes will be dressed in white. And I will never blot out his name from the Book of Life, but I will confess his name before My Father and His angels.

⁸She was given clothing of fine linen, bright and pure.” For the fine linen she wears is the righteous acts of the saints.

¹³Then one of the elders addressed me: “These in white robes,” he asked, “who are they, and where have they come from?”

¹⁴“Sir,” I answered, “you know.” So he replied, “These are the ones who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

¹⁵“Behold, I am coming like a thief. Blessed is the one who remains awake and clothed, so that he will not go naked and let his shame be exposed.”

⁹After this I looked and saw a multitude too large to count, from every nation and tribe and people and tongue, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and holding palm branches in their hands.

¹⁸May your fountain be blessed, and may you rejoice in the wife of your youth:

¹⁹A loving doe, a graceful fawn—may her breasts satisfy you always; may you be captivated by her love forever.

¹⁰Anything my eyes desired, I did not deny myself. I refused my heart no pleasure. For my heart took delight in all my work, and this was the reward for all my labor.

¹⁵Has not the Lord made them one, having a portion of the Spirit? And why one? Because He seeks godly offspring. So guard yourselves in your spirit and do not break faith with the wife of your youth.

¹²For who knows what is good for a man during the few days in which he passes through his fleeting life like a shadow? Who can tell a man what will come after him under the sun?

¹³and also that every man should eat and drink and find satisfaction in all his labor—this is the gift of God.

¹⁴Houses and wealth are inherited from fathers, but a prudent wife is from the Lord.

²³Whatever you do, work at it with your whole being, as for the Lord and not for men,

¹⁶redeeming the time, because the days are evil.

¹¹Do not let your zeal subside; keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord.

⁵For there is no mention of You in death; who can praise You from Sheol?

⁶Sow your seed in the morning, and do not rest your hands in the evening, for you do not know which will succeed, whether this or that, or if both will equally prosper.

²⁰So this is what Hezekiah did throughout Judah. He did what was good and upright and true before the Lord his God.

²¹He acted with all his heart in every work that he began in the service of the house of God, and in the law and the commandments, in order to seek his God. And so he prospered.

²³This is what the Lord says: “Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, nor the strong man in his strength, nor the wealthy man in his riches.

³⁰There is no wisdom, no understanding, no counsel that can prevail against the Lord.

³¹A horse is prepared for the day of battle, but victory is of the Lord.

³⁷Who has spoken and it came to pass, unless the Lord has ordained it?

³⁸Do not both adversity and good come from the mouth of the Most High?

¹¹He sets the lowly on high, so that mourners are lifted to safety.

¹²He thwarts the schemes of the crafty, so that their hands find no success.

¹⁷I said in my heart, “God will judge the righteous and the wicked, since there is a time for every activity and every deed.”

¹⁴I know that everything God does endures forever; nothing can be added to it or taken from it. God does it so that they should fear Him.

³While people are saying, “Peace and security,” destruction will come upon them suddenly, like labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape.

³⁴But watch yourselves, or your hearts will be weighed down by dissipation, drunkenness, and the worries of life—and that day will spring upon you suddenly like a snare.

³⁵For it will come upon all who dwell on the face of all the earth.

¹⁵Therefore calamity will come upon him suddenly; in an instant he will be shattered beyond recovery.

²⁰But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be required of you. Then who will own what you have accumulated?’

⁶An evil man is caught by his own sin, but a righteous one sings and rejoices.

¹⁸Surely You set them on slick ground; You cast them down into ruin.

¹⁹How suddenly they are laid waste, completely swept away by terrors!

¹⁶When I applied my mind to know wisdom and to observe the task that one performs on the earth—though his eyes do not see sleep in the day or even in the night—

¹⁵In my futile life I have seen both of these: A righteous man perishing in his righteousness, and a wicked man living long in his wickedness.

¹There is another evil I have seen under the sun, and it weighs heavily upon mankind:

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.

¹⁵And Joab’s troops came and besieged Sheba in Abel-beth-maacah and built a siege ramp against the outer rampart of the city. As all the troops with Joab were battering the wall to topple it,

¹⁶a wise woman called out from the city, “Listen! Listen! Please tell Joab to come here so that I may speak with him.”

²⁴Some time later, Ben-hadad king of Aram assembled his entire army and marched up to besiege Samaria.

¹³Better is a poor but wise youth than an old but foolish king who no longer knows how to take a warning.

²³The chief cupbearer, however, did not remember Joseph; he forgot all about him.

²And there it was found recorded that Mordecai had exposed Bigthana and Teresh, two of the eunuchs who guarded the king’s entrance, when they had conspired to assassinate King Xerxes.

³The king inquired, “What honor or dignity has been bestowed on Mordecai for this act?” “Nothing has been done for him,” replied the king’s attendants.

²²Then the woman went to all the people with her wise counsel, and they cut off the head of Sheba son of Bichri and threw it to Joab. So he blew the ram’s horn and his men dispersed from the city, each to his own home. And Joab returned to the king in Jerusalem.

¹⁶For there is no lasting remembrance of the wise, just as with the fool, seeing that both will be forgotten in the days to come. Alas, the wise man will die just like the fool!

¹⁹Wisdom makes the wise man stronger than ten rulers in a city.

⁵A wise man is strong, and a man of knowledge enhances his strength.

²²A wise man scales the city of the mighty and pulls down the stronghold in which they trust.

²When the Sabbath came, He began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard Him were astonished. “Where did this man get these ideas?” they asked. “What is this wisdom He has been given? And how can He perform such miracles?

³Isn’t this the carpenter, the son of Mary and the brother of James, Joses, Judas, and Simon? Aren’t His sisters here with us as well?” And they took offense at Him.

²Suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man in shabby clothes also comes in.

³If you lavish attention on the man in fine clothes and say, “Here is a seat of honor,” but say to the poor man, “You must stand” or “Sit at my feet,”

²⁶Brothers, consider the time of your calling: Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were powerful; not many were of noble birth.

²⁷But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.

¹⁷But the wisdom from above is first of all pure, then peace-loving, gentle, accommodating, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial, and sincere.

¹⁸Peacemakers who sow in peace reap the fruit of righteousness.

²³He who rebukes a man will later find more favor than one who flatters with his tongue.

²⁰for man’s anger does not bring about the righteousness that God desires.

²He will not cry out or raise His voice, nor make His voice heard in the streets.

³³Now, therefore, Pharaoh should look for a discerning and wise man and set him over the land of Egypt.

³⁴Let Pharaoh take action and appoint commissioners over the land to take a fifth of the harvest of Egypt during the seven years of abundance.

³Then Samuel said to all the house of Israel, “If you are returning to the Lord with all your hearts, then put away the foreign gods and Ashtoreths among you, prepare your hearts for the Lord, and serve Him only. And He will deliver you from the hand of the Philistines.”

⁴So the Israelites put away the Baals and Ashtoreths and served only the Lord.

¹The Israelites, however, acted unfaithfully regarding the things devoted to destruction. Achan son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took some of what was set apart. So the anger of the Lord burned against the Israelites.

¹¹Israel has sinned; they have transgressed My covenant that I commanded them, and they have taken some of what was devoted to destruction. Indeed, they have stolen and lied, and they have put these things with their own possessions.

¹²This is why the Israelites cannot stand against their enemies. They will turn their backs and run from their enemies, because they themselves have been set apart for destruction. I will no longer be with you unless you remove from among you whatever is devoted to destruction.

⁵And the men of Ai struck down about thirty-six of them, chasing them from the gate as far as the quarries and striking them down on the slopes. So the hearts of the people melted and became like water.

¹⁶But avoid irreverent, empty chatter, which will only lead to more ungodliness,

¹⁷and the talk of such men will spread like gangrene. Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus,

¹⁶And I said, “Wisdom is better than strength, but the wisdom of the poor man is despised, and his words are not heeded.”

³For the time will come when men will not tolerate sound doctrine, but with itching ears they will gather around themselves teachers to suit their own desires.

⁴So they will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.