HelpFinder Bible - Flipbook - Page 963
ECCL ESIASTES 9
page 593
experience some happiness along with all the
hard work God gives them under the sun.
16 In my search for wisdom and in my observation of people’s burdens here on earth,
I discovered that there is ceaseless activity, day
and night. 17 I realized that no one can discover
everything God is doing under the sun. Not even
the wisest people discover everything, no matter what they claim.
Death Comes to All
This, 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. 2 The 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.
3 It 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. 4 There is hope only for the living. As they
say, “It’s better to be a live dog than a dead lion!”
5 The living at least know they will die, but
the dead know nothing. They have no further
reward, nor are they remembered. 6 Whatever
they did in their lifetime—loving, hating, envying—is all long gone. They no longer play a part
in anything here on earth. 7 So go ahead. Eat
your food with joy, and drink your wine with
a happy heart, for God approves of this! 8 Wear
fine clothes, with a splash of cologne!
9 Live 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.
10 Whatever you do, do well. For when you go to
the grave,* there will be no work or planning or
knowledge or wisdom.
11 I 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.
12 People can never predict when hard times
might come. Like fish in a net or birds in a trap,
people are caught by sudden tragedy.
9
Thoughts on Wisdom and Folly
13 Here is another bit of wisdom that has impressed me as I have watched the way our world
works. 14 There was a small town with only a few
people, and a great king came with his army and
9:2 As in Greek and Syriac versions and Latin Vulgate; Hebrew
lacks or bad. 9:10 Hebrew to Sheol.
besieged it. 15 A poor, wise man knew how to save
the town, and so it was rescued. But afterward
no one thought to thank him. 16 So 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.
17
Better to hear the quiet words of a wise
person
than the shouts of a foolish king.
• Marriage
E C C LE S I A S TES 9:9
Notice the phrases that leap out of this
verse: “live happily,” “the woman you
love,” “the meaningless days of life,”
“the wife God gives you,” “your reward.”
We reach for happiness but fail to see it
sitting across from us at the breakfast
table. We long for an intimate relationship
but so often fail to recognize that our best
chance of that is with the person sleeping
in the same bed with us. We long for satisfaction but fail to realize that we should
be most satisfied with the person who
lives with us. Don’t ever give up on the
one you pledged to spend your life with.
Take a risk and really get to know your
spouse before you are too far apart to
find each other.
• Fairness
E C C LE S I A S TES 9:11
“Life isn’t fair!” We have all said this
at one time or another. And for some
people this seems especially true.
Cancer attacks certain families and not
others. Some people can’t find a good
job, no matter how hard they work. Some
parents lose a child, while others do not.
When we see such situations, we call life
unfair, and we are right. Since humanity
has fallen from a right relationship with
the Creator, the world doesn’t work the
way the Creator intended.
The book of Proverbs emphasizes
how things would work if everyone were
living rightly and fairly; Ecclesiastes tells
us what often happens in our less-thanperfect world. But we need to remember
that, while the world does not always
treat us fairly, God is always fair and just.
One day this fallen world that we have
gotten ourselves into will end, and ultimate justice and fairness will prevail
forever.