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Kohelet 9
Orthodox Jewish Bible
Kohelet 9
Orthodox Jewish Bible
9 All this I took to my lev, explaining it all, that the tzaddikim, and the chachamim, and their works, are in the yad HaElohim; adam does not have da’as of whether it will be ahavah or sinah; all lies before him.
2 All things come alike to all; there is one mikreh (fortune) to the tzaddik, and to the rasha; to the tov and to the tahor, and to the tameh; to him that sacrificeth, and to him that sacrificeth not; as is the tov, so is the choteh; and he that sweareth, as he that feareth a shevuah (an oath).
3 This is a rah among all things that are done under the shemesh, that there is one mikreh (fortune) unto all; yea, also the lev of the bnei haAdam is full of rah, and holelot (madness) is in their lev while they live, and after that they go to the mesim.
4 For to him that is joined to all the living there is bitachon; for a kelev chai (living dog) is better than an aryeh hamet (dead lion).
5 For the living have da’as that they shall die; but the mesim do not have da’as of anything, neither have they any more a sachar, for the memory of them is forgotten.
6 Also their ahavah, and their sinah, and their kina, is now perished; neither have they any more a chelek l’olam in any thing that is done under the shemesh.
7 Go thy way, eat thy lechem with simchah, and drink thy yayin with a lev tov; for HaElohim now accepteth thy ma’asim.
8 Let thy garments be always white; and let thy head lack no shemen (ointment).
9 Live joyfully with the isha whom thou lovest all the days of thy chayyei hevel, which he hath given thee under the shemesh, all the days of thy hevel; for that is thy chelek in this life, and in thy amal (toil) which thou laborest under the shemesh.
10 Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy koach; for there is no ma’aseh, nor cheshbon, nor da’as, nor chochmah in Sheol, whither thou goest.
11 I returned, and saw under the shemesh, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the gibborim, neither yet lechem to the chachamim, nor yet osher to the intelligent, nor yet chen (favor) to the experts; but et (time) and pega (chance) happeneth to them all.
12 For haAdam also hath no da’as of his et (time, hour, but see Yn 13:1; 8:20; 7:30; 2:4 regarding the Moshiach’s knowledge of his hour); as the dagim that are caught in a metzodah rah (evil net), and as the birds that are trapped in the pach (snare), so are the Bnei HaAdam snared in an et ra’ah (evil time), when it falleth suddenly upon them.
13 This chochmah have I seen also under the shemesh, and it seemed gedolah (great) unto me:
14 There was an ir ketanah (little city), and few men within it; and there came a melech gadol against it, and besieged it, and built metzorim gedolim (huge siegeworks) against it.
15 Now there was found in it a poor chacham, and he by his chochmah delivered the city; yet no man remembered that same poor man.
16 Then said I, Chochmah is better than gevurah (strength); nevertheless the poor man’s chochmah is despised, and his devarim are not heard.
17 Divrei chachamim in quiet are more to be heeded than the shouting of the moshel (one ruling) among kesilim.
18 Chochmah is better than weapons of war, but one choteh destroyeth much good.
Ecclesiastes 9
New International Version
Ecclesiastes 9
New International Version
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.(A) 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.(B)
3 This is the evil in everything that happens under the sun: The same destiny overtakes all.(C) The hearts of people, moreover, are full of evil and there is madness in their hearts while they live,(D) and afterward they join the dead.(E) 4 Anyone who is among the living has hope[b]—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;(F)
they have no further reward,
and even their name(G) is forgotten.(H)
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.(I)
7 Go, eat your food with gladness, and drink your wine(J) with a joyful heart,(K) for God has already approved what you do. 8 Always be clothed in white,(L) and always anoint your head with oil. 9 Enjoy life with your wife,(M) 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(N) in life and in your toilsome labor under the sun. 10 Whatever(O) your hand finds to do, do it with all your might,(P) for in the realm of the dead,(Q) where you are going, there is neither working nor planning nor knowledge nor wisdom.(R)
11 I have seen something else under the sun:
The race is not to the swift
or the battle to the strong,(S)
nor does food come to the wise(T)
or wealth to the brilliant
or favor to the learned;
but time and chance(U) happen to them all.(V)
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 times(W)
that fall unexpectedly upon them.(X)
Wisdom Better Than Folly
13 I also saw under the sun this example of wisdom(Y) 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.(Z) 16 So I said, “Wisdom is better than strength.” But the poor man’s wisdom is despised, and his words are no longer heeded.(AA)
17 The quiet words of the wise are more to be heeded
than the shouts of a ruler of fools.
18 Wisdom(AB) is better than weapons of war,
but one sinner destroys much good.
Footnotes
- Ecclesiastes 9:2 Septuagint (Aquila), Vulgate and Syriac; Hebrew does not have and the bad.
- Ecclesiastes 9:4 Or What then is to be chosen? With all who live, there is hope
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