Ecclesiastes 9 As the righteous and the wise and their works are in the hand of God, man indeed knoweth not what to love or what to hate: with regard to all things before him there is vanity in them all.

Thomson⁽ⁱ⁾ ¹ As the righteous and the wise and their works are in the hand of God, man indeed knoweth not what to love or what to hate: with regard to all things before him there is vanity in them all. ² The same event happeneth to the righteous and to the wicked; to the good, and to the bad; to the clean and to the unclean; to him who sacrificeth and to him who sacrificeth not: as is the good, so is the sinner; as is he who sweareth, so is he who feareth the oath. ³ There is this evil in every thing done under the sun, that one event happeneth to them all, so that the heart of the children of men being filled with evil there is an instability in their heart during their life, and it followeth them to the dead. ⁴ Because whoever is in society with all the living hath hope; because the dog which is alive is better than the lion which is dead; ⁵ because they who are alive must know that they shall die; but the dead are not sensible of any thing and there is no more a portion for them; because the remembrance of these is forgotten, ⁶ and their love and their hatred and their envy are already perished and they have no more forever a portion in any thing done under the sun; ⁷ come eat thy bread with cheerfulness, and drink thy wine with a good heart: because God hath approved of thy works, ⁸ let thy garments be always white; and let not oil be wanting on thy head: ⁹ enjoy life also with the wife whom thou lovest all the days of thy life of vanity which are given thee under the sun: for this is thy portion in this life of thine, and this thy labour with which thou toilest under the sun. ¹⁰ Whatever thy hand findeth to do, do it with all thy might; since there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge nor wisdom in the mansion of the dead to which thou must go. ¹¹ Having turned about, I saw under the sun that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the mighty; nay not even bread to the wise, nor riches to men of understanding; nor favour to men of knowledge; that time and chance will happen to them all as forming one whole. ¹² That man indeed no more knoweth his time than the fishes which are enclosed in an evil dredge, or than birds which are caught in a net. Like them the sons of men are drawn into an evil time when it cometh upon them suddenly. ¹³ This also I saw under the sun in regard to wisdom which with me is in high estimation. ¹⁴ There was a small city and few men in it. And there came against it a mighty king who besieged it and built great ramparts against it; ¹⁵ but he happened to find in it a poor wise beggar, and this man by his wisdom saved the city; yet no man remembered the class of this poor beggar. ¹⁶ Now I have said, Wisdom is better than power, yet the wisdom of this poor man is despised and his words are not regarded. ¹⁷ The words of wise men in a time of rest are more minded than the shout of men exercising authority in the bustles of folly. Wisdom is better than implements of war. One sinner indeed will destroy much good.