Welcome to our website where we explore the Bible! Pleasure to meet you here!
May your journey into the world of the Holy Scriptures be engaging and inspiring!
You can change reading language: uk ru
Parallel
New International Version
New Living Translation
A Common Destiny for All
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.
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.
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.
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.
This 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.
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.
There is hope only for the living. As they say, “It’s better to be a live dog than a dead lion!”
For the living know that they will die,
but the dead know nothing;
they have no further reward,
and even their name is forgotten.
but the dead know nothing;
they have no further reward,
and even their name is forgotten.
The living at least know they will die, but the dead know nothing. They have no further reward, nor are they remembered.
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.
and their jealousy have long since vanished;
never again will they have a part
in anything that happens under the sun.
Whatever they did in their lifetime — loving, hating, envying — is all long gone. They no longer play a part in anything here on earth.
Go, eat your food with gladness, and drink your wine with a joyful heart, for God has already approved what you do.
So go ahead. Eat your food with joy, and drink your wine with a happy heart, for God approves of this!
Always be clothed in white, and always anoint your head with oil.
Wear fine clothes, with a splash of cologne!
Enjoy 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.
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.
Whatever 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.
I 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.
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.
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.
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
that fall unexpectedly upon them.
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.
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.
Wisdom Better Than Folly
I also saw under the sun this example of wisdom that greatly impressed me:
I also saw under the sun this example of wisdom that greatly impressed me:
Thoughts on Wisdom and Folly
Here is another bit of wisdom that has impressed me as I have watched the way our world works.
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.
There was a small town with only a few people, and a great king came with his army and besieged it.
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.
A poor, wise man knew how to save the town, and so it was rescued. But afterward no one thought to thank him.
So I said, “Wisdom is better than strength.” But the poor man’s wisdom is despised, and his words are no longer heeded.
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.
The quiet words of the wise are more to be heeded
than the shouts of a ruler of fools.
than the shouts of a ruler of fools.
Better to hear the quiet words of a wise person
than the shouts of a foolish king.
than the shouts of a foolish king.