| King James Bible | New International Version |
| 1For all this I considered in my heart even to declare all this, that the righteous, and the wise, and their works, are in the hand of God: no man knoweth either love or hatred by all that is before them. | 1So 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. |
| 2All things come alike to all: there is one event to the righteous, and to the wicked; to the good and to the clean, and to the unclean; to him that sacrificeth, and to him that sacrificeth not: as is the good, so is the sinner; and he that sweareth, as he that feareth an oath. | 2All share a common destiny--the righteous and the wicked, the good and the bad, 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. |
| 3This is an evil among all things that are done under the sun, that there is one event unto all: yea, also the heart of the sons of men is full of evil, and madness is in their heart while they live, and after that they go to the dead. | 3This 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. |
| 4For to him that is joined to all the living there is hope: for a living dog is better than a dead lion. | 4Anyone who is among the living has hope --even a live dog is better off than a dead lion! |
| 5For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not any thing, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten. | 5For the living know that they will die, but the dead know nothing; they have no further reward, and even their name is forgotten. |
| 6Also their love, and their hatred, and their envy, is now perished; neither have they any more a portion for ever in any thing that is done under the sun. | 6Their love, their hate and their jealousy have long since vanished; never again will they have a part in anything that happens under the sun. |
| 7Go thy way, eat thy bread with joy, and drink thy wine with a merry heart; for God now accepteth thy works. | 7Go, eat your food with gladness, and drink your wine with a joyful heart, for God has already approved what you do. |
| 8Let thy garments be always white; and let thy head lack no ointment. | 8Always be clothed in white, and always anoint your head with oil. |
| 9Live joyfully with the wife whom thou lovest all the days of the life of thy vanity, which he hath given thee under the sun, all the days of thy vanity: for that is thy portion in this life, and in thy labour which thou takest under the sun. | 9Enjoy 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. |
| 10Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest. | 10Whatever 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. |
| 11I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favour to men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to them all. | 11I 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. |
| 12For man also knoweth not his time: as the fishes that are taken in an evil net, and as the birds that are caught in the snare; so are the sons of men snared in an evil time, when it falleth suddenly upon them. | 12Moreover, 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. |
| 13This wisdom have I seen also under the sun, and it seemed great unto me: | 13I also saw under the sun this example of wisdom that greatly impressed me: |
| 14There was a little city, and few men within it; and there came a great king against it, and besieged it, and built great bulwarks against it: | 14There 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. |
| 15Now there was found in it a poor wise man, and he by his wisdom delivered the city; yet no man remembered that same poor man. | 15Now there lived in that city a man poor but wise, and he saved the city by his wisdom. But nobody remembered that poor man. |
| 16Then said I, Wisdom is better than strength: nevertheless the poor man's wisdom is despised, and his words are not heard. | 16So I said, "Wisdom is better than strength." But the poor man's wisdom is despised, and his words are no longer heeded. |
| 17The words of wise men are heard in quiet more than the cry of him that ruleth among fools. | 17The quiet words of the wise are more to be heeded than the shouts of a ruler of fools. |
| 18Wisdom is better than weapons of war: but one sinner destroyeth much good. | 18Wisdom is better than weapons of war, but one sinner destroys much good. |
|
