1I reflected on all this and concluded that the righteous, and the wise, and their activities, are in God’s hand; no one knows what lies ahead of them. 2All share alike in these: The same event comes to the righteous, and to the wicked; to the good and the bad; to the clean, and the unclean; to those who do and do not sacrifice: as it is to the good, so it is to the sinner; and he that takes an oath, and he that does not. 3This is an evil among all things that happen under the sun, that there is one event that happens to them all; and the heart of man is full of evil, and madness while they live; and after that, they join the dead. 4For those that are among the living, there is hope; for a live dog is better than a dead lion. 5For the living know that they shall die; but the dead know nothing; they have no further reward; for even the memory of them is forgotten. 6Also their love, their hatred, and their envy, have now vanished; and they no longer have a part in anything that is done under the sun.

7Go your way, eat your food with joy, and drink your wine with a merry heart; for God approves of this. 8Let your garments be white; and anoint your head with ointment. 9Enjoy life with your wife, whom you love, all the days of your vain life, which God has given to you under the sun, all the days of your meaningless life; for that is your lot in this life, and enjoy your labor which you undertake under the sun. 10Whatever you put your hands to, do it with all your might; for in the grave, where you are going, there is neither work, nor planning, nor knowledge, nor wisdom.

11I have observed something else under the sun - that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, nor does food come to the wise, nor yet wealth to men of understanding, or of skill; but time and chance happen to them all. 12For man does not knows when his time will come: like the fish caught in a net, or birds caught in the snare, so are people caught by sudden tragedy.

13This wisdom that I have seen under the sun has also greatly impressed me: 14There was once a small town with few men in it; and a great king came and besieged it, and built great siege mounds against it. 15Now there lived in that town a poor wise man, and he, by his wisdom, saved the city; but afterward, no one remembered that same poor man. 16So I said, “Wisdom is better than strength”; but the poor man's wisdom is despised, and his words are no longer heeded.

17The quiet words of wise men are more to be heeded than the shouts of the ruler among fools. 18Wisdom is better than weapons of war, but one sinner destroys much that is good.