Wisdom Cannot Protect against Seemingly Chance Events Again, I observed this on the earth: the race is not always won by the swiftest, the battle is not always won by the strongest; prosperity does not always belong to those who are the wisest, wealth does not always belong to those who are the most discerning, nor does success always come to those with the most knowledge– for time and chance may overcome them all.
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12Surely, no one knows his appointed time! Like fish that are caught in a deadly net, and like birds that are caught in a snare– just like them, all people are ensnared at an unfortunate time that falls upon them suddenly.
13Most People Are Not Receptive to Wise Counsel This is what I also observed about wisdom on earth, and it is a great burden to me:
10Whatever you find to do with your hands, do it with all your might, because there is neither work nor planning nor knowledge nor wisdom in the grave, the place where you will eventually go.
1Everyone Will Die So I reflected on all this, attempting to clear it all up. I concluded that the righteous and the wise, as well as their works, are in the hand of God; whether a person will be loved or hated– no one knows what lies ahead.
2Everyone shares the same fate– the righteous and the wicked, the good and the bad, the ceremonially clean and unclean, those who offer sacrifices and those who do not. What happens to the good person, also happens to the sinner; what happens to those who make vows, also happens to those who are afraid to make vows.
3This is the unfortunate fact about everything that happens on earth: the same fate awaits everyone. In addition to this, the hearts of all people are full of evil, and there is folly in their hearts during their lives– then they die.
9While applying my mind to everything that happens in this world, I have seen all this: Sometimes one person dominates other people to their harm.
16Limitations of Human Wisdom When I tried to gain wisdom and to observe the activity on earth– even though it prevents anyone from sleeping day or night–
17then I discerned all that God has done: No one really comprehends what happens on earth. Despite all human efforts to discover it, no one can ever grasp it. Even if a wise person claimed that he understood, he would not really comprehend it.
11The more one argues with words, the less he accomplishes. How does that benefit him?
12For no one knows what is best for a person during his life– during the few days of his fleeting life– for they pass away like a shadow. Nor can anyone tell him what the future will hold for him on earth.
19Who knows if he will be a wise man or a fool? Yet he will be master over all the fruit of my labor for which I worked so wisely on earth! This also is futile!
20So I began to despair about all the fruit of my labor for which I worked so hard on earth.
21For a man may do his work with wisdom, knowledge, and skill; however, he must hand over the fruit of his labor as an inheritance to someone else who did not work for it. This also is futile, and an awful injustice!
22Painful Days and Restless Nights What does a man acquire from all his labor and from the anxiety that accompanies his toil on earth?
14Here is another enigma that occurs on earth: Sometimes there are righteous people who get what the wicked deserve, and sometimes there are wicked people who get what the righteous deserve. I said,“This also is an enigma.”
9Man is Ignorant of God’s Timing What benefit can a worker gain from his toil?
10I have observed the burden that God has given to people to keep them occupied.
11God has made everything fit beautifully in its appropriate time, but he has also placed ignorance in the human heart so that people cannot discover what God has ordained, from the beginning to the end of their lives.
12Enjoy Life in the Present I have concluded that there is nothing better for people than to be happy and to enjoy themselves as long as they live,
14In times of prosperity be joyful, but in times of adversity consider this: God has made one as well as the other, so that no one can discover what the future holds.
15Exceptions to the Law of Retribution During the days of my fleeting life I have seen both of these things: Sometimes a righteous person dies prematurely in spite of his righteousness, and sometimes a wicked person lives long in spite of his evil deeds.
6Sow your seed in the morning, and do not stop working until the evening; for you do not know which activity will succeed– whether this one or that one, or whether both will prosper equally.
11Yet when I reflected on everything I had accomplished and on all the effort that I had expended to accomplish it, I concluded:“All these achievements and possessions are ultimately profitless– like chasing the wind! There is nothing gained from them on earth.”
19For the fate of humans and the fate of animals are the same: As one dies, so dies the other; both have the same breath. There is no advantage for humans over animals, for both are fleeting.
20Both go to the same place, both come from the dust, and to dust both return.
22So I perceived there is nothing better than for people to enjoy their work, because that is their reward; for who can show them what the future holds?
7Labor Motivated by Greed So I again considered another futile thing on earth:
1A Time for All Events in Life For everything there is an appointed time, and an appropriate time for every activity on earth:
6For there is a proper time and procedure for every matter, for the oppression of the king is severe upon his victim.
7Surely no one knows the future, and no one can tell another person what will happen.
1Not Everyone Enjoys Life Here is another misfortune that I have seen on earth, and it weighs heavily on people:
2God gives a man riches, property, and wealth so that he lacks nothing that his heart desires, yet God does not enable him to enjoy the fruit of his labor– instead, someone else enjoys it! This is fruitless and a grave misfortune.
6if he should live a thousand years twice, yet does not enjoy his prosperity. For both of them die!
7All of man’s labor is for nothing more than to fill his stomach– yet his appetite is never satisfied!
8So what advantage does a wise man have over a fool? And what advantage does a pauper gain by knowing how to survive?
16This is another misfortune: Just as he came, so will he go. What did he gain from toiling for the wind?
24Enjoy Work and its Benefits There is nothing better for people than to eat and drink, and to find enjoyment in their work. I also perceived that this ability to find enjoyment comes from God.
25For no one can eat and drink or experience joy apart from him.
26For to the one who pleases him, God gives wisdom, knowledge, and joy, but to the sinner, he gives the task of amassing wealth– only to give it to the one who pleases God. This task of the wicked is futile– like chasing the wind!
9What exists now is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done; there is nothing truly new on earth.
6A time to search, and a time to give something up as lost; a time to keep, and a time to throw away;
3Futility Illustrated from Nature What benefit do people get from all the effort which they expend on earth?
15So I thought to myself,“The fate of the fool will happen even to me! Then what did I gain by becoming so excessively wise?” So I lamented to myself,“The benefits of wisdom are ultimately meaningless!”
3But better than both is the one who has not been born and has not seen the evil things that are done on earth.
13I decided to carefully and thoroughly examine all that has been accomplished on earth. I concluded: God has given people a burdensome task that keeps them occupied.
14I reflected on everything that is accomplished by man on earth, and I concluded: Everything he has accomplished is futile– like chasing the wind!
9It is not the aged who are wise, nor old men who understand what is right.
1Ignorance of the Future Demands Diligence in the Present Send your grain overseas, for after many days you will get a return.
18Enjoy the Fruit of Your Labor I have seen personally what is the only beneficial and appropriate course of action for people: to eat and drink, and find enjoyment in all their hard work on earth during the few days of their life which God has given them, for this is their reward.