Everyone 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.
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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.
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.
10Contradictions to the Law of Retribution Not only that, but I have seen the wicked approaching and entering the temple, and as they left the holy temple, they boasted in the city that they had done so. This also is an enigma.
11When a sentence is not executed at once against a crime, the human heart is encouraged to do evil.
12Even though a sinner might commit a hundred crimes and still live a long time, yet I know that it will go well with God-fearing people– for they stand in fear before him.
13But it will not go well with the wicked, nor will they prolong their days like a shadow, because they do not stand in fear before God.
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.”
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.
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.
14God’s Sovereignty I also know that whatever God does will endure forever; nothing can be added to it, and nothing taken away from it. God has made it this way, so that men will fear him.
15Whatever exists now has already been, and whatever will be has already been; for God will seek to do again what has occurred in the past.
16The Problem of Injustice and Oppression I saw something else on earth: In the place of justice, there was wickedness, and in the place of fairness, there was wickedness.
17I thought to myself,“God will judge both the righteous and the wicked; for there is an appropriate time for every activity, and there is a time of judgment for every deed.
22Accusation of God’s Justice“It is all one! That is why I say,‘He destroys the blameless and the guilty.’
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!
14For God will evaluate every deed, including every secret thing, whether good or evil.
11Wisdom 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.
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.
9What exists now is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done; there is nothing truly new on earth.
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.
20For there is not one truly righteous person on the earth who continually does good and never sins.
1A Time for All Events in Life For everything there is an appointed time, and an appropriate time for every activity on earth:
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,
6if he should live a thousand years twice, yet does not enjoy his prosperity. For both of them die!
27An unjust person is an abomination to the righteous, and the one who lives an upright life is an abomination to the wicked.
6For there is a proper time and procedure for every matter, for the oppression of the king is severe upon his victim.
16This is another misfortune: Just as he came, so will he go. What did he gain from toiling for the wind?
17Surely, he ate in darkness every day of his life, and he suffered greatly with sickness and anger.
8Concluding Refrain: Qoheleth Restates His Thesis“Absolutely futile!” laments the Teacher,“All of these things are futile!”
4The LORD has worked everything for his own ends– even the wicked for the day of disaster.
8Even as I have seen, those who plow iniquity and those who sow trouble reap the same.
14The wise man can see where he is going, but the fool walks in darkness. Yet I also realized that the same fate happens to them both.
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!”
16For the wise man, like the fool, will not be remembered for very long, because in the days to come, both will already have been forgotten. Alas, the wise man dies– just like the fool!
24“But if a righteous man turns away from his righteousness and practices wrongdoing according to all the abominable practices the wicked carry out, will he live? All his righteous acts will not be remembered; because of the unfaithful acts he has done and the sin he has committed, he will die.
31If the righteous are recompensed on earth, how much more the wicked sinner!
19who shows no partiality to princes, and does not take note of the rich more than the poor, because all of them are the work of his hands?
3But better than both is the one who has not been born and has not seen the evil things that are done on earth.
2The rich and the poor are met together; the LORD is the Creator of them both.
1The godly perish, but no one cares. Honest people disappear, when no one minds that the godly disappear because of evil.
2It is better to go to a funeral than a feast. For death is the destiny of every person, and the living should take this to heart.
23Further Sayings of the Wise These sayings also are from the wise: To show partiality in judgment is terrible:
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?
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!
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.
15The one who acquits the guilty and the one who condemns the innocent– both of them are an abomination to the LORD.