1I thought about all of this very carefully and explored it thoroughly: good people, wise people, and their actions are all in God’s hands. No one knows if they will experience love or hate; everything is uncertain for them.
2Everyone faces the same fate. The same thing happens to good people and bad people, to those who are clean and those who are unclean, to those who offer sacrifices and those who don’t. A good person is treated the same as a sinner; someone who makes an oath is treated the same as someone afraid to make an oath.
3This is a terrible thing about everything that happens on earth: everyone meets the same end. Also, people’s hearts are full of evil, and madness is in their hearts while they live, and afterward they die.
4As long as someone is alive, there is hope. A living dog is better off than a dead lion.
5Because the living know they will die, but the dead know nothing. They no longer have any reward, and people forget them.
6Their love, their hate, and their envy have all disappeared long ago. They will never again have a part in anything that happens on earth.
7Go ahead—eat your food with joy and drink your wine with a happy heart, because God has already approved of what you do.
8Always dress well, and always make sure you look good.
9Enjoy life with the wife you love throughout your meaningless life that God has given you under the sun. This is your reward in life and for all your hard work on earth.
10Whatever you find to do, do it with all your might. Because in the grave, where you are going, there is no work, no planning, no knowledge, and no wisdom.
11I looked again and saw something else on earth: the fastest runners don't always win the race, the strongest warriors don't always win the battle, the wise don't always get food, the intelligent don't always get rich, and the skilled don't always get favor. Instead, time and chance happen to everyone.
12People also don’t know when their time will come. Like fish caught in a cruel net or birds trapped in a snare, people are caught in a bad time when it suddenly falls on them.
13I also saw an example of wisdom on earth that made a strong impression on me.
14There was a small city with few inhabitants. A powerful king came against it, surrounded it, and built strong structures to attack it.
15But a poor, wise man was found in the city, and he saved the city with his wisdom. Yet no one remembered that poor man.
16So I said, “Wisdom is better than strength.” Still, a poor person’s wisdom is looked down on, and their words are not heard.
17It is better to listen to the quiet words of the wise than to the shouts of a ruler among fools.
18Wisdom provides more protection than weapons of war, but one sinner can ruin a lot of good.