Ecclesiastes 9:2

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1 For I¹ considered all this in my heart, so that I could declare it all: ^athat the righteous and the wise and their works are in the hand of God. People know neither love nor hatred by anything they see before them.

2 ^aAll things come alike to all:
One event happens to the¹ righteous and the wicked;
To the good, the clean, and the unclean;
To him who sacrifices and him who does not sacrifice.
As is the good, so is the sinner;
He who takes an oath as he who fears an oath.

3 This is an evil in all that is done under the sun: that one thing happens to all. Truly the hearts of the sons of men are full of evil; madness is in their hearts while they live, and after that they go to the dead.

4 But for him who is joined to all the living there is hope, for a living dog is better than a dead lion.

5 For the living know that they will die;
But ^athe dead know nothing,
And they have no more reward,
For ^bthe memory of them is forgotten.

6 Also their love, their hatred, and their envy have now perished;
Nevermore will they have a share
In anything done under the sun.

7 Go, ^aeat your bread with joy,
And drink your wine with a merry heart;
For God has already accepted your works.

8 Let your garments always be white,
And let your head lack no oil.

9 ¹Live joyfully with the wife whom you love all the days of your vain life which He has given you under the sun, all your days of vanity; ^afor that is your portion in life, and in the labor which you perform under the sun.

10 ^aWhatever your hand finds to do, do it with your ^bmight; for there is no work or device or knowledge or wisdom in the grave where you are going.

11 I returned ^aand saw under the sun that—
The race is not to the swift,
Nor the battle to the strong,
Nor bread to the wise,
Nor riches to men of understanding,
Nor favor to men of skill;
But time and ^bchance happen to them all.

12 For ^aman also does not know his time:
Like fish taken in a cruel net,
Like birds caught in a snare,
So the sons of men are ^bsnared in an evil time,
When it falls suddenly upon them.

Wisdom Superior to Folly

13 This wisdom I have also seen under the sun, and it seemed great to me:

14 ^aThere was a little city with few men in it; and a great king came against it, besieged it, and built great¹ snares around it.

Verse Comparison: Ecclesiastes 9:2

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American Standard Version
All 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.

Amplified® Bible
All 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 who sacrifices and to him who does not sacrifice. As is the good man, so is the sinner; and he who swears is as he who fears {and} shuns an oath.

Contemporary English Version
But exactly the same thing will finally happen to all of us, whether we live right and respect God or sin and don't respect God. Yes, the same thing will happen if we offer sacrifices to God or if we don't, if we keep our promises or break them.

Darby English Version
All things [come] alike to all: 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; he that sweareth, as he that feareth an oath.

Good News Bible
It makes no difference. The same fate comes to the righteous and the wicked, to the good and the bad, to those who are religious and those who are not, to those who offer sacrifices and those who do not. A good person is no better off than a sinner; one who takes an oath is no better off than one who does not.

King James Version
All 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.

New American Standard Bible
It is the same for all. There is one fate for the righteous and for the wicked; for the good, for the clean and for the unclean; for the man who offers a sacrifice and for the one who does not sacrifice. As the good man is, so is the sinner; as the swearer is, so is the one who is afraid to swear.

New International Version
All 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 man,
so with the sinner;
as it is with those who take oaths,
so with those who are afraid to take them.

New King James Version
All things come alike to all:
One event happens to the righteous and the wicked;
To the good, the clean, and the unclean;
To him who sacrifices and him who does not sacrifice.
As is the good, so is the sinner;
He who takes an oath as he who fears an oath.

N.A.S.B. in E-Prime
The same fate awaits all: One fate for the righteous and for the wicked; for the good, for the clean and for the unclean; for the man who offers a sacrifice and for the one who does not sacrifice. As the good man awaits, so does the sinner await; as the one who swears awaits, so the one who shows fear to swear awaits.

Revised Standard Version
since one fate comes to all, to the righteous and the wicked, to the good and the evil, to the clean and the unclean, to him who sacrifices and him who does not sacrifice. As is the good man, so is the sinner; and he who swears is as he who shuns an oath.

Young's Literal Translation
The whole `is' as to the whole; one event is to the righteous and to the wicked, to the good, and to the clean, and to the unclean, and to him who is sacrificing, and to him who is not sacrificing; as `is' the good, so `is' the sinner, he who is swearing as he who is fearing an oath.

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Ecclesiastes 9:3 >>

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Wisdom Superior to Folly

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