Ecclesiastes 9

1 Ὡς οἱ δίκαιοι καὶ οἱ σοφοὶ καὶ αἱ ἐργασίαι αὐτῶν ἐν χειρὶ τοῦ Θεοῦ, καί γε ἀγάπην καί γε μῖσος οὐκ ἔστιν εἰδὼς ὁ ἄνθρωπος· τὰ πάντα πρὸ προσώπου αὐτῶν.

2 Ματαιότης ἐν τοῖς πᾶσι· συνάντημα ἓν τῷ δικαίῳ καὶ τῷ ἀσεβεῖ, τῷ ἀγαθῷ καὶ τῷ κακῷ, καὶ τῷ καθαρῷ καὶ τῷ ἀκαθάρτῳ, καὶ τῷ θυσιάζοντι καὶ τῷ μὴ θυσιάζοντι· ὡς ὁ ἀγαθὸς ὡς ὁ ἁμαρτάνων, ὡς ὁ ὀμνύων καθὼς ὁ τὸν ὅρκον φοβούμενος.

3 Τοῦτο πονηρὸν ἐν παντὶ πεποιημένῳ ὑπὸ τὸν ἥλιον, ὅτι συνάντημα ἓν τοῖς πᾶσι· καί γε καρδια υἱῶν τοῦ ἀνθρώπου ἐπληρώθη πονηροῦ, καὶ περιφέρεια ἐν καρδίᾳ αὐτῶν ἐν ζωῇ αὐτῶν, καὶ ὀπίσω αὐτῶν πρὸς τοὺς νεκρούς.

4 Ὅτι τίς ὃς κοινωνεῖ πρὸς πάντας τοὺς ζῶντας; ἔστιν ἐλπὶς, ὅτι ὁ κύων ὁ ζῶν αὐτὸς ἀγαθὸς ὑπὲρ τὸν λέοντα τὸν νεκρόν·

5 Ὅτι οἱ ζῶντες γνώσονται ὅτι ἀποθανοῦνται, καὶ οἱ νεκροὶ οὐκ εἰσὶ γινώσκοντες οὐδέν· καὶ οὐκ ἔστιν αὐτοῖς ἔτι μισθὸς, ὅτι ἐπελήσθη ἡ μνήμη αὐτῶν.

6 Καί γε ἀγάπη αὐτῶν, καί γε μῖσος αὐτῶν, καί γε ζῆλος αὐτῶν ἤδη ἀπώλετο· καί γε μερὶς οὐκ ἔστιν αὐτοῖς ἔτι εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα ἐν παντὶ τῷ πεποιημένῳ ὑπὸ τὸν ἥλιον.

7 Δεῦρο φάγε ἐν εὐφροσύνῃ τὸν ἄρτον σου, καὶ πίε ἐν καρδίᾳ ἀγαθῇ οἶνόν σου, ὅτι ἤδη εὐδόκησεν ὁ Θεὸς τὰ ποιήματά σου.

8 Ἐν παντὶ καιρῷ ἔστωσαν ἱμάτιά σου λευκὰ, καὶ ἔλαιον ἐπὶ κεφαλῆς σου μὴ ὑστερησάτω.

9 Καὶ ἴδε ζωὴν μετὰ γυναικὸς ἧς ἠγάπησας πάσας τὰς ἡμέρας ζωῆς ματαιότητός σου, τὰς δοθείσας σοι ὑπὸ τὸν ἥλιον, ὅτι αὐτὸ μερίς σου ἐν τῇ ζωῇ σου, καὶ ἐν τῷ μόχθῳ σου ᾧ σὺ μοχθεῖς ὑπὸ τὸν ἥλιον.

10 Πάντα ὅσα ἂν εὕρῃ ἡ χείρ σου τοῦ ποιῆσαι, ὡς ἡ δύναμίς σου ποίησον, ὅτι οὐκ ἔστι ποίημα καὶ λογισμὸς καὶ γνῶσις καὶ σοφία ἐν ᾅδῃ, ὅπου σὺ πορεύῃ ἐκεῖ.

11 Ἐπέστρεψα καὶ εἶδον ὑπὸ τὸν ἥλιον, ὅτι οὐ τοῖς κούφοις ὁ δρόμος, καὶ οὐ τοῖς δυνατοῖς ὁ πόλεμος, καί γε οὐ τῷ σοφῷ ἄρτος, καί γε οὐ τοῖς συνετοῖς πλοῦτος, καί γε οὐ τοῖς γινώσκουσι χάρις, ὅτι καιρὸς καὶ ἀπάντημα συνατήσεται σύμπασιν αὐτοῖς.

12 Ὅτι καί γε καὶ οὐκ ἔγνω ὁ ἄνθρωπος τὸν καιρὸν αὐτοῦ, ὡς οἱ ἰχθύες οἱ θηρευόμενοι ἐν ἀμφιβλήστρῳ κακῷ, καὶ ὡς ὄρνεα τὰ θηρευόμενα ἐν παγίδι· ὡς αὐτὰ παγιδεύονται οἱ υἱοὶ τοῦ ἀνθρώπου εἰς καιρὸν πονηρὸν, ὅταν ἐπιπέσῃ ἐπʼ αὐτοὺς ἄφνω.

13 Καί γε τοῦτο εἶδον σοφίαν ὑπὸ τὸν ἥλιον, καὶ μεγάλη ἐστι πρὸς μέ·

14 Πόλις μικρὰ καὶ ἄνδρες ἐν αὐτῇ ὀλίγοι, καὶ ἔλθῃ ἐπʼ αὐτὴν βασιλεὺς μέγας καὶ κυκλώσῃ αὐτὴν, καὶ οἰκοδομήσῃ ἐπʼ αὐτὴν χάρακας μεγάλους·

15 καὶ εὕρῃ ἐν αὐτῇ ἄνδρα πένητα σοφὸν, καὶ διασώσῃ αὐτὸς τὴν πόλιν ἐν τῇ σοφίᾳ αὐτοῦ, καὶ ἄνθρωπος οὐκ ἐμνήσθη σὺν τοῦ ἀνδρὸς τοῦ πένητος ἐκείνου.

16 Καὶ εἶπα ἐγὼ, ἀγαθὴ σοφία ὑπὲρ δύναμιν· καὶ σοφία τοῦ πένητος ἐξουδενωμένη, καὶ οἱ λόγοι αὐτοῦ οὐκ εἰσακουόμενοι.

17 Λόγοι σοφῶν ἐν ἀναπαύσει ἀκούονται ὑπὲρ κραυγὴν ἐξουσιάζόντων ἐν ἀφροσύναις.

18 Ἀγαθὴ σοφία ὑπὲρ σκεύη πολέμου· καὶ ἁμαρτάνων εἷς ἀπολέσει ἀγαθωσύνην πολλήν.

1 I saw that the righteous, and the wise, and their works, are in the hand of God: yea, there is no man that knows either love or hatred, though all are before their face.

2 Vanity is in all: there is one event to the righteous, and to the wicked; to the good, and to the bad; both to the pure, and to the impure; both to him that sacrifices, and to him that sacrifices not: as is the good, so is the sinner: as is the swearer, even so is he that fears an oath.

3 There is this evil in all that is done under the sun, that there is one event to all: yea, the heart of the sons of men is filled with evil, and madness is in their heart during their life, and after that they go to the dead.

4 For who is he that has fellowship with all the living? there is hope of him : for a living dog is better than a dead lion.

5 For the living will know that they shall die: but the dead know nothing, and there is no longer any reward to them; for their memory is lost.

6 Also their love, and their hatred, and their envy, have now perished; yea, there is no portion for them any more for ever in all that is done under the sun.

7 Go, eat thy bread with mirth, and drink thy wine with a joyful heart; for now God has favourably accepted thy works.

8 Let thy garments be always white; and let not oil be wanting on thine head.

9 And see life with the wife whom thou lovest all the days of the life of thy vanity, which are given thee under the sun: for that is thy portion in thy life, and in thy labour wherein thou labourest under the sun.

10 Whatsoever thine hand shall find to do, do with all thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in Hades whither thou goest.

11 I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, nor yet bread to the wise, nor yet wealth to men of understanding, nor yet favour to men of knowledge; for time and chance will happen to them all.

12 For surely man also knows not his time: as fishes that are taken in an evil net, and as birds that are caught in a snare; even thus the sons of men are snared at an evil time, when it falls suddenly upon them.

13 This I also saw to be wisdom under the sun, and it is great before me:

14 suppose there were a little city, and few men in it; and there should come against it a great king, and surround it, and build great mounds against it;

15 and should find in it a poor wise man, and he should save the city through his wisdom: yet no man would remember that poor man.

16 And I said, Wisdom is better than power: yet the wisdom of the poor man is set at nought, and his words not listened to.

17 The words of the wise are heard in quiet more than the cry of them that rule in folly.

18 Wisdom is better than weapons of war: and one sinner will destroy much good.