For all this I laid to my heart, even to explore all this: that the righteous, and the wise, and their works, are in the hand of God; whether it be love or hatred, man knoweth it not; all is before them.
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.
This is an evil in all that is done under the sun, that there is one event unto all: yea also, the heart of the sons of men is full of evil, and madness is in their heart while they live, and after that they go to the dead.
{Another reading is, For who is exempted? With all &c., or, who can choose? With all &c.}For to him that is joined with all the living there is hope; for a living dog is better than a dead lion.
For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not anything, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten.
As well their love, as their hatred and their envy, is perished long ago; neither have they any more a portion for ever in anything that is done under the sun.
Go thy way, eat thy bread with joy, and drink thy wine with a merry heart; for God hath already accepted thy works.
Let thy garments be always white; and let not thy head lack oil.
{Or, Enjoy (Hebrew: See) life}Live joyfully with the wife whom thou lovest all the days of thy life of vanity, which he hath given thee under the sun, all thy days of vanity: for that is thy portion in life, and in thy labor wherein thou laborest under the sun.
Whatsoever thy hand {Or, attained to do by thy strength, that do}findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in Sheol, whither thou goest.
I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favor to men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to them all.
For man also knoweth not his time: as the fishes that are taken in an evil net, and as the birds that are caught in the snare, even so are the sons of men snared in an evil time, when it falleth suddenly upon them.
I have also seen wisdom under the sun on this wise, and it seemed great unto me:
There was a little city, and few men within it; and there came a great king against it, and besieged it, and built great bulwarks against it.
Now there was found in it a poor wise man, and he by his wisdom delivered the city; yet no man remembered that same poor man.
Then said I, Wisdom is better than strength: nevertheless the poor man's wisdom is despised, and his words are not heard.
The words of the wise heard in quiet are better than the cry of him that ruleth among fools.
Wisdom is better than weapons of war; but one sinner destroyeth much good.
Querverweise zu Prediger 9,11 Pred 9,11
And I turned myself to behold wisdom, and madness, and folly: for what can the man do that cometh {Or, after the king, even him whom they made king long ago? Or, after the king in those things which have been already done?}after the king? even that which hath been done long ago.
So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and with a stone, and smote the Philistine, and slew him; but there was no sword in the hand of David.
The wise man's eyes are in his head, and the fool walketh in darkness: and yet I perceived that one event happeneth to them all.
Then I returned and saw all the oppressions that are done under the sun: and, behold, the tears of such as were oppressed, and they had no comforter; and on the side of their oppressors there was power; but they had no comforter.
And the three sons of Zeruiah were there, Joab, and Abishai, and Asahel: and Asahel was as light of foot {Hebrew: as one of the roes thatare in the field.}as a wild roe.
And Asahel pursued after Abner; and in going he turned not to the right hand nor to the left from following Abner.
Then Abner looked behind him, and said, Is it thou, Asahel? And he answered, It is I.
And Abner said to him, Turn thee aside to thy right hand or to thy left, and lay thee hold on one of the young men, and take thee his {Or, spoil See Judges 14:19.}armor. But Asahel would not turn aside from following him.
And Abner said again to Asahel, Turn thee aside from following me: wherefore should I smite thee to the ground? how then should I hold up my face to Joab thy brother?
Howbeit he refused to turn aside: wherefore Abner with the hinder end of the spear smote him in the body, so that the spear came out behind him; and he fell down there, and died in the same place: and it came to pass, that as many as came to the place where Asahel fell down and died stood still.
Then said I in my heart, As it happeneth to the fool, so will it happen even to me; and why was I then more wise? Then said I in my heart, that this also is vanity.
Then I saw all labor and every {Or, successful}skilful work, that {Or, it cometh of a man's rivalry with his neighbor}for this a man is envied of his neighbor. This also is vanity and a striving after wind.
And Absalom and all the men of Israel said, The counsel of Hushai the Archite is better than the counsel of Ahithophel. For Jehovah had ordained to defeat the good counsel of Ahithophel, to the intent that Jehovah might bring evil upon Absalom.
I know that, whatsoever God doeth, it shall be for ever: nothing can be put to it, nor anything taken from it; and God hath done it, that men should fear before him.
Then shall ye return and discern between the righteous and the wicked, between him that serveth God and him that serveth him not. {[Chapter 3:19 in Hebrew]}
And when Ahithophel saw that his counsel was not followed, he saddled his ass, and arose, and gat him home, unto his city, and set his house in order, and hanged himself; and he died, and was buried in the sepulchre of his father.
I said in my heart, God will judge the righteous and the wicked; for there is a time there for every {Or, matter}purpose and for every work.
There is no king saved by {Or, a great power}the multitude of a host:A mighty man is not delivered by great strength.
Consider the work of God: for who can make that straight, which he hath made crooked?
A horse is a vain thing for safety;Neither doth he deliver any by his great power.
Talk no more so exceeding proudly;Let not arrogancy come out of your mouth;For Jehovah is a God of knowledge, {According to another reading, Though actions be not weighed.}And by him actions are weighed.
The bows of the mighty men are broken;And they that stumbled are girded with strength.
They that were full have hired out themselves for bread;And they that were hungry {Or, have rest}have ceased to hunger:Yea, the barren hath borne seven;And she that hath many children languisheth.
Jehovah killeth, and maketh alive:He bringeth down to Sheol, and bringeth up.
Jehovah maketh poor, and maketh rich:He bringeth low, he also lifteth up.
He raiseth up the poor out of the dust,He lifteth up the needy from the dunghill,To make them sit with princes,And inherit the throne of glory:For the pillars of the earth are Jehovah's,And he hath set the world upon them.
He will keep the feet of his {Or, godly ones Another reading is, holy one.}holy ones;But the wicked shall be put to silence in darkness;For by strength shall no man prevail.
They that strive with Jehovah shall be broken to pieces;Against them will he thunder in heaven:Jehovah will judge the ends of the earth;And he will give strength unto his king,And exalt the horn of his anointed.
Therefore pride is as a chain about their neck;Violence covereth them as a garment.
So that he setteth up on high those that are low,And those that mourn are exalted to safety.
He frustrateth the devices of the crafty,So that their hands {Or, can perform nothing of worth}cannot perform their enterprise.
He taketh the wise in their own craftiness;And the counsel of the cunning is carried headlong.
They meet with darkness in the day-time,And grope at noonday as in the night.
Their eyes stand out with fatness: {Or, The imagination of their heart overflow}They have more than heart could wish.
When he giveth quietness, who then can condemn?And when he hideth his face, who then can behold him?Alike whether it be done unto a nation, or unto a man:
He delighteth not in the strength of the horse:He taketh no pleasure in the legs of a man.
There is no wisdom nor understandingNor counsel against Jehovah.
Jehovah taketh pleasure in them that fear him,In those that hope in his lovingkindness.
The horse is prepared against the day of battle;But {Or, deliverance}victory is of Jehovah.
Thus saith Jehovah, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches;
Who is he that saith, and it cometh to pass, when the Lord commandeth it not?
Let not the swift flee away, nor the mighty man escape; in the north by the river Euphrates have they stumbled and fallen.
Out of the mouth of the Most High cometh there not evil and good?
And {Or, refuge shall fail the swift}flight shall perish from the swift; and the strong shall not strengthen his force; neither shall the mighty deliver {Hebrew: his soul (or, life).}himself;
neither shall he stand that handleth the bow; and he that is swift of foot shall not deliver himself; neither shall he that rideth the horse deliver {Hebrew: his soul (or, life).}himself;
and he that is courageous among the mighty shall flee away naked in that day, saith Jehovah.
and all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing; and he doeth according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth; and none can {Aramaic: strike.}stay his hand, or say unto him, What doest thou?
in whom also we were made a heritage, having been foreordained according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his will;