Ecclesiastes 9:11

Conservative English Version

Here is something else I have learned: The fastest runners and the greatest heroes don't always win races and battles. Wisdom, intelligence, and skill don't always make you healthy, rich, or popular. We each have our share of bad luck.

Cross References

2 Samuel 17:14

Absalom and the others liked Hushai's plan better than Ahithophel's plan. This was because the LORD had decided to keep Ahithophel's plan from working and to cause trouble for Absalom.

2 Samuel 17:23

When Ahithophel saw that Absalom and the leaders of Israel were not going to follow his advice, he saddled his donkey and rode back to his home in Gilo. He told his family and servants what to do. Then he hanged himself, and they buried him in his family's burial place.

2 Chronicles 20:15

Then Jahaziel said: Your Majesty and everyone from Judah and Jerusalem, the LORD says that you don't need to be afraid or let this powerful army discourage you. God will fight on your side!

Job 34:29

When God does nothing, can any person or nation find fault with him?

Psalm 76:5

Brave warriors were robbed of what they had taken, and now they lie dead, unable to lift an arm.

Proverbs 1:5

If you are already wise, you will become even wiser. And if you are smart, you will learn to understand

Ecclesiastes 2:12

I asked myself, "What can the next king do that I haven't done?" Then I decided to compare wisdom with foolishness and stupidity.

Ecclesiastes 3:14

Everything God has done will last forever; nothing he does can ever be changed. God has done all this, so that we will worship him.

Ecclesiastes 3:17

So I told myself that God has set a time and a place for everything. He will judge everyone, both the wicked and the good.

Ecclesiastes 4:1

I looked again and saw people being mistreated everywhere on earth. They were crying, but no one was there to offer comfort, and those who mistreated them were powerful.

Ecclesiastes 4:4

Then I realized that we work and do wonderful things just because we are jealous of others. This makes no more sense than chasing the wind.

Ecclesiastes 7:13

Think of what God has done! If God makes something crooked, can you make it straight?

Ecclesiastes 9:2

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.

Ecclesiastes 9:3

It's terribly unfair for the same thing to happen to each of us. We are mean and foolish while we live, and then we die.

Jeremiah 46:6

You are strong and run fast, but you can't escape. You fall in battle near the Euphrates River.

Jeremiah 48:14

You claim that your soldiers are strong and brave.

Jeremiah 9:23

The LORD says: Don't brag about your wisdom or strength or wealth.

Daniel 4:35

To him the nations are far less than nothing; God controls the stars in the sky and everyone on this earth. When God does something, we cannot change it or even ask why."

Zechariah 4:6

So the angel explained that it was the following message of the LORD to Zerubbabel: I am the LORD All-Powerful. So don't depend on your own power or strength, but on my Spirit.

Malachi 3:18

Then everyone will once again see the difference between those who obey me by doing right and those who reject me by doing wrong.

Ephesians 1:11

God always does what he plans, and that's why he appointed Christ to choose us.

Deuteronomy 8:17

When you become successful, don't say, "I'm rich, and I've earned it all myself."

Deuteronomy 8:18

Instead, remember that the LORD your God gives you the strength to make a living. That's how he keeps the promise he made to your ancestors.

1 Samuel 17:50

David defeated Goliath with a sling and a rock. He killed him without even using a sword.

1 Samuel 6:9

Watch to see if the chest goes on up the road to the Israelite town of Beth-Shemesh. If it goes back to its own country, you will know that it was the LORD who made us suffer so badly. But if the chest doesn't go back to its own country, then the LORD had nothing to do with the disease that hit us--it was simply bad luck.