Ecclesiastes 9:3

Easy To Read Version

Of all the things that happen in this life, the worst thing is that all people end the same way. But it is also very bad that people always think evil and foolish thoughts. And those thoughts lead to death.

Cross References

Genesis 6:5

The Lord saw that the people on the earth were very evil. The Lord saw that people thought only about evil things all the time.

Genesis 8:21

The Lord smelled these sacrifices, and it pleased him. The Lord said to himself, “I will never again curse the ground as a way to punish people. People are evil from the time that they are young. So I will never again destroy every living thing on the earth like I have just done.

Job 15:16

Man is even worse.\par Man is dirty and ruined.\par He drinks up evil like water.\par

Job 21:26

In the end, both of those people\par will lie together in the dirt.\par The worms will cover them both.\par

Job 9:22

I say to myself,\par ‘The same thing happens to everybody.\par Innocent people die just like the guilty.\par God ends all their lives.’\par

Psalm 51:5

I was born in sin,\par and in sin my mother conceived me.\par

Psalm 64:7

But God can shoot his “arrows” too!\par And before they know it,\par the evil people are wounded.\par

Proverbs 14:32

During times of trouble, evil people are defeated. But good people win a victory even during death.

Ecclesiastes 1:17

I decided to learn how wisdom and knowledge are better than thinking foolish things. But I learned that trying to become wise is like trying to catch the wind. {\cf2\super [7]}

Ecclesiastes 12:7

Your body came from the earth.\par And when you die,\par your body will go back to the earth.\par But your spirit came from God.\par And when you die,\par your spirit will go back to God.\par

Ecclesiastes 2:14

It is like this: A wise man uses his mind like eyes to see where he is going. But a fool is like someone walking in the dark.

Ecclesiastes 7:2

It is even better to go to a funeral\par than to a party.\par Why? Because all people must die,\par and every person alive\par should accept this.\par

Ecclesiastes 7:25

I studied and I tried very hard to find true wisdom. I tried to find a reason for everything. \{What did I learn?\} I learned that it is foolish to be evil, and it is crazy to act like a foolish person.

Ecclesiastes 8:11

Sometimes people are not immediately punished for the bad things they do. Their punishment is slow to come. And that makes other people want to do bad things too.

Ecclesiastes 9:11

I also saw other things in this life {\cf2\super [36]} that were not fair: The fastest runner does not always win the race; the strongest army does not always win the battle; the wisest man does not always get the food he earns; the smartest man does not always get the wealth; and an educated person does not always get the praise he deserves. When the time comes, bad things happen to everyone!

Ecclesiastes 9:2

But, there is one thing that happens to everyone—we all die! Death comes to good people and bad people. Death comes to people that are pure and to people that are not pure. Death comes to people that give sacrifices {\cf2\super [35]} and to people that do not give sacrifices. A good man will die just like a sinner. A person that makes special promises to God will die just like a person that is afraid to make those promises.

Ecclesiastes 9:4

There is hope for any person that is still alive—it does not matter who he is. But this saying is true:

Jeremiah 16:12

But you people have sinned more than your ancestors. You are very stubborn. And you are doing only the things that you want to do. You are not obeying me. You do only what you want to do.

Jeremiah 17:10

But I am the Lord,\par and I can look into a person’s heart.\par I can test a person’s mind.\par I can decide what each person should have.\par I can give each person the right payment\par for the things he does.\par

Jeremiah 17:9

“A person’s mind is very tricky!\par The mind can be very sick,\par and no person truly understands it.\par

Luke 15:17

The boy realized that he had been very foolish. He thought, ‘All of my father’s servants have plenty of food. But I am here, almost dead because I have nothing to eat.

Luke 6:11

The Pharisees and the teachers of the law became very, very angry. They talked to each other about what they could do to Jesus.

Acts 12:23

Herod \{accepted this praise and\} did not give the glory to God. So an angel of the Lord caused him to become sick. He was eaten by worms inside him, and he died.

Acts 26:11

In every synagogue {\cf2\super [491]} I punished them. I tried to make them say bad things against {\cf2\super [492]} \{Jesus\}. I was so angry against these people (believers) that I went to other cities to find them and hurt them.

Acts 26:24

While Paul was saying these things to defend himself, Festus shouted, “Paul, you are crazy! Too much study has made you crazy!”

Titus 3:3

Grace (kindness) and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

2 Peter 2:16

But a donkey told Balaam that he was doing wrong. And the donkey is an animal that cannot talk. But that donkey spoke with a man’s voice and stopped the prophet’s (Balaam’s) crazy thinking.