Ecclesiastes 9:3

Holy Bible: Easy-to-Read Version

Of all the things that happen in this life, the worst thing is that all people end life 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

Jeremiah 17:9

“Nothing can hide its evil as well as the human mind. It can be very sick, and no one really understands it.

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 1:17

I decided to learn how wisdom and knowledge are better than thinking foolish thoughts. But I learned that trying to become wise is like trying to catch the wind.

Titus 3:3

In the past we were foolish too. We did not obey, we were wrong, and we were slaves to the many things our bodies wanted and enjoyed. We lived doing evil and being jealous. People hated us and we hated each other.

2 Peter 2:16

But a donkey told him that he was doing wrong. A donkey cannot talk, of course, but that donkey spoke with a man’s voice and stopped the prophet from acting so crazy.

Acts 26:24

While Paul was still defending himself, Festus shouted, “Paul, you are out of your mind! Too much study has made you crazy.”

Acts 12:23

Herod did not give the glory to God. So an angel of the Lord caused him to get sick. He was eaten by worms inside him, and he died.

Luke 15:17

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

Luke 6:11

The Pharisees and the teachers of the law got so mad they couldn’t think straight. They talked to each other about what they could do to Jesus.

Ecclesiastes 12:7

Your body came from the earth. And when you die, it will return to the earth. But your spirit came from God, and when you die, it will return to him.

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 those who are pure and to those who are not pure. Death comes to those who give sacrifices and to those who don’t give sacrifices. Good people will die just as sinners do. Those who make promises to God will die just as those who are afraid to make those promises.

Ecclesiastes 7:25

I studied and I tried very hard to find true wisdom. I tried to find a reason for everything. I did learn that it is foolish to be evil, and it is crazy to act like a fool.

Proverbs 14:32

The wicked will be defeated by their evil, but good people are protected by their honesty.

Psalm 51:5

I was born to do wrong, a sinner before I left my mother’s womb.

Job 15:16

People are even worse. They are disgusting and dirty. They drink up evil like water.

Genesis 8:21

The Lord smelled these sacrifices, and it pleased him. The Lord said to himself, “I will never again curse the earth as a way to punish people. People are evil from the time they are young, but I will never again destroy every living thing on the earth as I did this time.

Acts 26:11

I visited all the synagogues and punished them, trying to make them curse Jesus. My anger against these people was so strong that I went to other cities to find them and punish them.

Genesis 6:5

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

Ecclesiastes 2:14

Wise people use their minds like eyes to see where they are going. But for fools, it is as if they are walking in the dark. I also saw that fools and wise people both end the same way.

Ecclesiastes 7:2

It is better to go to a funeral than to a party, because everyone must die, and the living need to remember this.

Ecclesiastes 9:4

There is hope for those who are still alive—it does not matter who they are. But this saying is true: A living dog is better than a dead lion.

Jeremiah 16:12

But you people have sinned more than your ancestors. You are very stubborn, and you are doing only what you want to do. You are not obeying me. Because you do only what you want to do,

Jeremiah 17:10

But I am the Lord, and I can look into a person’s heart. I can test a person’s mind and decide what each one should have. I can give each person the right payment for what they do.

Job 9:22

So I say, ‘Does it make any difference? God destroys the innocent as well as the guilty.’

Job 21:26

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

Psalm 64:7

But suddenly, God will shoot his arrows, and those wicked people will be hit.

Ecclesiastes 9:11

I also saw other things in this life that were not fair. The fastest runner does not always win the race; the strongest soldier does not always win the battle; wise people don’t always get the food; smart people don’t always get the wealth; educated people don’t always get the praise they deserve. When the time comes, bad things can happen to anyone!