Ecclesiastes 9:11 - Easy To Read Version 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! Tuilleadh leaganachaKing James Version (Oxford) 1769 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 favour to men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to them all. Amplified Bible - Classic Edition I returned and saw under the sun that the race is not to the swift nor the battle to the strong, neither is bread to the wise nor riches to men of intelligence and understanding nor favor to men of skill; but time and chance happen to them all. [Ps. 33:16-19; Rom. 9:16.] American Standard Version (1901) 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. Common English Bible I also observed under the sun that the race doesn’t always go to the swift, nor the battle to the mighty, nor food to the wise, nor wealth to the intelligent, nor favor to the knowledgeable, because accidents can happen to anyone. Catholic Public Domain Version I turned myself toward another thing, and I saw that under the sun, the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, nor bread to the wise, nor wealth to the learned, nor grace to the skilful: but there is a time and an end for all these things. Douay-Rheims version of The Bible - 1752 version I turned me to another thing, and I saw that under the sun, the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, nor bread to the wise, nor riches to the learned, nor favour to the skilful: but time and chance in all. |
Absalom and all the Israelites said, “The advice of Hushai the Arkite is better than Ahithophel’s advice.” {They said this} because it was the Lord’s plan. The Lord had planned to make Ahithophel’s good advice useless. That is how the Lord would punish Absalom.
Ahithophel saw that the Israelites did not accept his advice. Ahithophel put a saddle on his donkey and went back to his home town. He made plans for his family and then he hanged himself. After Ahithophel died, the people buried him in his father’s tomb. [101]
Jahaziel said, “Listen to me King Jehoshaphat, all you people living in Judah and Jerusalem! The Lord says this to you: ‘Don’t be afraid or worry about this large army, because the battle is not your battle. It is God’s battle!
But if God decides not to help them,\par then no person can judge God guilty.\par If God hides himself from people,\par then no person can find him.\par God is the ruler over people and nations.\par
Those soldiers thought they were strong.\par But now they lie dead in the fields.\par Their bodies are stripped of all they owned.\par None of those strong soldiers could defend themselves.\par
Even wise people should listen to these words. They will learn more and become even wiser. And people who are skilled at solving problems will gain even more understanding.
No person can do more than a king can do. Some king has already done anything you might want to do. {\cf2\super [9]} \{And I learned that even the things a king does are a waste of time.\} So I again began to think about being wise, being foolish, and doing crazy things.
I learned that anything God does will continue forever. People can’t add anything to the work of God. And people can’t take anything away from the work of God. God did this so people would respect him.
So I said to myself, “God has planned a time for everything. And God has planned a time to judge everything people do. God will judge the good people and the bad people.”
Again I saw that many people are treated badly. I saw their tears. And I saw that there was no one to comfort those sad people. I saw cruel people had all the power. And I saw that there was no one to comfort the people they hurt.
Then I thought, “Why do people work so hard?” I saw people try to succeed and be better than other people. Why? Because people are jealous. They don’t want other people to have more than they have. This is senseless. It is like trying to catch the wind. {\cf2\super [21]}
Look at the things God has made. You can’t change a thing, even if you think it is wrong!
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.
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.
“Fast men can’t run away.\par Strong soldiers can’t escape.\par They will all stumble and fall.\par This will happen in the north,\par by the Euphrates River.\par
“You can’t say,\par ‘We are good soldiers.\par We are brave men in battle.’\par
The Lord says:\par “Wise men must not brag\par about their wisdom.\par Strong men must not brag\par about their strength.\par Rich men must not brag\par about their money.\par
People on earth are not truly important.\par God does what he wants\par with the powers of heaven\par and the people on earth.\par No one can stop his powerful hand!\par No one can question the things he does!\par
He said, “This is the message from the Lord to Zerubbabel: ‘Your help will not come from your strength and power. No, your help will come from my Spirit.’ The Lord All-Powerful said those things!
In Christ we were chosen \{to be God’s people\}. God had already planned for us to be his people, because that is what God wanted. And God is the One who makes everything agree with what he decides and wants.
Don’t ever say to yourself, ‘I got all this wealth by my own power and ability.’
Remember the Lord your God. Remember that he is the One who gives you power to do those things! Why does the Lord do this? Because he wants to keep the Agreement that he made with your ancestors [55] —just like he is doing today!
So David defeated the Philistine with only a sling [162] and one stone! He hit the Philistine and killed him. David didn’t have a sword,
Watch the wagon. If the wagon goes toward Beth Shemesh in Israel’s own land, then the Lord has given us this great sickness. But if the cows do not go straight to Beth Shemesh, then we will know that Israel’s God has not punished us. We will know that our sickness just happened.”