Ecclesiastes 9:11-11:6

New International Version

¹¹I have seen something else under the sun:

The race is not to the swift
    or the battle to the strong,^(A)
nor does food come to the wise^(B)
    or wealth to the brilliant
    or favor to the learned;
but time and chance^(C) happen to them all.^(D)

¹²Moreover, no one knows when their hour will come:

As fish are caught in a cruel net,
or birds are taken in a snare,
so people are trapped by evil times^(E)
that fall unexpectedly upon them.^(F)

Wisdom Better Than Folly

¹³I also saw under the sun this example of wisdom^(G) that greatly impressed me: ¹⁴There was once a small city with only a few people in it. And a powerful king came against it, surrounded it and built huge siege works against it. ¹⁵Now there lived in that city a man poor but wise, and he saved the city by his wisdom. But nobody remembered that poor man.^(H) ¹⁶So I said, “Wisdom is better than strength.” But the poor man’s wisdom is despised, and his words are no longer heeded.^(I)

¹⁷The quiet words of the wise are more to be heeded
than the shouts of a ruler of fools.
¹⁸Wisdom^(J) is better than weapons of war,
but one sinner destroys much good.

10 As dead flies give perfume a bad smell,
    so a little folly^(K) outweighs wisdom and honor.
²The heart of the wise inclines to the right,
    but the heart of the fool to the left.
³Even as fools walk along the road,
    they lack sense
    and show everyone^(L) how stupid they are.
⁴If a ruler’s anger rises against you,
    do not leave your post;^(M)
    calmness can lay great offenses to rest.^(N)

⁵There is an evil I have seen under the sun,
    the sort of error that arises from a ruler:
⁶Fools are put in many high positions,^(O)
    while the rich occupy the low ones.
⁷I have seen slaves on horseback,
    while princes go on foot like slaves.^(P)

⁸Whoever digs a pit may fall into it;^(Q)
whoever breaks through a wall may be bitten by a snake.^(R)
⁹Whoever quarries stones may be injured by them;
whoever splits logs may be endangered by them.^(S)

¹⁰If the ax is dull
and its edge unsharpened,
more strength is needed,
but skill will bring success.

¹¹If a snake bites before it is charmed,
the charmer receives no fee.^(T)

¹²Words from the mouth of the wise are gracious,^(U)
    but fools are consumed by their own lips.^(V)
¹³At the beginning their words are folly;
    at the end they are wicked madness—
¹⁴    and fools multiply words.^(W)

No one knows what is coming—
who can tell someone else what will happen after them?^(X)

¹⁵The toil of fools wearies them;
they do not know the way to town.

¹⁶Woe to the land whose king was a servant^[a]^(Y)
    and whose princes feast in the morning.
¹⁷Blessed is the land whose king is of noble birth
    and whose princes eat at a proper time—
    for strength and not for drunkenness.^(Z)

¹⁸Through laziness, the rafters sag;
because of idle hands, the house leaks.^(AA)

¹⁹A feast is made for laughter,
wine^(AB) makes life merry,
and money is the answer for everything.

²⁰Do not revile the king^(AC) even in your thoughts,
or curse the rich in your bedroom,
because a bird in the sky may carry your words,
and a bird on the wing may report what you say.

Invest in Many Ventures

11 Ship^(AD) your grain across the sea;
after many days you may receive a return.^(AE)
²Invest in seven ventures, yes, in eight;
you do not know what disaster may come upon the land.

³If clouds are full of water,
    they pour rain on the earth.
Whether a tree falls to the south or to the north,
    in the place where it falls, there it will lie.
⁴Whoever watches the wind will not plant;
    whoever looks at the clouds will not reap.

⁵As you do not know the path of the wind,^(AF)
or how the body is formed^[b] in a mother’s womb,^(AG)
so you cannot understand the work of God,
the Maker of all things.

⁶Sow your seed in the morning,
    and at evening let your hands not be idle,^(AH)
for you do not know which will succeed,
    whether this or that,
    or whether both will do equally well.