⁷ So go ahead. Eat your food with joy, and drink your wine with a happy heart, for God approves of this! ⁸ Wear fine clothes, with a splash of cologne!

⁹ Live happily with the woman you love through all the meaningless days of life that God has given you under the sun. The wife God gives you is your reward for all your earthly toil. ¹⁰ Whatever you do, do well. For when you go to the grave,^[a] there will be no work or planning or knowledge or wisdom.

¹¹ I have observed something else under the sun. The fastest runner doesn’t always win the race, and the strongest warrior doesn’t always win the battle. The wise sometimes go hungry, and the skillful are not necessarily wealthy. And those who are educated don’t always lead successful lives. It is all decided by chance, by being in the right place at the right time.

¹² People can never predict when hard times might come. Like fish in a net or birds in a trap, people are caught by sudden tragedy.

¹⁰ For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.

¹⁶ All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. ¹⁷ God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work.