📖 Ecclesiastes — Chapter 9 (KJV)
Read the complete King James Version chapter below, then explore the passage sections, check what you remember, and keep your private study notes.
Scripture source: Project Gutenberg KJV, ebook 10.
Ecclesiastes 9:1 For all this TI Rconsidered in my heart even to declare all this, that the righteous, and the wise, and their works, are in the hand of God: no man knoweth either love or hatred by all that is before them.
Ecclesiastes 9:2 All things come Ralike to all: there is one event to the righteous, and to the wicked; to the good and to the clean, and to the unclean; to him that sacrificeth, and to him that sacrificeth not: as is the good, so is the sinner; and he that sweareth, as he that feareth an oath.
Ecclesiastes 9:3 This is an evil among all things that are done under the sun, that there is one event unto all: yea, Ralso the heart of the sons of men is full of evil, and madness is in their heart while they live, and after that they go to the dead.
Ecclesiastes 9:4 For to him that is joined to all the living there is hope: for a living dog is better than a dead lion.
Ecclesiastes 9:5 For Rthe living know that they shall die: but the dead know not any thing, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten.
Ecclesiastes 9:6 Also Rtheir love, and their hatred, and their envy, is now perished; neither have they any more a portion for ever in any thing that is done under the sun.
Ecclesiastes 9:7 Go thy way, Reat thy bread with joy, and drink thy wine with a merry heart; for God now accepteth thy works.
Ecclesiastes 9:8 Let Rthy garments be always white; and let thy head lack no ointment.
Ecclesiastes 9:9 TLive joyfully Rwith the wife whom thou lovest all the days of the life of thy vanity, which he hath given thee under the sun, all the days of thy vanity: for that is thy portion in this life, and in thy labour which thou takest under the sun.
Ecclesiastes 9:10 Whatsoever Rthy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest.
Ecclesiastes 9:11 I Rreturned, 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.
Ecclesiastes 9:12 For Rman also knoweth not his time: as the fishes that are taken in an evil net, and as the birds that are caught in the snare; so are the sons of men snared in an evil time, when it falleth suddenly upon them.
Ecclesiastes 9:13 This wisdom have I seen also under the sun, and it seemed great unto me:
Ecclesiastes 9:14 RThere was a little city, and few men within it; and there came a great king against it, and besieged it, and built great bulwarks against it:
Ecclesiastes 9:15 Now there was found in it a poor wise man, and he by his wisdom delivered the city; Ryet no man remembered that same poor man.
Ecclesiastes 9:16 Then said I, Wisdom is better than strength: nevertheless Rthe poor man’s wisdom is despised, and his words are not heard.
Ecclesiastes 9:17 The words of wise men are heard in quiet more than the cry of him that ruleth among fools.
Ecclesiastes 9:18 Wisdom is better than weapons of war: but one Rsinner destroyeth much good.
📚 Study This Chapter
📖 What We’re Reading
Ecclesiastes 9:1–6 — A shared earthly end
🌱 What These Verses Teach Us
Righteous and wicked alike meet death. Descriptions of the dead no longer participating under the sun address lost earthly activity; they should be read within the book’s broader inquiry and final accountability.
Key Truth: Remember mortality without judging by circumstance.
Check What You Remember
1. Complete the KJV wording: “For all this I considered in my ____ even to declare all this, that the righteous, and the …” (Ecclesiastes 9:1)
Find it in Ecclesiastes 9:1 (KJV).
2. Complete the KJV wording: “For to him that is ____ to all the living there is hope: for a living …” (Ecclesiastes 9:4)
Find it in Ecclesiastes 9:4 (KJV).
3. Complete the KJV wording: “Also their ____ , and their hatred, and their envy, is now perished; …” (Ecclesiastes 9:6)
Find it in Ecclesiastes 9:6 (KJV).
📖 What We’re Reading
Ecclesiastes 9:7–12 — Live and work with present gratitude
🌱 What These Verses Teach Us
Food, marriage, and vigorous work are commended within the life given by God. Outcomes are not guaranteed by speed or strength, and sudden events interrupt plans.
Key Truth: Use present opportunities faithfully.
Check What You Remember
1. Complete the KJV wording: “Go thy way, eat thy ____ with joy, and drink thy wine with a merry heart; …” (Ecclesiastes 9:7)
Find it in Ecclesiastes 9:7 (KJV).
2. Complete the KJV wording: “… thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor ____ , nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest.” (Ecclesiastes 9:10)
Find it in Ecclesiastes 9:10 (KJV).
3. Complete the KJV wording: “… his time: as the fishes that are taken in an ____ net, and as the birds that are caught in the …” (Ecclesiastes 9:12)
Find it in Ecclesiastes 9:12 (KJV).
📖 What We’re Reading
Ecclesiastes 9:13–18 — Unremembered wisdom can save
🌱 What These Verses Teach Us
A poor wise man rescues a city but is forgotten. Quiet wisdom surpasses noisy power and weapons, while one sinner can undo much good.
Key Truth: Honor wisdom even without public recognition.
Check What You Remember
1. Complete the KJV wording: “This ____ have I seen also under the sun, and it seemed …” (Ecclesiastes 9:13)
Find it in Ecclesiastes 9:13 (KJV).
2. Complete the KJV wording: “Then said I, Wisdom is better than strength: nevertheless the ____ man’s wisdom is despised, and his words are not heard.” (Ecclesiastes 9:16)
Find it in Ecclesiastes 9:16 (KJV).
3. Complete the KJV wording: “Wisdom is ____ than weapons of war: but one sinner destroyeth much good.” (Ecclesiastes 9:18)
Find it in Ecclesiastes 9:18 (KJV).
Related Scripture (KJV)
Colossians 3:23 — Work is to be offered wholeheartedly to the Lord.
This related passage is selected for its connection with this chapter. It is separate from the chapter text.
Reflect and Apply
Whose quiet wisdom deserves recognition?
Advanced Questions and Answers
Study this chapter’s wording, patterns, contrasts, and meaning in greater depth.
1. What does the living-dog and dead-lion comparison emphasize?
2. Why is wholehearted present work urged?
3. What challenges confidence that ability guarantees success?
4. What makes the poor wise man’s deliverance bittersweet?
5. What contrast closes the chapter’s praise of wisdom?
Notes
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