Month: August 2026

Death Comes to All

This, too, I carefully explored: Even though the actions of the godly and wise people are in God’s hands, no one knows whether God will show them favor. The same destiny ultimately awaits everyone, whether righteous or wicked, good or bad, ceremonially clean or unclean, religious or irreligious. Good people receive the same treatment as sinners, and people who make promises to God are treated like people who don’t.

It seems so tragic that everyone under the sun suffers the same fate. They is why people are nor more careful to do good. Instead, they choose their own mad course, for they have no hope. There is nothing ahead but death anyway. There is hope only for the living. As they say, “It is better to be a live dog than a dead lion!” (vv. 1-4,NLT)

I have observed something else under the sun. The fastest runner doesn’t always 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. People can never predict when hard tines might come. Like fish in a net or birds in a trap, people are caught by sudden tragedy. (vv. 11-12, NLT)

When a crime is not punished quickly, people feel it safe to do wrong. But even though a person sins a hundred times and fear God will be better off. The wicked will not prosper, for they do not fear God. Their days will never grow long like the evening shadows.

And this is not all that is meaningless in our world. In this life, good people are often treated as though they were wicked, and wicked people are often treated as though they were good. This is so meaningless!

So I recommend having fun, because there is nothing better for people in this world than to eat, drink, and enjoy life. That way they will experience some happiness along with all the hard work God gives them under the sun.

In my search for wisdom and in my observation of the people’s burdens here on earth, I discovered that there is ceaseless activity, day and night. I realized that no one can discover everything God is doing under the sun. Not even the wisest people discover everything, no matter what they claim. (vv. 11-17, NLT)

Finishing is better than starting. Patience is better than pride. Control your temper, anger labels you as a fool. Don’t long for the “good old days.” This is not wise. Wisdom is even better when you have money. Both are a benefit as you go through life. Wisdom and money can get you almost anything, but only wisdom can save your life.

Accept the way God does things, for who can straighten what He has made crooked? Enjoy prosperity while you can, but when hard times strike, realize that both come from God. Remember that nothing is certain in life. (vv. 8-14, NLT)

Enjoy what you have rather than desiring what you don’t have. Just dreaming about nice things is meaningless-like chasing the wind.

Everything has already been decided. It was known long ago what each person would be. So there’s no use arguing with God about your destiny. In a few days of our meaningless lives, who knows how many days can best be spent Our lives are like a shadow. Who can tell what will happen on this earth when we are gone? (vv. 9-12, NLT)

Those who love money will never have enough. How meaningless to think that wealth brings true happiness! The more you have, the more people will come to help you spend it. so what good is wealth-except perhaps to watch it slip through your fingers!

People who work hard and sleep well, whether they eat little or much. But the rich seldom get a good night’s sleep. (vv. 10-12, NLT)

Even so, I have noticed one thing, a least, that is good. It is good for people to eat, drink, and enjoy their work under the sun during the short life God gives them. And it is a good thing to receive wealth from God and the good health to enjoy it. To enjoy your work and accept your lot in life-this is indeed a gift from God. God keep such people so busy enjoying life that they take no time to brood over the past. (vv. 18-20, NLT)

As you enter the house of God, keep your ears open and your mouth shut. It is evil to make mindless offerings to God. Don’t make rash promises, and don’t be hasty in bringing matters before God. After all, Go is in heaven, and you are here on earth. So let your words be few.

To much activity give you restless dreams; too many words make you a fool.

When you make a promise to God, don’t delay in following through, for God take no pleasure in fools. Keep all the promises you make to Him. Is is better to say nothing than to make a promise and not keep it. Don’t make your mouth make you sin. And don’t defend yourself by telling the Temple messenger that the promise you made was a mistake. That would make God angry, and He might wipe out everything you have achieved.

Talk is cheap, like daydreams and other useless activities. Fear God instead.
(vv. 1-7, NLT)

Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed. If one person falls, the other can reach out and help . But if someone falls alone is in real trouble. Likewise two people lying close together can keep each other warm. But how can one get warm alone? A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer. There are even better for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken. (vv. 9-12, NLT)

What do people really get for all their hard work? I have seen the burden God has placed on us all. Yet God has made everything beautiful for its own time. He has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the scope of God’s work from beginning to end. So I concluded there is nothing better than to be happy and enjoy ourselves as long as we can. And people should eat and drink and enjoy the fruits of their labor, for these are gifts from God.

And I know that whatever God does is final. Nothing can be added to it or taken away from it. God’s purpose is that people should fear Him. What is happening now has happened before, and what will happen in the future has happened before, because God make the same things happen over and over again. (vv. 9-15, NLT)

For everything there is a season, a time for every activity under heaven.
A time to be born and a time to die.
A time for plant and a time to harvest.
A time to kill and a time to heal.
A time to tear down and a time to build up.
A time to cry and a time to laugh.
A time to grieve and a time to dance.
A time to scatter stones and a time to gather stones.
A time to embrace and a time to turn away.
A time to search and a time to quit searching.
A time to keep and a time to throw away.
A time to tear and a time to mend.
A time to be quiet and a tie to speak.
A time to love and a time to hate.
A time for war and a time for peace.
(vv. 1-8 NLT)

I came to hate all my hard work here on earth, for I must leave to others everything I have earned. And who can tell whether my successors will be wise or foolish? Yet they will control everything I have gained by my skill and hard work under the sun. How meaningless! So I gave up in despair, questioning the value of all my hard work in this world.

Some people work wisely with knowledge and skill, then must leave the fruit of their efforts, to someone who hasn’t worked for it. This, too, is meaningless, a great tragedy. So what do people get in this life for all their hard work and anxiety? Their days of labor are filled with pain and grief; even at night their minds cannot rest. It is all meaningless.

So I decided there is nothing better than to enjoy food and drink and find satisfaction in work. Then I realized that these pleasures are from the hand of God. For who can eat or enjoy anything apart from Him? God gives wisdom, knowledge, and joy to those who please Him. But if a sinner becomes wealthy, God takes the wealth away and gives it to those who please Him. This, too, is meaningless-like chasing the wind. (vv. 18-26, NLT)