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(A)It is the same for all. There is (B)one fate for the righteous and for the wicked; for the good, for the clean and for the unclean; for the man who offers a sacrifice and for the one who does not sacrifice. As the good man is, so is the sinner; as the swearer is, so is the one who [a]is afraid to swear. This is an evil in all that is done under the sun, that there is (C)one fate for all. Furthermore, (D)the hearts of the sons of men are full of evil, and (E)madness is in their hearts throughout their lives. Afterwards they go to the dead. For whoever is joined with all the living, there is confidence; surely a live dog is better than a dead lion.

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Footnotes

  1. Ecclesiastes 9:2 Lit fears an oath

All share a common destiny—the righteous and the wicked, the good and the bad,[a] the clean and the unclean, those who offer sacrifices and those who do not.

As it is with the good,
    so with the sinful;
as it is with those who take oaths,
    so with those who are afraid to take them.(A)

This is the evil in everything that happens under the sun: The same destiny overtakes all.(B) The hearts of people, moreover, are full of evil and there is madness in their hearts while they live,(C) and afterward they join the dead.(D) Anyone who is among the living has hope[b]—even a live dog is better off than a dead lion!

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Footnotes

  1. Ecclesiastes 9:2 Septuagint (Aquila), Vulgate and Syriac; Hebrew does not have and the bad.
  2. Ecclesiastes 9:4 Or What then is to be chosen? With all who live, there is hope