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Ecclesiastes 9:5-10
The Message
Ecclesiastes 9:5-10
The Message
Seize Life!
4-6 Still, anyone selected out for life has hope, for, as they say, “A living dog is better than a dead lion.” The living at least know something, even if it’s only that they’re going to die. But the dead know nothing and get nothing. They’re a minus that no one remembers. Their loves, their hates, yes, even their dreams, are long gone. There’s not a trace of them left in the affairs of this earth.
7-10 Seize life! Eat bread with gusto,
Drink wine with a robust heart.
Oh yes—God takes pleasure in your pleasure!
Dress festively every morning.
Don’t skimp on colors and scarves.
Relish life with the spouse you love
Each and every day of your precarious life.
Each day is God’s gift. It’s all you get in exchange
For the hard work of staying alive.
Make the most of each one!
Whatever turns up, grab it and do it. And heartily!
This is your last and only chance at it,
For there’s neither work to do nor thoughts to think
In the company of the dead, where you’re most certainly headed.
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Ecclesiastes 9:5-7
New International Version
Ecclesiastes 9:5-7
New International Version
5 For the living know that they will die,
but the dead know nothing;(A)
they have no further reward,
and even their name(B) is forgotten.(C)
6 Their love, their hate
and their jealousy have long since vanished;
never again will they have a part
in anything that happens under the sun.(D)
7 Go, eat your food with gladness, and drink your wine(E) with a joyful heart,(F) for God has already approved what you do.
The Message (MSG)
Copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson
New International Version (NIV) 
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NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.