Ecclesiastes 9

VULGATA	NEW JERUSALEM
1 Omnia hæc tractavi in corde meo, ut curiose intelligerem. Sunt justi atque sapientes, et opera eorum in manu Dei ; et tamen nescit homo utrum amore an odio dignus sit.	1 Yes, I have applied myself to all this and experienced all this to be so: that is to say, that the upright andthe wise, with their activities, are in the hands of God. We do not understand either love or hate, where we areconcerned, both of them are
2 Sed omnia in futurum servantur incerta, eo quod universa æque eveniant justo et impio, bono et malo, mundo et immundo, immolanti victimas et sacrificia contemnenti. Sicut bonus, sic et peccator ; ut perjurus, ita et ille qui verum dejerat.	2 futile. And for all of us is reserved a common fate, for the upright and for the wicked, for the good andfor the bad; whether we are ritually pure or not, whether we offer sacrifice or not: it is the same for the good andfor the sinner, for someone who takes a vow, as for someone who fears to do so.
3 Hoc est pessimum inter omnia quæ sub sole fiunt : quia eadem cunctis eveniunt. Unde et corda filiorum hominum implentur malitia et contemptu in vita sua, et post hæc ad inferos deducentur.	3 This is another evil among those occurring under the sun: that there should be the same fate foreveryone. The human heart, however, is ful of wickedness; fol y lurks in our hearts throughout our lives, until weend among the dead.
4 Nemo est qui semper vivat, et qui hujus rei habeat fiduciam ; melior est canis vivus leone mortuo.	4 But there is hope for someone stil linked to the rest of the living: better be a live dog than a dead lion.
5 Viventes enim sciunt se esse morituros ; mortui vero nihil noverunt amplius, nec habent ultra mercedem, quia oblivioni tradita est memoria eorum.	5 The living are at least aware that they are going to die, but the dead know nothing whatever. No morewages for them, since their memory is forgotten.
6 Amor quoque, et odium, et invidiæ simul perierunt ; nec habent partem in hoc sæculo, et in opere quod sub sole geritur.	6 Their love, their hate, their jealousy, have perished long since, and they wil never have any further partin what goes on under the sun.
7 Vade ergo, et comede in lætitia panem tuum, et bibe cum gaudio vinum tuum, quia Deo placent opera tua.	7 So, eat your bread in joy, drink your wine with a glad heart, since God has already approved youractions.
8 Omni tempore sint vestimenta tua candida, et oleum de capite tuo non deficiat.	8 At al times, dress in white and keep your head wel scented.
9 Perfruere vita cum uxore quam diligis, cunctis diebus vitæ instabilitatis tuæ, qui dati sunt tibi sub sole omni tempore vanitatis tuæ : hæc est enim pars in vita et in labore tuo quo laboras sub sole.	9 Spend your life with the woman you love, all the days of futile life God gives you under the sun,throughout your futile days, since this is your lot in life and in the effort you expend under the sun.
10 Quodcumque facere potest manus tua, instanter operare, quia nec opus, nec ratio, nec sapientia, nec scientia erunt apud inferos, quo tu properas.	10 Whatever work you find to do, do it with al your might, for there is neither achievement, nor planning,nor science, nor wisdom in Sheol where you are going.
11 Verti me ad aliud, et vidi sub sole nec velocium esse cursum, nec fortium bellum, nec sapientium panem, nec doctorum divitias, nec artificum gratiam ; sed tempus casumque in omnibus.	11 Another thing I have observed under the sun: that the race is not won by the speediest, nor the battleby the champions; it is not the wise who get food, nor the intel igent wealth, nor the learned favour: chance andmischance befall them all.
12 Nescit homo finem suum ; sed sicut pisces capiuntur hamo, et sicut aves laqueo comprehenduntur, sic capiuntur homines in tempore malo, cum eis extemplo supervenerit.	12 We do not know when our time will come: like fish caught in the treacherous net, like birds caught inthe snare, just so are we al trapped by misfortune when it suddenly overtakes us.
13 Hanc quoque sub sole vidi sapientiam, et probavi maximam :	13 Here is another example of the wisdom I have acquired under the sun and it strikes me as important:
14 civitas parva, et pauci in ea viri ; venit contra eam rex magnus, et vallavit eam, exstruxitque munitiones per gyrum, et perfecta est obsidio.	14 There was once a smal town, with only a few inhabitants; a mighty king made war on it, laying siege toit and building great siege-works round it.
15 Inventusque est in ea vir pauper et sapiens, et liberavit urbem per sapientiam suam ; et nullus deinceps recordatus est hominis illius pauperis.	15 But there was in that town a poverty-stricken sage who by his wisdom saved the town. No oneremembered this poor man afterwards.
16 Et dicebam ego meliorem esse sapientiam fortitudine. Quomodo ergo sapientia pauperis contempta est, et verba ejus non sunt audita ?	16 So I say: Wisdom is more effective than brute force, but the wisdom of a poor man is not valued: noone listens to what he has to say.
17 Verba sapientium audiuntur in silentio, plus quam clamor principis inter stultos.	17 The calm words of the wise make themselves heard above the shouts of someone commanding anarmy of fools.
18 Melior est sapientia quam arma bellica ; et qui in uno peccaverit, multa bona perdet.	18 Wisdom is worth more than weapons of war, but a single sin undoes a deal of good.