Life Without Hope

                          Death Comes to All

Ecc 9:1  I thought about all this very carefully. I saw that God controls what happens to the good and wise people and what they do. People don't know if they will be loved or hated, and they don't know what will happen in the future. 

Ecc 9:2  But, there is one thing that happens to everyone--we all die! Death comes to good people and bad people. Death comes to those who are pure and to those who are not pure. Death comes to those who give sacrifices and to those who don't give sacrifices. Good people will die just as sinners do. Those who make promises to God will die just as those who are afraid to make those promises. 

Ecc 9:3  Of all the things that happen in this life, the worst thing is that all people end life the same way. But it is also very bad that people always think evil and foolish thoughts. And those thoughts lead to death. 

Ecc 9:4  There is hope for those who are still alive--it does not matter who they are. But this saying is true: A living dog is better than a dead lion. 

Ecc 9:5  The living know that they will die, but the dead don't know anything. They have no more reward. People will soon forget them. 

Ecc 9:6  After people are dead, their love, hate, and jealousy are all gone. And they will never again share in what happens on earth.