Death Comes to All

1 But all this I laid to heart, examining it all, ^chow the righteous and the wise and their deeds are ^din the hand of God. Whether it is love or hate, man does not know; both are before him. 2 ^eIt is the same for all, since ^fthe same event happens to the righteous and the wicked, to the good and the evil,¹ to the clean and the unclean, to him who sacrifices and him who does not sacrifice. As the good one is, so is the sinner, and he who ^gswears is as he who shuns an oath. 3 This is an evil in all that is done under the sun, that ^ethe same event happens to all. Also, the hearts of the children of man are full of evil, and ^hmadness is in their hearts while they live, and after that they go to the dead. 4 But he who is joined with all the living has hope, for a living dog is better than a dead lion. 5 For the living know that they will die, but ⁱthe dead know nothing, and they have no more reward, for ^jthe memory of them is forgotten. 6 Their love and their hate and their envy have already perished, and forever they have no more share in all that is done under the sun.

Enjoy Life with the One You Love

7 Go, ^keat your bread with joy, and drink your wine with a merry heart, for God has already approved what you do.

8 ^lLet your garments be always white. Let not ^moil be lacking on your head.

9 Enjoy life with the wife whom you love, all the days of your ⁿvain² life that he has given you under the sun, because that is your ^oportion in life and in your toil at which you toil under the sun. 10 Whatever your hand finds to do, ^pdo it with your might,^{3 q}for there is no work or thought or knowledge or wisdom in Sheol, to which you are going.

Wisdom Better Than Folly

11 ^rAgain I saw that under the sun ^sthe race is not to the swift, nor ^tthe battle to the strong, nor bread to the wise, nor riches to the intelligent, nor favor to those with knowledge, but time and ^uchance ^vhappen to them all. 12 For man ^wdoes not know his time. Like fish that are taken in an evil net, and ^xlike birds that are caught in a snare, so the children of man are ^ysnared at an evil time, when it suddenly falls upon them.

13 I have also seen this example of wisdom under the sun, and it seemed great to me. 14 There was a little city with few men in it, and a great king came against it and besieged it, building great siegeworks against it. 15 But there was found in it ^za poor, wise man, and he by his ^awisdom delivered the city. Yet no one remembered that poor man. 16 But I say that ^bwisdom is better than might, though ^cthe poor man’s wisdom is despised and his words are not heard.

17 The words of the wise heard in ^dquiet are better than the shouting of a ruler among fools. 18 ^eWisdom is better than weapons of war, but ^fone sinner destroys much good.

They Have Afflicted Me from My Youth

A Song of ^mAscents.

1 Since we have these promises, beloved, ^jlet us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body¹ and spirit, bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God.

Paul’s Joy

2 ^kMake room in your hearts² for us. ^lWe have wronged no one, we have corrupted no one, we have taken advantage of no one. 3 I do not say this to condemn you, for I said before that ^myou are in our hearts, to die together and to live together. 4 I am acting with ⁿgreat boldness toward you; ^oI have great pride in you; ^pI am filled with comfort. In all our affliction, I am overflowing with joy.

5 For even ^qwhen we came into Macedonia, our bodies had no rest, but we were afflicted at every turn—^rfighting without and fear within. 6 But ^sGod, who comforts the downcast, ^tcomforted us by the coming of Titus, 7 and not only by his coming but also by the comfort with which he was comforted by you, as he told us of your longing, your mourning, your zeal for me, so that I rejoiced still more. 8 For ^ueven if I made you grieve with my letter, I do not regret it—though ^vI did regret it, for I see that that letter grieved you, though only for a while. 9 As it is, I rejoice, not because you were grieved, but ^wbecause you were grieved into repenting. For you felt a godly grief, so that you suffered no loss through us.

10 For ^xgodly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas ^yworldly grief produces death. 11 For see what earnestness this godly grief has produced in you, but also what eagerness to clear yourselves, what indignation, what fear, what longing, ^zwhat zeal, what punishment! At every point you have proved yourselves innocent in the matter. 12 So although I wrote to you, it was not for the sake of the one ^awho did the wrong, nor for the sake of the one who suffered the wrong, but in order that your earnestness for us might be revealed to you in the sight of God. 13 Therefore ^bwe are comforted.

And besides our own comfort, we rejoiced still more at the joy of Titus, because his spirit ^chas been refreshed by you all. 14 For ^dwhatever boasts I made to him about you, I was not put to shame. But just as everything we said to you ^ewas true, so also our boasting before Titus has proved true. 15 And his affection for you is even greater, as he remembers ^fthe obedience of you all, how you received him with fear and trembling. 16 I rejoice, because I have complete ^gconfidence in you.

Encouragement to Give Generously

1 We want you to know, brothers,³ about the grace of God that has been ^hgiven among the churches of Macedonia, 2 for in a severe test of affliction, their abundance of joy and ⁱtheir extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part. 3 For they gave ^jaccording to their means, as I can testify, and beyond their means, of their own accord, 4 begging us earnestly ^kfor the favor⁴ of taking part in ^lthe relief of the saints— 5 and this, not as we expected, but they ^mgave themselves first to the Lord and then by the will of God to us. 6 Accordingly, ⁿwe urged Titus that as he had started, so he should complete among you ^othis act of grace. 7 But as ^pyou excel in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in all earnestness, and in our love for you⁵—^qsee that you excel in this act of grace also.

8 ^rI say this not as a command, but to prove by the earnestness of others that your love also is genuine. 9 For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ^sthough he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich. 10 And in this matter ^tI give my judgment: ^uthis benefits you, who ^va year ago started not only to do this work but also to desire to do it. 11 So now finish doing it as well, so that your readiness in desiring it may be matched by your completing it out of what you have. 12 For if the readiness is there, it is acceptable ^waccording to what a person has, not according to what he does not have. 13 For I do not mean that others should be eased and you burdened, but that as a matter of fairness 14 your abundance at the present time should supply ^xtheir need, so that their abundance may supply your need, that there may be fairness. 15 As it is written, ^y“Whoever gathered much had nothing left over, and whoever gathered little had no lack.”

Commendation of Titus

16 But ^zthanks be to God, ^awho put into the heart of Titus the same earnest care I have for you. 17 For ^bhe not only accepted our appeal, but being himself very earnest he is going⁶ to you of his own accord. 18 With him we are sending^{7 c}the brother who is famous among ^dall the churches for his preaching of the gospel. 19 And not only that, but he has been ^eappointed by the churches to travel with us as we carry out this act of ^fgrace that is being ministered by us, ^gfor the glory of the Lord himself and to show our good will. 20 We take this course so that no one should blame us about this generous gift that is being administered by us, 21 for ^hwe aim at what is honorable ⁱnot only in the Lord’s sight but also in the sight of man. 22 And with them we are sending our brother whom we have often tested and found earnest in many matters, but who is now more earnest than ever because of his great confidence in you. 23 As for Titus, he is ^jmy partner and fellow worker for your benefit. And as for our brothers, they are messengers⁸ of the churches, the glory of Christ. 24 So give proof before the churches of your love and of ^kour boasting about you to these men.