Ecclesiastes 9:1

So I took all this to heart and concluded that the righteous and the wise, as well as their deeds, are in God’s hands. Man does not know what lies ahead, whether love or hate.

2 It is the same for all: There is a common fate for the righteous and the wicked, for the good and the bad, for the clean and the unclean, for the one who sacrifices and the one who does not. As it is for the good, so it is for the sinner; as it is for the one who makes a vow, so it is for the one who refuses to take a vow.

3 This is an evil in everything that is done under the sun: There is one fate for everyone. Furthermore, the hearts of men are full of evil and madness while they are alive, and afterward they join the dead.

Do read the surrounding verses too, because the context often says more than a single verse.

Compare

BSB
So I took all this to heart and concluded that the righteous and the wise, as well as their deeds, are in God’s hands. Man does not know what lies ahead, whether love or hate.
KJV
For all this I considered in my heart even to declare all this, that the righteous, and the wise, and their works, are in the hand of God: no man knoweth either love or hatred by all that is before them.
WEB
For all this I laid to my heart, even to explore all this: that the righteous, and the wise, and their works, are in the hand of God; whether it is love or hatred, man doesn’t know it; all is before them.
ASV
For all this I laid to my heart, even to explore all this: that the righteous, and the wise, and their works, are in the hand of God; whether it be love or hatred, man knoweth it not; all is before them.
DARBY
For all this I laid to my heart and [indeed] to investigate all this, that the righteous, and the wise, and their works, are in the hand of God; man knoweth neither love nor hatred: all is before them.
BLB
Indeed, all this I gave to my heart, in order to examine all this, that the righteous and the wise and their work are in the hand of God. Even love, even hatred—man does not know all that [is] before their faces.
ÅB
For alt dette har jeg tatt meg til hjerte, og jeg har søkt å utgrunde alt dette: at de rettferdige og de vise og deres gjerninger er i Guds hånd; om det er kjærlighet eller hat, vet intet menneske[^1]; de kan vente seg alt.
OTB
Jeg tenkte på alt dette og bestemte at de rettferdige, de vise, og deres gjerninger er i Guds hender. Likevel vet ingen om kjærlighet eller hat ligger foran dem.
B1930
For alt dette har jeg tatt mig til hjerte, og jeg har søkt å utgrunde alt dette: at de rettferdige og de vise og deres gjerninger er i Guds hånd; om det er kjærlighet eller hat, vet intet menneske; de kan vente sig alt. / < Ingen kan av de ytre omstendigheter med sikkerhet slutte sig til Guds velbehag eller mishag med ham selv eller andre.>

Study notes (Tyndale)

Original text and word study

Cross references

  • Deuteronomy 33:3

    Surely You love the people; all the holy ones are in Your hand, and they sit down at Your feet; each receives Your words—

    Read in context
  • John 10:27–30

    My sheep listen to My voice; I know them, and they follow Me.

    Read in context
  • Job 12:10

    The life of every living thing is in His hand, as well as the breath of all mankind.

    Read in context
  • Ecclesiastes 8:14

    There is a futility that is done on the earth: There are righteous men who get what the actions of the wicked deserve, and there are wicked men who get what the actions of the righteous deserve. I say that this too is futile.

    Read in context
  • 1 Peter 1:5

    who through faith are shielded by God’s power for the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.

    Read in context
  • Ecclesiastes 7:15

    In my futile life I have seen both of these: A righteous man perishing in his righteousness, and a wicked man living long in his wickedness.

    Read in context