Ecclesiastes 9:2

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.

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.

4 There is hope, however, for anyone who is among the living; for even a live dog is better than a dead lion.

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

Compare

BSB
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.
KJV
All things come alike to all: there is one event to the righteous, and to the wicked; to the good and to the clean, and to the unclean; to him that sacrificeth, and to him that sacrificeth not: as is the good, so is the sinner; and he that sweareth, as he that feareth an oath.
WEB
All things come alike to all. There is one event to the righteous and to the wicked; to the good, to the clean, to the unclean, to him who sacrifices, and to him who doesn’t sacrifice. As is the good, so is the sinner; he who takes an oath, as he who fears an oath.
ASV
All things come alike to all: there is one event to the righteous and to the wicked; to the good and to the clean and to the unclean; to him that sacrificeth and to him that sacrificeth not; as is the good, so is the sinner; [and] he that sweareth, as he that feareth an oath.
DARBY
All things [come] alike to all: one event to the righteous and to the wicked, to the good, and to the clean, and to the unclean, to him that sacrificeth and to him that sacrificeth not: as is the good, so is the sinner; he that sweareth, as he that feareth an oath.
BLB
All [is] as for all: One event [is] to the righteous and to the wicked, to the good [and to the bad], and to the clean and to the unclean, and to the one sacrificing and to the one who is not sacrificing; as [is] the good one, so [is] the sinner, the one swearing an oath as the one refusing an oath.
ÅB
Det går dem[^2] i alt slik som alle andre; det samme hender den rettferdige og den ugudelige, den gode og rene og den urene, den som ofrer og den som ikke ofrer; den gode går det som synderen, den som sverger, går det som den som er redd for å sverge.
OTB
Alle deler den samme skjebnen: de rettferdige og de onde, de gode og de dårlige, de rene og de urene, de som ofrer og de som ikke gjør det. Som det er med de gode, så er det med synderen; den som sverger en ed er som den som frykter å sverge.
B1930
Det går dem i alt likesom alle andre; det samme hender den rettferdige og den ugudelige, den gode og rene og den urene, den som ofrer og den som ikke ofrer; den gode går det som synderen, den som sverger, går det som den som er redd for å sverge. / < de rettferdige og vise.>

Study notes (Tyndale)

Original text and word study

Cross references

  • Malachi 3:18

    So you will again distinguish between the righteous and the wicked, between those who serve God and those who do not.”

    Read in context
  • Ecclesiastes 2:14–16

    The wise man has eyes in his head, but the fool walks in darkness. Yet I also came to realize that one fate overcomes them both.

    Read in context
  • Job 9:22

    It is all the same, and so I say, ‘He destroys both the blameless and the wicked.’

    Read in context
  • Psalms 73:3

    For I envied the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.

    Read in context
  • Malachi 3:5

    “Then I will draw near to you for judgment. And I will be a swift witness against sorcerers and adulterers and perjurers, against oppressors of the widowed and fatherless, and against those who defraud laborers of their wages and deny justice to the foreigner but do not fear Me,” says the LORD of Hosts.

    Read in context
  • Malachi 3:15

    So now we call the arrogant blessed. Not only do evildoers prosper, they even test God and escape.’”

    Read in context
  • Ecclesiastes 7:2

    It is better to enter a house of mourning than a house of feasting, since death is the end of every man, and the living should take this to heart.

    Read in context
  • Job 21:7–34

    Why do the wicked live on, growing old and increasing in power?

    Read in context