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Er hyn oll mi a ystyriais yn fy nghalon, i ddangos hyn oll; bod y cyfiawn, a’r doethion, a’u gweithredoedd, yn llaw Duw: ni ŵyr dyn gariad, neu gas, wrth yr hyn oll sydd o’u blaen. Yr un peth a ddamwain i bawb fel ei gilydd: yr un peth a ddamwain i’r cyfiawn, ac i’r annuwiol; i’r da ac i’r glân, ac i’r aflan; i’r neb a abertha, ac i’r neb nid abertha: fel y mae y da, felly y mae y pechadur; a’r neb a dyngo, fel y neb a ofno dyngu. Dyma ddrwg ymysg yr holl bethau a wneir dan haul; sef bod yr un diben i bawb: hefyd calon meibion dynion sydd yn llawn drygioni, ac ynfydrwydd sydd yn eu calon tra fyddant fyw, ac ar ôl hynny y maent yn myned at y meirw.

Canys i’r neb a fo yng nghymdeithas y rhai byw oll, y mae gobaith: canys gwell yw ci byw na llew marw. Oherwydd y rhai byw a wyddant y byddant feirw: ond nid oes dim gwybodaeth gan y meirw, ac nid oes iddynt wobr mwyach; canys eu coffa hwynt a anghofiwyd. Eu cariad hefyd, a’u cas, a’u cenfigen, a ddarfu yn awr; ac nid oes iddynt gyfran byth mwy o ddim oll a wneir dan yr haul.

Dos, bwyta dy fwyd yn llawen, ac yf dy win â chalon hyfryd: canys yn awr cymeradwy gan Dduw dy weithredoedd. Bydded dy ddillad yn wynion bob amser; ac na fydded diffyg olew ar dy ben. Dwg dy fyd yn llawen gyda’th wraig annwyl holl ddyddiau bywyd dy oferedd, y rhai a roddes efe i ti dan yr haul, holl ddyddiau dy oferedd: canys dyna dy ran di yn y bywyd yma, ac yn dy lafur a gymeri dan yr haul. 10 Beth bynnag a ymafael dy law ynddo i’w wneuthur, gwna â’th holl egni: canys nid oes na gwaith, na dychymyg, na gwybodaeth, na doethineb, yn y bedd, lle yr wyt ti yn myned.

11 Mi a droais, ac a welais dan haul, nad yw y rhedfa yn eiddo y cyflym, na’r rhyfel yn eiddo y cedyrn, na’r bwyd yn eiddo y doethion, na chyfoeth yn eiddo y pwyllog, na ffafr yn eiddo y cyfarwydd: ond amser a damwain a ddigwydd iddynt oll. 12 Canys ni ŵyr dyn chwaith ei amser: fel y pysgod a ddelir â’r rhwyd niweidiol, ac fel yr adar a ddelir yn y delm; felly y delir plant dynion yn amser drwg, pan syrthio arnynt yn ddisymwth.

13 Hefyd y doethineb hyn a welais i dan haul, ac sydd fawr gennyf fi: 14 Yr oedd dinas fechan, ac ynddi ychydig wŷr; a brenin mawr a ddaeth yn ei herbyn hi, ac a’i hamgylchynodd, ac a gododd glawdd uchel yn ei herbyn: 15 A chafwyd ynddi ŵr tlawd doeth, ac efe a waredodd y ddinas honno â’i ddoethineb: eto ni chofiodd neb y gŵr tlawd hwnnw. 16 Yna y dywedais, Gwell yw doethineb na nerth: er hynny dirmygir doethineb y tlawd, ac ni wrandewir ar ei eiriau ef. 17 Geiriau y doethion a wrandewir mewn distawrwydd, rhagor bloedd yr hwn sydd yn llywodraethu ymysg ffyliaid. 18 Gwell yw doethineb nag arfau rhyfel; ond un pechadur a ddinistria lawer o ddaioni.

A Common Destiny for All

So I reflected on all this and concluded that the righteous and the wise and what they do are in God’s hands, but no one knows whether love or hate awaits them.(A) All share a common destiny—the righteous and the wicked, the good and the bad,[a] the clean and the unclean, those who offer sacrifices and those who do not.

As it is with the good,
    so with the sinful;
as it is with those who take oaths,
    so with those who are afraid to take them.(B)

This is the evil in everything that happens under the sun: The same destiny overtakes all.(C) The hearts of people, moreover, are full of evil and there is madness in their hearts while they live,(D) and afterward they join the dead.(E) Anyone who is among the living has hope[b]—even a live dog is better off than a dead lion!

For the living know that they will die,
    but the dead know nothing;(F)
they have no further reward,
    and even their name(G) is forgotten.(H)
Their love, their hate
    and their jealousy have long since vanished;
never again will they have a part
    in anything that happens under the sun.(I)

Go, eat your food with gladness, and drink your wine(J) with a joyful heart,(K) for God has already approved what you do. Always be clothed in white,(L) and always anoint your head with oil. Enjoy life with your wife,(M) whom you love, all the days of this meaningless life that God has given you under the sun—all your meaningless days. For this is your lot(N) in life and in your toilsome labor under the sun. 10 Whatever(O) your hand finds to do, do it with all your might,(P) for in the realm of the dead,(Q) where you are going, there is neither working nor planning nor knowledge nor wisdom.(R)

11 I have seen something else under the sun:

The race is not to the swift
    or the battle to the strong,(S)
nor does food come to the wise(T)
    or wealth to the brilliant
    or favor to the learned;
but time and chance(U) happen to them all.(V)

12 Moreover, no one knows when their hour will come:

As fish are caught in a cruel net,
    or birds are taken in a snare,
so people are trapped by evil times(W)
    that fall unexpectedly upon them.(X)

Wisdom Better Than Folly

13 I also saw under the sun this example of wisdom(Y) that greatly impressed me: 14 There was once a small city with only a few people in it. And a powerful king came against it, surrounded it and built huge siege works against it. 15 Now there lived in that city a man poor but wise, and he saved the city by his wisdom. But nobody remembered that poor man.(Z) 16 So I said, “Wisdom is better than strength.” But the poor man’s wisdom is despised, and his words are no longer heeded.(AA)

17 The quiet words of the wise are more to be heeded
    than the shouts of a ruler of fools.
18 Wisdom(AB) is better than weapons of war,
    but one sinner destroys much good.

Footnotes

  1. Ecclesiastes 9:2 Septuagint (Aquila), Vulgate and Syriac; Hebrew does not have and the bad.
  2. Ecclesiastes 9:4 Or What then is to be chosen? With all who live, there is hope