Глава 9

1–6. Death is the lot of everyone. 7–10. Correct use of life. 11–12. The power of chance. 13–18. The power of wisdom. Taking a closer look at the fate of the righteous, Ecclesiastes finds new proof of the vanity of human life and the need to be content with the few joys that are available to people. Eccl.9:1. I turned my heart to all this to study that the righteous and wise and their deeds are in the hand of God, and that man knows neither love nor hatred in all that is before him. The righteous and wise are completely dependent on God. Even their actions and feelings are not entirely determined by their free will, but are subject to time and chance. A person cannot foresee where and when love or hatred will arise in him, and he is not able to turn love into hatred, hatred into love. “In all that is before him,” that is, in all that lies ahead of him, what will happen to him. Eccl.9:2. There is one thing for everything and everyone: one fate for the righteous and the wicked, the good and the [evil], the pure and the unclean, those who offer sacrifice and those who do not; both the virtuous and the sinner; both the one who swears and the one who fears an oath. “One thing for everything and everyone.” More literally from the Hebrew: “everything, like everyone else” (LXX and Slavic incorrectly translated: “vanity in everyone”), i.e. everything happens to the righteous, like to all people. There is one fate - death - for both the righteous and sinners. After the word “good” LXX, the Vulgate and the Syriac translation add “evil” (see glory - “There is only one case for the righteous and the wicked, the good and the evil, and the pure and the unclean... as you swear, so fear the oath”). It is possible that this was the original reading in the original. "To the swearer". One should not mean one who utters an oath in general, since Ecclesiastes, as can be seen from Eccl 8.2, does not consider it a sin, but one who calls the name of God in vain (Exodus 20.7), unnecessarily, frivolously and even falsely. The prophet Zechariah places such an oath along with theft (Eccl. 5.3). Some exegetes by those who fear the oath and do not make sacrifices mean the Essenes, who denied the oath and sacrifices. But we know nothing from historical monuments about such an early emergence of the Essene sect. Eccl.9:3. This is what is bad in everything that is done under the sun, that there is one fate for everyone, and the hearts of the sons of men are filled with evil, and madness is in their hearts, in their lives; and after that they go to the dead. The great evil is that the fate of both the righteous and sinners is the same. Both die the same way and go to Sheol. (Eccl.9:4.) He who is among the living still has hope, since it is better for a living dog than for a dead lion. (Eccl. 9:5.) The living know that they will die, but the dead know nothing, and there is no longer any reward for them, because the memory of them is forgotten, (Eccl. 9:6.) And their love and their hatred and their jealousy have already disappeared, and they have no longer any share forever in anything that is done under the sun. In Sheol, everyone is equal, still insignificant, so insignificant that the life of the most insignificant person is more valuable than the stay in Sheol of a great man, since the dead know neither hope, nor retribution, nor love, nor hatred and, in general, have no part in anything that happens under the sun. Ecclesiastes places all manifestations of human spiritual life, love, hatred, knowledge, wisdom, reflection (v. 10) in an inextricable connection with the conditions of earthly existence as phenomena that are possible only “under the sun”, in conjunction with the body. With the destruction of the body, vital manifestations cease, and a state of deep sleep, a state of half-life, begins. With such an idea of ​​the afterlife, of course, there could be no talk of a difference in the fate of the righteous and sinners, of reward beyond the grave; While claiming, in general, the existence of God's judgment, Ecclesiastes nowhere extends it to the afterlife. Moreover, he describes her in terms that exclude any thought of retribution. Eccl.9:7. Go therefore, eat thy bread with gladness, and drink thy wine with gladness of heart, when God delighteth in thy works. Eccl.9:8. May your garments be bright at all times, and may the oil on your head not fail. Eccl.9:9. Enjoy life with the wife you love all the days of your vain life, and whom God has given you under the sun for all your vain days; because this is your portion in life and in your labors, as you labor under the sun. Eccl.9:10. Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your strength; because in the grave where you go there is no work, no reflection, no knowledge, no wisdom. Ecclesiastes concludes his sad reflections, as usual, with a call to enjoy life. The darker a person's future, the more he should appreciate the joys of earthly existence. Eccl.9:11. And I turned, and saw under the sun that it is not to the swift that the race is won, nor to the brave the victory, nor to the wise the bread, nor to the wise riches, nor to the skillful the favor, but time and chance for them all. Eccl.9:12. For man does not know his time. As fish are caught in a destructive net, and as birds are entangled in a snare, so the sons of men are caught in times of trouble when it unexpectedly comes upon them. But looking at life with joyful eyes, a person should not forget for a single minute about his dependence on time and chance; he must prepare for any eventuality, since it usually happens that external success does not correspond to the internal dignity of a person. Due to the complete uncertainty of the future, a person is not able to prevent a sad combination of circumstances for him. Eccl.9:13. Here is some other wisdom I saw under the sun, and it seemed important to me: Eccl.9:14. the city is small and there are few people in it; the great king approached him and besieged him and carried out large siege works against him; Eccl.9:15. but a wise poor man was found in him, and with his wisdom he saved this city; and yet no one remembered this poor man. Eccl.9:16. And I said, Wisdom is better than strength, and yet the wisdom of the poor man is despised, and his words are not listened to. Eccl.9:17. The words of the wise, spoken calmly, are heard better than the cry of a ruler among fools. Eccl.9:18. Wisdom is better than weapons of war; but one sinner will destroy a lot of good things. But even here, wisdom saves a person from many evils and sometimes knows how to direct the course of events for the good of people. Although wisdom is often a subject of neglect, it is stronger than the cry of a ruler, stronger than military weapons. “However, no one remembered this poor man.” Some interpreters see here an indication of the poor man's former obscurity before the salvation of the city, others - of the rapid oblivion of his merits by his contemporaries. Context and grammatical structure allow for both understandings. It is difficult to say whether Ecclesiastes took a possible incident or used a specific historical fact to illustrate his point. Some interpreters saw in the poor and wise man the image of the despised Israel. You might be interested in: