Bible Strands

Ecclesiastes 9:2

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.

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — The author of Ecclesiastes addresses an Israelite audience reflecting on the observation that moral and religious distinctions do not alter earthly outcomes. He speaks immediately after noting in Ecclesiastes 9:1 that the righteous, the wise, and their deeds rest in God’s hands while human foresight remains fundamentally limited.

The words — The phrase מִקְרֶה אֶחָד (mikreh echad) translates literally as "one fate" or "common occurrence." It is framed by הַכֹּל (ha-kol, "the all") and כַּאֲשֶׁר לַכֹּל (ka-ascher la-kol, "just as for all"), stressing that this shared destiny applies universally regardless of moral or ritual status.

The thread — This observation of undifferentiated earthly fate appears alongside contrasting promises of ultimate distinction, such as Malachi 3:18’s assurance that God will again separate the righteous from the wicked. The same empirical claim echoes Ecclesiastes 2:14, where one fate overtakes both the wise and the fool, and aligns with Job 9:22’s declaration that God destroys both the blameless and the wicked.

Why it lands — The text states that righteous and wicked, good and bad, clean and unclean, and vow-makers and vow-breakers all share the same earthly destiny. It requires the reader to abandon the assumption that ritual observance or moral standing guarantees temporal security and to acknowledge the limits of human control over immediate outcomes.

Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.

The Hebrew words

הַכֹּ֞לha./Kol<the>/ allכַּאֲשֶׁ֣רka./'a.Sher[is] just/ asלַכֹּ֗לla./Kolfor <the>/ allמִקְרֶ֨הmik.Rehfateאֶחָ֜ד'e.Chadoneלַצַּדִּ֤יקla./tza.Dik[belongs] to the/ righteousוְלָרָשָׁע֙ve./la./ra.Sha'and/ to the/ wickedלַטּוֹב֙la./tOvto the/ goodוְלַטָּה֣וֹרve./la./ta.Horand/ to the/ cleanוְלַטָּמֵ֔אve./la./ta.Me'and/ to the/ uncleanוְלַזֹּבֵ֔חַve./la./zo.Ve.achand/ to the/ [one who] sacrificesוְלַאֲשֶׁ֖רve./la./'a.Sherand/ to/ [one] whoאֵינֶ֣נּוּ'ei.Ne./nunot/ heזֹבֵ֑חַzo.Ve.ach[is] sacrificingכַּטּוֹב֙ka./tOvas the/ good [person]כַּֽחֹטֶ֔אka./cho.Te'as the/ sinnerהַנִּשְׁבָּ֕עha./nish.Ba'the/ [one who] swears an oathכַּאֲשֶׁ֖רka./'a.Sherjust/ asשְׁבוּעָ֥הshe.vu.'Ahan oathיָרֵֽא׃ya.Re'[one] fearingוְלָרַעve./la./Ra'and/ to the/ evil

King James Version

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.

Cross-references