Single lesson
Ecclesiastes 9: Death Comes to Good and Bad
Ecclesiastes 9:1–6; Ecclesiastes 9:7–12; Ecclesiastes 9:13–18
Ecclesiastes 9 has three clear parts. It says death comes to everyone, tells people to enjoy the life God has given them, and shows that wisdom is better than strength, even when others ignore it.
Before you teach
In this chapter, the writer looks at life as people experience it in this world. First he says both good and bad people die. Then he tells people to enjoy daily gifts and work with energy while they are alive. Last, he gives an example of a poor wise man who saves a city but is forgotten.
Students will be able to name the three parts of Ecclesiastes 9:1–18 and explain how they teach honest thinking about death, thankful living, and the value of wisdom.
Welcome: Three parts of the chapter
4 minWrite three simple headings for the lesson: everyone dies, enjoy the life God gives, and wisdom is better than strength. Tell students this chapter has three parts, beginning at verse 1, verse 7, and verse 13. Explain that the writer is talking about life as people see it here in this world.
Ecclesiastes 9:1, Ecclesiastes 9:7, Ecclesiastes 9:13
Read and explain: What each part says
8 minRead the passage in three sections. In the first part, both righteous and wicked people face the same death, and the living know they will die. In the second part, people are told to eat with joy, live joyfully, and work with all their might. In the third part, a poor wise man saves a city, showing wisdom is better than strength.
Ecclesiastes 9:2, Ecclesiastes 9:5, Ecclesiastes 9:7, Ecclesiastes 9:9, Ecclesiastes 9:10, Ecclesiastes 9:15, Ecclesiastes 9:16
Discuss: Different parts, different examples
6 minHelp students compare the three parts in simple words. The first part is sad and serious because death comes to all. The second part gives commands about enjoying food, love, and work while life lasts. The third part uses a small city example to show that quiet wisdom can be better than power and loud ruling.
Ecclesiastes 9:3, Ecclesiastes 9:7, Ecclesiastes 9:9, Ecclesiastes 9:10, Ecclesiastes 9:15, Ecclesiastes 9:17
Make and respond: Reminder card from one verse
8 minInvite each student to choose one key verse from the chapter. Help them connect it to an ordinary situation, such as doing schoolwork carefully, listening to wise advice, or thanking God for a meal. Students make a small reminder card with the verse reference on one side and one short response on the other.
Ecclesiastes 9:7, Ecclesiastes 9:10, Ecclesiastes 9:16, Ecclesiastes 9:17, Ecclesiastes 9:18
Closing: Put the three teachings together
4 minReview the chapter by asking for one short sentence about each part. Remind students that Ecclesiastes 9 speaks honestly about death, tells people to receive life as their portion, and says wisdom is better than strength. Let students share the verse they chose and how it matches one of the three parts.
Ecclesiastes 9:5, Ecclesiastes 9:9, Ecclesiastes 9:11, Ecclesiastes 9:16, Ecclesiastes 9:18
Questions to explore
In verses 1 to 6, what is the one event that happens to both the righteous and the wicked?
Look at verses 2 and 3, then notice what verse 5 says the living know.
Ecclesiastes 9:2, Ecclesiastes 9:3, Ecclesiastes 9:5
What does the writer tell people to do in verses 7 to 10 while they are alive?
Find the commands in order and list the actions about joy, love, and work.
Ecclesiastes 9:7, Ecclesiastes 9:8, Ecclesiastes 9:9, Ecclesiastes 9:10
How does the little city example show that wisdom is better than strength?
Notice what the poor wise man did, then compare it with the sayings in verses 16 to 18.
Ecclesiastes 9:15, Ecclesiastes 9:16, Ecclesiastes 9:17, Ecclesiastes 9:18
Make, think or respond
Key Verse Reminder Card
What you’ll need
- small pieces of card or paper
- pencils or pens
- colours or markers
- Bibles
Try it together
- Ask each student to choose one verse from Ecclesiastes 9:7, 9:10, 9:16, 9:17, or 9:18.
- On one side, write the verse reference and a few key words from the verse.
- On the other side, write one simple reminder sentence such as "Do today's work well" or "Listen for quiet wisdom".
- Add a small drawing or symbol to match the verse, then share the card with a partner.
This activity helps students respond to the chapter by choosing one verse that teaches joyful living, steady work, or the value of wisdom.
Adapt for your group
- For younger students, offer just two verses to choose from, such as Ecclesiastes 9:10 and Ecclesiastes 9:17, and let them draw a picture with only a few written words.
- For stronger readers, ask them to tell how the three parts begin at Ecclesiastes 9:1, Ecclesiastes 9:7, and Ecclesiastes 9:13, and explain what each part adds to the chapter.
An optional closing prayer
"God, please help us face life honestly, enjoy the good gifts you give, and listen to wisdom. Help us do our work well today. Amen."
Read the Bible passage World English Bible Classic
Ecclesiastes 9
1 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.
2 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.
3 This is an evil in all that is done under the sun, that there is one event to all. Yes also, the heart of the sons of men is full of evil, and madness is in their heart while they live, and after that they go to the dead.
4 For to him who is joined with all the living there is hope; for a living dog is better than a dead lion.
5 For the living know that they will die, but the dead don’t know anything, neither do they have any more a reward; for their memory is forgotten.
6 Also their love, their hatred, and their envy has perished long ago; neither do they any longer have a portion forever in anything that is done under the sun.
7 Go your way—eat your bread with joy, and drink your wine with a merry heart; for God has already accepted your works.
8 Let your garments be always white, and don’t let your head lack oil.
9 Live joyfully with the wife whom you love all the days of your life of vanity, which he has given you under the sun, all your days of vanity, for that is your portion in life, and in your labor in which you labor under the sun.
10 Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might; for there is no work, nor plan, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in Sheol, where you are going.
11 I returned and saw under the sun that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favor to men of skill; but time and chance happen to them all.
12 For man also doesn’t know his time. As the fish that are taken in an evil net, and as the birds that are caught in the snare, even so are the sons of men snared in an evil time, when it falls suddenly on them.
13 I have also seen wisdom under the sun in this way, and it seemed great to me.
14 There was a little city, and few men within it; and a great king came against it, besieged it, and built great bulwarks against it.
15 Now a poor wise man was found in it, and he by his wisdom delivered the city; yet no man remembered that same poor man.
16 Then I said, “Wisdom is better than strength.” Nevertheless the poor man’s wisdom is despised, and his words are not heard.
17 The words of the wise heard in quiet are better than the cry of him who rules among fools.
18 Wisdom is better than weapons of war; but one sinner destroys much good.
World English Bible Classic. Public domain.