For the living know that they will die, but the dead know nothing. They have no further reward, because the memory of them is forgotten.
Parallel translations
- WEB 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.
- KJV For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not any thing, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten.
- NKJV For the living know that they will die; But the dead know nothing, And they have no more reward, For the memory of them is forgotten.
- NASB For the living know that they will die; but the dead do not know anything, nor do they have a reward any longer, for their memory is forgotten.
- NLT The living at least know they will die, but the dead know nothing. They have no further reward, nor are they remembered.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
The living know they will die and can prepare, but the dead know nothing more and their memory fades from the world. Earthly life is the time to act, for death ends our work under the sun.
Overview
Qoheleth contrasts the conscious living with the dead, who have no more share in earthly affairs or remembrance. He speaks from the vantage point of life 'under the sun,' not delivering a full doctrine of the afterlife, which later revelation unfolds. The urgency he presses finds its answer in Christ, who brought life and immortality to light through the gospel (2 Timothy 1:10).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 13
- Isa 26:14The dead will not live; the departed spirits will not rise. Therefore You have punished and destroyed them; You have wiped out all memory of them.
- Eccl 1:11There is no remembrance of those who came before, and those yet to come will not be remembered by those who follow after.
- Ps 6:5For there is no mention of You in death; who can praise You from Sheol?
- Ps 88:10–12Do You work wonders for the dead? Do departed spirits rise up to praise You? Selah
- Job 14:21If his sons receive honor, he does not know it; if they are brought low, he is unaware.
- Heb 9:27Just as man is appointed to die once, and after that to face judgment,
- Ps 109:15May their sins always remain before the LORD, that He may cut off their memory from the earth.
- Eccl 2:16For there is no lasting remembrance of the wise, just as with the fool, seeing that both will be forgotten in the days to come. Alas, the wise man will die just like the fool!
- Isa 63:16Yet You are our Father, though Abraham does not know us and Israel does not acknowledge us. You, O LORD, are our Father; our Redeemer from Everlasting is Your name.
- Eccl 8:10Then too, I saw the burial of the wicked who used to go in and out of the holy place, and they were praised in the city where they had done so. This too is futile.
- Job 7:8–10The eye that beholds me will no longer see me. You will look for me, but I will be no more.
- Eccl 7:2It 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.
- Job 30:23Yes, I know that You will bring me down to death, to the place appointed for all the living.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
The search that finds everything 'under the sun' to be vapor exposes the emptiness of life without God and drives us to the one who alone gives meaning, the resurrection that makes our labor not in vain.
How Ecclesiastes 9:5 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.