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Commentary on Ecclesiastes 9 verses 4–10
Solomon, in a fret, had praised the dead more than the living (Ecc 4:2); but here, considering the advantages of life to prepare for death and make sure the hope of a better life, he seems to be of another mind.
I. He shows the advantages which the living have above those that are dead, Ecc 9:4-6. 1. While there is life there is hope. Dum spiro, spero - While I breathe, I hope. It is the privilege of the living that they are joined to the living, in relation, commerce, and conversation, and, while they are so, there is hope. If a man's condition be, upon any account, bad, there is hope it will be amended. If the heart be full of evil, and madness be in it, yet while there is life there is hope that by the grace of God there may be a blessed change wrought; but after men go to the dead (Ecc 9:3) it is too late then; he that is then filthy will be filthy still, for ever filthy. If men be thrown aside as useless, yet, while they are joined to the living, there is hope that they may yet again take root and bear fruit; he that is alive is, or may be, good for something, but he that is dead, as to this world, is not capable of being any further serviceable. Therefore a living dog is better than a dead lion; the meanest beggar alive has that comfort of this world and does that service to it which the greatest prince, when he is dead, is utterly incapable of. 2. While there is life there is an opportunity of preparing for death: The living know that which the dead have no knowledge of, particularly they know that they shall die, and are, or may be, thereby influenced to prepare for that great change which will come certainly, and may come suddenly. Note, The living cannot but know that they shall die, that they must needs die. They know they are under a sentence of death; they are already taken into custody by its messengers, and feel themselves declining. This is a needful useful knowledge; for what is our business, while we live, but to get ready to die: The living know they shall die; it is a thing yet to come, and therefore provision may be made for it. The dead know they are dead, and it is too late; they are on the other side the great gulf fixed. 3. When life is gone all this world is gone with it, as to us. (1.) There is an end of all our acquaintance with this world and the things of it: The dead know not any thing of that which, while they lived, they were intimately conversant with. It does not appear that they know any thing of what is done by those they leave behind. Abraham is ignorant of us; they are removed into darkness, Job 10:22. (2.) There is an end of all our enjoyments in this world: They have no more a reward for their toils about the world, but all they got must be left to others; they have a reward for their holy actions, but not for their worldly ones. The meats and the belly will be destroyed together, Joh 6:27; Co1 6:13. It is explained Ecc 9:6. Neither have they any more a portion for ever, none of that which they imagined would be a portion for ever, of that which is done and got under the sun. The things of this world will not be a portion for the soul because they will not be a portion for ever; those that choose them, and have them for their good things, have only a portion in this life, Psa 17:14. The world can only be an annuity for life, not a portion for ever. (3.) There is an end of their name. There are but few whose names survive them long; the grave is a land of forgetfulness, for the memory of those that are laid there is soon forgotten; their place knows them no more, nor the lands they called by their own names. (4.) There is an end of their affections, their friendships and enmities: Their love, and their hatred, and their envy have now perished; the good things they loved, the evil things they hated, the prosperity of others, which they envied, are now all at an end with them. Death parts those that loved one another, and puts an end to their friendship, and those that hated one another too, and puts an end to their quarrels. Actio moritur cum person - The person and his actions die together. There we shall be never the better for our friends (their love can do us no kindness), nor ever the worse for our enemies - their hatred and envy can do us no damage. There the wicked cease from troubling. Those things which now so affect us and fill us, which we are so concerned about and so jealous of, will there be at an end.
II. Hence he infers that it is our wisdom to make the best use of life that we can while it does last, and manage wisely what remains of it.
1.Let us relish the comforts of life while we live, and cheerfully take our share of the enjoyments of it. Solomon, having been himself ensnared by the abuse of sensitive delights, warns others of the danger, not by a total prohibition of them, but by directing to the sober and moderate use of them; we may use the world, but must not abuse it, take what is to be had out of it, and expect no more. Here we have,
(1.)The particular instances of this cheerfulness prescribed: "Thou art drooping and melancholy, go thy way, like a fool as thou art, and get into a better temper of mind." [1.] "Let thy spirit be easy and pleasant; then let there be joy and a merry heart within," a good heart (so the word is), which distinguishes this from carnal mirth and sensual pleasure, which are the evil of the heart, both a symptom and a cause of much evil there. We must enjoy ourselves, enjoy our friends, enjoy our God, and be careful to keep a good conscience, that nothing may disturb us in these enjoyments. We must serve God with gladness, in the use of what he gives us, and be liberal in communicating it to others, and not suffer ourselves to be oppressed with inordinate care and grief about the world. We must eat our bread as Israelites, not in our mourning (Deu 26:14), as Christians, with gladness and liberality of heart, Act 2:46. See Deu 28:47. [2.] "Make use of the comforts and enjoyments which God has given thee: Eat thy bread, drink thy wine, thine, not another's, not the bread of deceit, nor the wine of violence, but that which is honestly got, else thou canst not eat it with any comfort nor expect a blessing upon it - thy bread and thy wine, such as are agreeable to thy place and station, not extravagantly above it nor sordidly below it; lay out what God has given thee for the ends for which thou art entrusted with it, as being but a steward." [3.] "Evidence thy cheerfulness (Ecc 9:8): Let thy garments be always white. Observe a proportion in thy expenses; reduce not thy food in order to gratify thy pride, nor thy clothing in order to gratify thy voluptuousness. Be neat, wear clean linen, and be not slovenly." Or, "Let thy garments be white in token of joy and cheerfulness," which were expressed by white raiment (Rev 3:4); "and as a further token of joy, let thy head lack no ointment that is fit for it." Our Saviour admitted this piece of pleasure at a feast (Mat 26:7), and David observes it among the gifts of God's bounty to him. Psa 23:5, Thou anointest my head with oil. Not that we must place our happiness in any of the delights of sense, or set our hearts upon them, but what God has given us we must make as comfortable a use of as we can afford, under the limitations of sobriety and wisdom, and not forgetting the poor. [4.] "Make thyself agreeable to thy relations: Live joyfully with the wife whom thou lovest. Do not engross thy delights, making much of thyself only, and not caring what becomes of those about thee, but let them share with thee and make them easy too. Have a wife; for even in paradise it was not good for man to be alone. Keep to thy wife, to one, and do not multiply wives" (Solomon had found the mischief of that); "keep to her only, and have nothing to do with any other." How can a man live joyfully with one with whom he does not live honestly? "Love thy wife; and the wife whom thou lovest thou wilt be likely to live joyfully with." When we do the duty of relations we may expect the comfort of them. See Pro 5:19. "Live with thy wife, and delight in her society. Live joyfully with her, and be most cheerful when thou art with her. Take pleasure in thy family, thy vine and thy olive plants."
(2.)The qualifications necessary to this cheerfulness: "Rejoice and have a merry heart, if God now accepts thy works. If thou art reconciled to God, and recommended to him, then thou has reason to be cheerful, otherwise not." Rejoice not, O Israel! for joy, as other people, for thou hast gone a whoring from thy God, Hos 9:1. Our first care must be to make our peace with God, and obtain his favour, to do that which he will accept of, and then, Go thy way, eat thy bread with joy. Note, Those whose works God has accepted have reason to be cheerful and ought to be so. 'Now that thou eatest the bread of thy sacrifices with joy, and partakest of the wine of thy drink-offerings with a merry heart, now God accepts thy works. Thy religious services, when performed with holy joy, are pleasing to God; he loves to have his servants sing at their work, it proclaims him a good Master.
(3.)The reasons for it. "Live joyfully, for," [1.] "It is all little enough to make thy passage through this world easy and comfortable: The days of thy life are the days of thy vanity; there is nothing here but trouble, and disappointment. Thou wilt have time enough for sorrow and grief when thou canst not help it, and therefore live joyfully while thou canst, and perplex not thyself with thoughts and cares about tomorrow; sufficient to the day is the evil thereof. Let a gracious serenity of mind be a powerful antidote against the vanity of the world." [2.] "It is all thou canst get from this world: That is thy portion in the things of this life. In God, and another life, thou shalt have a better portion, and a better recompence for thy labours in religion; but for thy pains which thou takest about the things under the sun this is all thou canst expect, and therefore do not deny this to thyself."
2.Let us apply ourselves to the business of life while life lasts, and so use the enjoyments of it as by them to be fitted for the employments: "Therefore eat with joy and a merry heart, not that thy soul may take its ease (as Luk 12:19), but that thy soul may take the more pains and the joy of the Lord may be its strength and oil to its wheels," Ecc 9:10. Whatsoever thy hand finds to do do it with thy might. Observe here, (1.) There is not only something to be had, but something to be done, in this life, and the chief good we are to enquire after is the good we should do, Ecc 2:3. This is the world of service; that to come is the world of recompence. This is the world of probation and preparation for eternity; we are here upon business, and upon our good behaviour. (2.) Opportunity is to direct and quicken duty. That is to be done which our hand finds to do, which occasion calls for; and an active hand will always find something to do that will turn to a good account. What must be done, of necessity, our hand will here find a price in it for the doing of, Pro 17:16. (3.) What good we have an opportunity of doing we must do while we have the opportunity, and do it with our might, with care, vigour, and resolution, whatever difficulties and discouragements we may meet with in it. Harvest-days are busy days; and we must make hay while the sun shines. Serving God and working out our salvation must be done with all that is within us, and all little enough. (4.) There is good reason why we should work the works of him that sent us while it is day, because the night comes, wherein no man can work, Joh 9:4. We must up and be doing now with all possible diligence, because our doing-time will be done shortly and we know not how soon. But this we know that, if the work of life be not done when our time is done, we are undone for ever: "There is no work to be done, nor device to do it, no knowledge for speculation, nor wisdom for practice, in the grave whither thou goest." We are all going towards the grave; every day brings us a step nearer to it; when we are in the grave it will be too late to mend the errors of life, too late to repent and make our peace with God, too late to lay up any thing in store for eternal life; it must be done now or never. The grave is a land of darkness and silence, and therefore there is no doing any thing for our souls there; it must be done now or never, Joh 12:35.
"For the living know that they will die, but the dead know nothing at
all; there is no more reward for them, their memory is forgotten. Their love, their hate, their jealousy have
already perished- nor will they ever again have a share in whatever is done
beneath the sun. "Since he has said above that the heart of
man is filled with wickedness and impudence, and after all things, his life
comes to an end in death, then now he completes this by saying that he has
discovered that while men live, they are able to become righteous, but after
death are given no opportunity to do good work.
For the sinner who lives can be better than the dead and righteous man,
if he wishes to convert to his virtues.
Or indeed as for him, who threw himself into wickedness, power, and
impudence, then died: any poorest beggar is better than him. Why? Because
the living can carry out good work in the fear of death, but the dead can do
nothing to add to that which they took away from their life when they
died. And all things are forgotten, just
as it is written in the Psalm: "I have been given to forget, though dead
from my heart" [Ps. 30,13.]. But even their enjoyment, hatred and
jealousy, and all that they were able to hold in their time, comes to an end
with their death; nor can they do anything now in their righteousness or sin,
or add to their virtues, or to their vices.
Certain men though can argue against this explanation, asserting that we
can even grow after death, and equally decrease, and quoting that verse which
says, "and they will not share yet in all that is done under the
sun", and they understand it in this way, so that they say that they have
no communion in this world, and under this sun that we can see. But they say that they do have it in another
world, about which the Saviour says,
"I am not of this world" [Ioh. 8, 23.],
and under the sun of justice, but I have not excluded this theory, which
contends that after we leave this earth, we are able to offend reasoning
creatures, and deserve what we get. My
Hebrew tutor thought differently of the verse, which says, "a living dog
is better than a dead lion". He explained
it in this way according to the beliefs of his people: an unlearned man is more
useful, he who still lives and can teach, than a trained teacher who is now
dead. Because of the text he understands
it to mean any one dog is better than many teachers, and the lion is Moses, or
any other prophet. But because I don't
like this explanation I prefer a better one; and Chananaea to whom it is said:
"your faith saves you" [Matth. 9, 23.],
we say he is a dog according to the Gospel.
But a dead lion, for the people of circumcision is just the same as for
Balaam, the prophet, who says, "behold the people shall rise up as a great
lion, and shall lift up himself as a young lion" [Num. 23,24.]. Therefore we are a living dog amongst the
other nations; but the Jewish people which has been left by God, is a dead
lion. And that living dog is seen as
better in God's eyes than a dead lion.
For we who are living know the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The dead though can know nothing, or await
any recompense and profit, since their memory is complete. They don't remember what they ought to know,
and God does not remember them.
Enjoyment too, for which they often loved God, will die, and hatred as
well, about which they say boldly, "surely I hate those who hate You, O
Lord, and am I not grieved with those that rise up against You?" [Ps. 138, 21.]. And there does not exist their jealousy,
similar to the Phinees, and the knees of Matathia trembled. [Cfr. I Mach. 2, 24-6.54.] But it is very clear that a part of them is
not in that world, for they are not able to say, "my part is the
Lord". [Ps. 72, 26.]
Know nothing more: Viz., as to the transactions of this world, in which they have now no part, unless it be revealed to them; neither have they any knowledge or power now of doing any thing to secure their eternal state, (if they have not taken care of it in their lifetime) nor can they now procure themselves any good, as the living always may do, by the grace of God.
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SUMMARY
Ecclesiastes 9:5 offers a profound and unvarnished observation on human mortality, characteristic of the Preacher's "under the sun" perspective. It asserts the universal and conscious awareness among the living of their inevitable demise, sharply contrasting this with the complete cessation of earthly knowledge, activity, and recompense for the deceased. The verse further emphasizes the transient nature of human legacy, concluding that the memory of those who have passed ultimately fades into oblivion. This passage encapsulates Koheleth's deep engagement with the observable realities of life and death, laying a stark foundation for his broader reflections on the meaning and purpose of human existence in a world marked by futility and impermanence.
CONTEXT
EXPOSITION AND ANALYSIS
Key Word Analysis
Verse Breakdown
Literary Devices
Ecclesiastes 9:5 masterfully employs several literary devices to convey its somber yet realistic message. Juxtaposition is central, sharply contrasting "the living" with "the dead" to highlight their fundamentally different states of being, knowledge, and potential. The parallel phrases "know that they shall die" versus "know not any thing" powerfully exemplify this stark opposition, emphasizing the profound shift that death brings. The overall tone is one of profound Realism, as the Preacher unflinchingly presents the observable facts of mortality without sentimentalism, euphemism, or evasion. This unvarnished truth contributes to the pervasive Melancholy Tone that characterizes much of Ecclesiastes, reflecting a sober and often pessimistic assessment of life's limitations when viewed apart from divine intervention. Furthermore, the verse utilizes Emphasis through Repetition of the concept of "knowing," first affirming the living's knowledge of death, then denying any knowledge to the dead, underscoring the absolute and transformative impact of death.
THEOLOGICAL AND THEMATIC CONNECTIONS
Ecclesiastes 9:5, while seemingly bleak in its "under the sun" assessment, serves a crucial theological purpose within the broader biblical narrative. It powerfully articulates the pervasive reality of human finitude and the devastating impact of sin, which introduced death into God's perfect creation. From an earthly perspective, the verse highlights the inherent limitations of human existence and the vanity of seeking ultimate meaning or lasting reward solely in temporal endeavors. This stark portrayal of mortality, the cessation of earthly knowledge, and the fading of human memory implicitly points to the necessity of a divine intervention and a hope that transcends the observable realities of decay and forgetfulness. It underscores the fragility of life and the ultimate inability of human wisdom or achievement to overcome the finality of death, thus preparing the reader for the Preacher's eventual conclusion that true meaning and lasting significance are found only in fearing God and keeping His commandments, looking beyond the temporal realm.
REFLECTION AND APPLICATION
Ecclesiastes 9:5, though confronting us with the uncomfortable and universal truth of our mortality, is not intended to foster despair but rather to provoke profound reflection and inspire wise living. If our earthly existence is finite, and our memory ultimately fades from human recollection, then what truly matters in the brief span of our lives? This verse compels us to critically re-evaluate our priorities, shifting our focus from the accumulation of fleeting earthly rewards and transient fame to the pursuit of eternal values and a relationship with the unchanging God. It serves as a powerful impetus to live with intentionality, urgency, and gratitude, making the most of the precious time we have been given. Instead of clinging to the illusion of control or permanence, we are called to embrace the present moment, find joy in simple blessings, and invest our lives in relationships and pursuits that transcend the grave. The Preacher's wisdom, though grounded in earthly observation, implicitly nudges us toward a pursuit of God, who alone offers enduring meaning, lasting purpose, and a hope that extends beyond the reach of death and human forgetfulness.
Questions for Reflection
FAQ
Does Ecclesiastes 9:5 deny the existence of an afterlife or the soul?
Answer: No, Ecclesiastes 9:5 does not explicitly deny the existence of an afterlife or the soul, but rather focuses intently on the observable, empirical reality of death from an "under the sun" perspective. The Preacher's primary concern throughout the book is to analyze life as it is experienced in the temporal world, without full access to divine revelation concerning the spiritual realm beyond death. When it states "the dead know not any thing," it refers to their cessation of activity, knowledge, and reward in relation to the earthly realm. This perspective is consistent with ancient Israelite understanding of Sheol as a shadowy realm where the dead are cut off from the land of the living and its activities (Psalm 6:5 and Psalm 88:10-12). It is a statement about the end of earthly consciousness and engagement, not necessarily a comprehensive theological treatise on the state of the soul after death. The book's ultimate conclusion in Ecclesiastes 12:7 suggests a separation of body and spirit, with the spirit returning to God, indicating a continued existence for the spirit.
What kind of "reward" is being referred to in this verse?
Answer: The "reward" (Hebrew: sâkâr, H7939) mentioned in Ecclesiastes 9:5 refers specifically to earthly recompense, wages, or benefits that accrue from human labor, striving, or achievement. It signifies the tangible or intangible returns one receives from their efforts in this life—whether wealth, fame, pleasure, or the satisfaction of accomplishment. The Preacher's point is that all such earthly "rewards"—the fruits of one's toil and ambition—cease to be relevant or accessible to the individual once they die. Death brings an absolute end to the acquisition and enjoyment of these earthly benefits, reinforcing the hebel (vanity/vapor) of pursuing them as ultimate ends. This aligns with Koheleth's broader argument that all earthly endeavors are fleeting and ultimately unable to provide lasting satisfaction or ultimate meaning, as they are cut short by the finality of death.
CHRIST-CENTERED FULFILLMENT
While Ecclesiastes 9:5 presents a stark and sobering reality of death from an "under the sun" perspective, it implicitly sets the stage for the profound hope found exclusively in Jesus Christ. The Preacher's lament that "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" perfectly encapsulates the human dilemma and the ultimate futility of life apart from divine intervention. This grim assessment of mortality, the cessation of earthly knowledge, and the fading of human legacy highlights the very problem that the Gospel addresses and overcomes. Jesus Christ, through His sacrificial death and glorious resurrection, conquered the power of death and the grave, transforming the seemingly final word of Ecclesiastes into a powerful prelude to eternal life. He is the one who declares, "I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live," offering a knowledge and a reward that transcend earthly limitations. In Christ, the "memory" of believers is not forgotten but eternally secured in God's presence, and our "reward" is an imperishable inheritance, unlike the fleeting earthly recompense that death consumes. The New Testament consistently portrays Christ as the ultimate answer to the vanity of life under the sun, providing true meaning, lasting hope, and decisive victory over the very death that so preoccupies the Preacher (1 Corinthians 15:54-57 and Hebrews 2:14-15). He transforms the end of earthly knowledge into the beginning of eternal knowledge of God, and the cessation of earthly reward into the promise of everlasting glory and communion with the Creator.