Ecclesiastes 9:1 NIV

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Ecclesiastes 9:1-3

It has been observed concerning those who have pretended to search for the philosophers? stone that, though they could never find what they sought for, yet in the search they have hit upon many other useful discoveries and experiments. Thus Solomon, when, in the close of the foregoing chapter, he applied his heart to know the work of God, and took a great deal of pains to search into it, though he despaired of finding it out, yet he found out that which abundantly recompensed him for the... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Ecclesiastes 9:1

For all this I considered in mine heart ,.... What goes before, in the latter end of the preceding chapter, concerning the various providences of God, the difficulty of finding out the reasons of them, and the fruitlessness of attempting it; and also what follows, the work of Providence: Solomon gave his mind unto, attended it with great application, and strictly considered and examined it, in order to find it out, but could not; and if he could not, no other man could. And he had a good... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Ecclesiastes 9:1

The righteous, and the wise, and their works, are in the hand of God - This is a continuation of the preceding subject; and here the wise man draws a conclusion from what he had seen, and from the well-known character of God, that the righteous, the wise, and their conduct, were all in the hand of God, protected by his power, and safe in his approbation: but we cannot judge from the occurrences which take place in life who are the objects of God's love or displeasure. read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Ecclesiastes 9:1

This continues the subject treated above, confirming the conclusion arrived at in Ecclesiastes 8:17 , viz. that God's government of the world is unfathomable. For all this I considered in my heart even to declare all this ; literally, for all this laid up in my heart, and all this I have been about (equivalent to I sought ) to clear up . The reference is both to what has been said and to what is coming. The ki, "for" (which the Vulgate omits), at the beginning gives the reason... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Ecclesiastes 9:1-6

One fate happens to all, and the dead are cut off from all the feelings and interests of life in the upper world. read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Ecclesiastes 9:1

A good man’s trust in God is set forth as a counterpoise to our Ignorance of the ways of Providence.In the hand of God - Under His special protection (Deuteronomy 33:3 ff) as righteous, and under His direction Proverbs 21:1 as people.No man ... - literally, both love and also hatred man knoweth not: all are before them. Love and hatred here mean the ordinary outward tokens of God’s favor or displeasure, i. e., prosperity and adversity. “Man knoweth not” probably means: “man knows not whether to... read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Ecclesiastes 9:1

Ecclesiastes 9:1. For, or therefore, as the LXX. render it, all this I considered in my heart All that I have said concerning the methods of divine providence, toward good and bad men; to declare all this To make this evident, first to myself, and then to others; that the righteous Whom he mentions, not exclusively, as if wicked men were not also in God’s hand, for the next clause relates both to the good and bad; but eminently, because, by the course of God’s providence toward... read more

Donald C. Fleming

Bridgeway Bible Commentary - Ecclesiastes 9:1-12

Life’s opportunities (9:1-12)A person may believe that life is under the control of God, but still not know whether the experiences one meets in life are a sign of God’s pleasure or a sign of his anger. The same fate, death, comes to all (9:1-3). Good people have no advantage over the bad. The only advantage is that of the living over the dead. The living can still do things, but the dead are useless and forgotten (4-6).Therefore, people should enjoy life to the full while they have the... read more

E.W. Bullinger

E.W. Bullinger's Companion Bible Notes - Ecclesiastes 9:1

I considered = I have taken to heart. even to declare. Septuagint and Syriac read, "and my heart proved". the righteous =. just ones. God. Hebrew. Elohim. (with Art.) = the [true] God: the Deity. App-4 . hatred by all that is before them = hatred. All lies before them (i.e. in the future). them: i.e. the righteous and the lawless. read more

James Burton Coffman

Coffman Commentaries on the Bible - Ecclesiastes 9:1

This chapter actually concludes the part of Ecclesiastes which is the most difficult to understand and interpret. Up to this point Solomon has written a lot of things which, to a Christian, do not make any sense at all. What is the explanation of this? Scholars vary in their explanations; but the conclusion must be; (1) that Solomon is rehearsing the allegations of materialistic unbelievers with a view to refuting them in his conclusion (Ecclesiastes 12:13-14), (2) that he was writing of what... read more