Ecclesiastes 9:5

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Ecclesiastes 9:1-6

C. Man’s Ignorance of the Future 9:1-11:6The emphasis in this section (Ecclesiastes 9:1 to Ecclesiastes 11:6) is on what man does not know because God has not revealed many things. Solomon also emphasized, however, that the remaining mystery in this subject (Ecclesiastes 8:16-17) must not diminish human joy (Ecclesiastes 9:1-9) or prevent us from working with all our might (Ecclesiastes 9:10 to Ecclesiastes 11:6). [Note: Kaiser, Ecclesiastes . . ., p. 92.] The subsections that follow begin "no... read more

Thomas Constable

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Ecclesiastes 9:1-10

1. The future of the righteous on earth 9:1-10 read more

Thomas Constable

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Ecclesiastes 9:4-6

However, the inequities in life and the certainty of death should not make us give up on living. Life is better than death. In the ancient Near East, people despised wild dogs and they honored lions. Solomon’s point was that it is better to be alive and have no honor, than dead and receive honor, because the living person also has consciousness and hope. The living can enjoy life, but the dead cannot."The dead do not know anything" does not mean they are insensible. Later revelation indicates... read more

John Dummelow

John Dummelow's Commentary on the Bible - Ecclesiastes 9:1-18

Live Worthily While You May1-3. The future is in God’s hands. Good and bad alike must die.1. Considered in] RV ’laid to.’ Declare] RV ’explore.’ No man.. before them] RV ’whether it be love or hatred, man knoweth it not; all is before them.’ Whether God’s dealings with them shall be such as to suggest His favour or displeasure is unknown, because the part of life not yet traversed cannot be penetrated. 2. There seems no discrimination in the lot of men.4. A living dog] Life has at any rate one... read more

William Nicoll

Expositor's Dictionary of Texts - Ecclesiastes 9:1-18

Ecclesiastes 9:2 It is verbally true, that in the sacred Scriptures it is written: As is the good, so is the sinner, and he that sweareth as he that feareth an oath. A man hath no better thing under the sun, than to eat, drink, and be merry, etc. But he who should repeat these words, and this assurance, to an ignorant man in the hour of his temptation, lingering at the door of an ale-house, or hesitating as to the testimony required of him in the court of justice, would, spite of this verbal... read more

William Nicoll

Expositor's Bible Commentary - Ecclesiastes 9:1-6

17The Chief Good not to be found in Wisdom: Ecclesiastes 8:16-17; Ecclesiastes 9:1-61. The Preacher commences this section by carefully defining his position and equipment as he starts on his final course. As yet he carries no lamp of revelation in his hand, although he will not venture beyond a certain point without it. For the present he will trust to reason and experience, and mark the conclusions to which these conduct when unaided by any direct light from Heaven. His first conclusion is... read more

William Nicoll

Expositor's Bible Commentary - Ecclesiastes 9:1-18

7FOURTH SECTIONThe Quest Achieved. The Chief Good Is To Be Found, Not In Wisdom, Nor In Pleasure, Nor In Devotion To Affairs And Its Rewards;But In A Wise Use And A Wise Enjoyment Of The Present Life, Combined With A Steadfast Faith In The Life To Come Ecclesiastes 8:16 - Ecclesiastes 12:7AT last we approach the end of our Quest. The Preacher has found the Chief Good, and will show us where to find it. But are we even yet prepared to welcome it and to lay hold of it? Apparently he thinks we are... read more

Arno Clemens Gaebelein

Arno Gaebelein's Annotated Bible - Ecclesiastes 9:1-12

CHAPTER 9 1. The common fate (Ecclesiastes 9:1-6 ) 2. Make the best of life (Ecclesiastes 9:7-10 ) 3. The great uncertainty (Ecclesiastes 9:11-12 ) Ecclesiastes 9:1-6 . Here is another conclusion. The righteous and the wise with their works are in the hands of God. One event is in store for all, for the righteous, the wicked, the good, the clean, the unclean, the one who sacrificeth and the one who sacrificeth not--the grave is the one common goal. In that goal there is the end of all... read more

James Gray

James Gray's Concise Bible Commentary - Ecclesiastes 9:1-11

The interval between this chapter and the preceding represents a pause in the writer’s thought, and now he seems to set out on a new quest for the chief good in life. He will seek it in wise conduct. He will renounce feasting and trying the opposite (Ecclesiastes 7:1-6 ); he will avoid extremes (Ecclesiastes 7:15-18 ); no one is perfectly righteous (Ecclesiastes 7:19-22 ); the worst thing he has found is woman (Ecclesiastes 7:23-26 ); and the conclusion is that man is indeed a fallen creature... read more

Joseph Parker

The People's Bible by Joseph Parker - Ecclesiastes 9:1-18

The Land of Shadows Ecclesiastes 9:0 In this chapter we have a number of loose and disconnected notes about human life. The writer seems to have jotted down things as they came into his mind. His book is rather a heap of stones than an orderly building. Perhaps it is hardly just to regard the Book of Ecclesiastes as a piece of elaborate and continuous logic; it ought to be taken rather as a series of notes or memoranda which the writer himself could have expounded, and which readers can only... read more

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