Ecclesiastes 9:4-5 NIV

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Ecclesiastes 9:4-10

Solomon, in a fret, had praised the dead more than the living (Eccl. 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, Eccl. 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,... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Ecclesiastes 9:4

For to him that is joined to all the living there is hope ,.... That is, who is among the living, is one of them, and, as long as he is, there is hope, if his circumstances are mean, and he is poor and afflicted, that it may be better with him in time; see Job 14:7 ; or of his being a good man, though now wicked; of his being called and converted, as some are at the eleventh hour, even on a death bed; and especially there is a hope of men, if they are under the means of grace, seeing... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Ecclesiastes 9:5

For the living know that they shall die ,.... Death is certain, it is the demerit of sin, the appointment of God and the time of it is fixed; it may be known that it will be, from the word of God that assures it, from all experience which confirms it, and from the decline of nature, and the seeds of death in men. This "the living" know that live corporeally, even the wicked themselves, though they put the evil day far from them; and so good men, that live spiritually, being quickened by the... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Ecclesiastes 9:4

For to him that is joined to all the living there is hope - While a man lives he hopes to amend, and he hopes to have a better lot; and thus life is spent, hoping to grow better, and hoping to get more. The Vulgate has, "There is none that shall live always, nor has any hope of such a thing." Perhaps the best translation is the following: "What, therefore, is to be chosen? In him that is living there is hope." Then choose that eternal life which thou hopest to possess. A living dog is... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Ecclesiastes 9:5

The living know that they shall die - This is so self-evident that none can doubt it; and therefore all that have this conviction should prepare for death and eternal blessedness. But the dead know not any thing - Cut off from life, they know nothing of what passes under the sun. Their day of probation is ended, and therefore they can have no farther reward in living a holy life; nor can they be liable to any farther punishment for crimes in a state of probation, that being ended. 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

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Ecclesiastes 9:4

For to him that is joined to all the living there is hope . As long as a man lives (is one of living beings) he has some hope, whatever it be. This feeling is inextinguishable even unto the end. ἄελπτον οὐδέν πάντα δ ελπίζειν χρεών "Hope springs eternal in the human breast." Thus Bailey sings, in 'Festus'— "All Have hopes, however wretched they may be, Or blessed. It is hope which lifts the lark so high, Hope of a lighter air and bluer sky; And the poor hack which... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Ecclesiastes 9:5

For the living know that they shall die . This is added in confirmation of the statement in Ecclesiastes 9:4 . The living have at least the consciousness that they will soon have to die, and this leads them to work while it is day, to employ their faculties worthily, to make use of opportunities, to enjoy and profit by the present. They have a certain fixed event to which they must look forward; and they have not to stand idle, lamenting their fate, but their duty and their happiness is to... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Ecclesiastes 9:4

For to him - Rather: “Yet to him.” Notwithstanding evils, life has its advantage, and especially when compared with death.Dog - To the Hebrews a type of all that was contemptible 1 Samuel 17:43. read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Ecclesiastes 9:5-6

See Ecclesiastes 8:12, note; Ecclesiastes 8:14, note. The living are conscious that there is a future before them: but the dead are unconscious; they earn nothing, receive nothing, even the memory of them soon disappears; they are no longer excited by the passions which belong to people in this life; their share in its activity has ceased. Solomon here describes what he sees, not what he believes; there is no reference here to the fact or the mode of the existence of the soul in another world,... read more

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Ecclesiastes 9:4-10

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Ecclesiastes 9:4

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Ecclesiastes 9:5

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Ecclesiastes 9:4

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Ecclesiastes 9:5

The Pulpit Commentary - Ecclesiastes 9:1-6

The Pulpit Commentary - Ecclesiastes 9:4

The Pulpit Commentary - Ecclesiastes 9:5

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Ecclesiastes 9:4

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Ecclesiastes 9:5-6

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