Ecclesiastes 9:9 - Exposition

Live joyfully with the wife whom thou lovest ; literally, see life with a wife whom thou lovest . The article is omitted, as the maxim is to be taken generally. In correction of the outspoken condemnation of women in Ecclesiastes 7:26 , Koheleth here recognizes the happiness of a home where is found a helpmate beloved and worthy of love (comp. Proverbs 5:18 , Proverbs 5:19 ; Proverbs 17:22 , on which our passage seems to be founded; and Ecclesiasticus 26:13-18). (For the expression, " see life," vide note on Ecclesiastes 2:1 .) St. Jerome's comment is misleading, "Quacumque tibi placuerit feminarum ejus gaude complexu." Some critics translate ishshah here "woman." Thus Cox: "Enjoy thyself with any woman whom thou lovest;" but the best commentators agree that the married state is meant in the text, not mere sensual enjoyment. All the days of the life of thy vanity ; i.e. throughout the time of thy quickly passing life. This is repeated after the next clause, in order to emphasize the transitoriness of the present and the consequent wisdom of enjoying it while it lasts. So Horace bids man "carpe diem" ('Carm.,' 1.11.8), "enjoy each atom of the day;'" and Martial sings ('Epigr,' 7.47. 11)—

"Vive velut rapto fugitivaque gaudia carpe."

"Live thou thy life as stolen, and enjoy

Thy quickly fading pleasures."

Which he ( God ) hath given thee under the sun . The relative may refer to either the "wife" or" the days of life." The Septuagint and Vulgate take it as belonging to the latter, and this seems most suitable (comp. Ecclesiastes 5:17 ). That is thy portion in this life, and in thy labor , etc. Such moderate enjoyment is the recompense allowed by God for the toil which accompanies a properly spent life.