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Texts -- Ecclesiastes 9:1-5 (NET)

Context
Everyone Will Die
9:1 So I reflected on all this , attempting to clear it all up. I concluded that the righteous and the wise , as well as their works , are in the hand of God ; whether a person will be loved or hated – no one knows what lies ahead . 9:2 Everyone shares the same fate – the righteous and the wicked , the good and the bad, the ceremonially clean and unclean , those who offer sacrifices and those who do not . What happens to the good person , also happens to the sinner ; what happens to those who make vows , also happens to those who are afraid to make vows . 9:3 This is the unfortunate fact about everything that happens on earth : the same fate awaits everyone . In addition to this, the hearts of all people are full of evil , and there is folly in their hearts during their lives – then they die .
Better to Be Poor but Alive than Rich but Dead
9:4 But whoever is among the living has hope ; a live dog is better than a dead lion . 9:5 For the living know that they will die , but the dead do not know anything ; they have no further reward – and even the memory of them disappears .

Pericope

NET
  • Ecc 9:1-3 -- Everyone Will Die
  • Ecc 9:4-6 -- Better to Be Poor but Alive than Rich but Dead

Bible Dictionary

  • Instruction

    [nave] INSTRUCTION From nature, Prov. 24:30-34; Eccl. 1:13-18; 3; 4:1; Matt. 6:25-30. See: Parables. From the study of human nature, Eccl. 3-12. By Object Lessons: The pot of maa, Ex. 16:32. The pillar of twelve stones at the f...

  • PSALMS, BOOK OF

    [isbe] PSALMS, BOOK OF - samz, (tehillim, "praises," cepher tehillim, "book of praises"; Psalmoi, Psalterion): I. INTRODUCTORY TOPICS 1. Title 2. Place in the Canon 3. Number of Psalms 4. Titles in the Hebrew Text II. AUTHORSHIP AN...

  • Death

    [isbe] DEATH - (maweth; thanatos): PHYSIOLOGICAL AND FIGURATIVE VIEW The word "Death" is used in the sense of (1) the process of dying (Gen 21:16); (2) the period of decease (Gen 27:7); (3) as a possible synonym for poison (2 Ki 4:...
    [nave] DEATH. Called in some versions &ld;Giving Up the Ghost,&rd; Gen. 25:8; 35:29; Lam. 1:19; Acts 5:10. King of Terrors Job 18:14. A Change Job 14:14. Going to your Fathers Gen. 15:15; 25:8; 35:29. Putting Off This Tabe...

  • WISDOM

    [isbe] WISDOM - wiz'-dum: 1. Linguistic 2. History 3. Religious Basis 4. Ideals 5. Teaching of Christ 6. Remainder of the New Testament (1) James (2) Paul 7. Hypostasis LITERATURE 1. Linguistic: In the Revised Version (British and ...

  • Hades

    [nave] HADES 1. The unseen world, translated hell in A.V., Matt. 11:23; 16:18; Luke 10:15; 16:23; Acts 2:27, 31; Rev. 1:18; 6:8; 20:13, 14. See: Hell; Sheol. Realm, or State, of the Dead usually expressed in Hebrew by Sheol and ...

  • God

    [nave] GOD. List of Sub-Topics Miscellany; Unclassified Scriptures Relating to; Access to; Compassion of; Creator; Creator of Mankind; Eternity of; Faithfulness of; Fatherhood of; Favor of; Foreknowledge of; Glory of; Goodness of...

  • HAP; HAPLY

    [isbe] HAP; HAPLY - hap, hap'-li (miqreh, lu; mepote): Hap (a Saxon word for "luck, chance") is the translation of miqreh, "a fortuitous chance," "a lot" (Ruth 2:3, the King James Version "Her hap was to light on a part of the fiel...

  • EVENT

    [isbe] EVENT - e-vent': In Eccl 2:14; 9:2,3, the translation of miqreh, "what happens," "lot," "fate." The English word bore this sense at the time of the King James Version. The meaning of "result," "outcome" ekbaseis), attaches t...

  • CHANCE

    [isbe] CHANCE - chans: The idea of chance in the sense of something wholly fortuitous was utterly foreign to the Hebrew creed. Throughout the whole course of Israel's history, to the Hebrew mind, law, not chance, ruled the universe...

  • Dead

    [isbe] DEAD - ded (muth; nekros): Used in several senses: (1) as a substantive, denoting the body deprived of life, as when Abraham speaks of burying his dead (Gen 23); (2) as a collective noun including all those that have passed ...
    [nave] DEAD Raised to life, instances of: Son of the widow of Zarephath, 1 Kin. 17:17-23; Shunammite's son, 2 Kin. 4:32-37; young man laid in Elisha's sepulchre, 2 Kin. 13:21; widow's son, Luke 7:12-15; Jairus' daughter, Luke 8:49-...

  • Lion

    [nave] LION King of beasts, Mic. 5:8. Fierceness of, Job 4:10; 28:8; Psa. 7:2; Prov. 22:13; Jer. 2:15; 49:19; 50:44; Hos. 13:8. The roaring of, Psa. 22:13; Prov. 20:2. Strength of, Prov. 30:30; Isa. 38:13; Joel 1:6. Instincts o...

  • Depravity of Mankind

    [nave] DEPRAVITY OF MANKIND Gen. 6:5-8, 11-13; Gen. 8:21; Deut. 32:10; Job 4:17-19; Job 9:2, 3, 20, 29-31; Job 11:12; Job 14:4; Job 15:14-16; Job 25:4-6; Psa. 5:9; Psa. 14:1-3 Psa. 53:1-3. Psa. 51:5; Psa. 58:1-5; Psa. 94:11; Psa. 1...

  • Heart

    [nave] HEART, seat of the affections. Renewed Deut. 30:6; Psa. 51:10; Ezek. 11:19; 18:31; 36:26; Rom. 2:29; Eph. 4:23; Col. 3:10. Regenerated, John 3:3, 7. Graciously affected of God, 1 Sam. 10:26; 1 Chr. 29:18; Ezra 6:22; 7:27;...

  • PROVIDENCE, 1

    [isbe] PROVIDENCE, 1 - prov'-i-dens: I. PROVIDENCE DEFINED II. DIFFERENT SPHERES OF PROVIDENTIAL ACTIVITY DISTINGUISHED III. BIBLICAL PRESENTATION OF THE DOCTRINE OF PROVIDENCE 1. Divine Providence in the Old Testament Scriptures (...

  • DECEASE, IN THE OLD TESTAMENT AND APOCYPHRA

    [isbe] DECEASE, IN THE OLD TESTAMENT AND APOCYPHRA - de-ses' (rapha', plural repha'im, "ghosts," "shades," is translated by "dead," "dead body," and "deceased" in both the King James Version and the Revised Version (British and Ame...

  • ESCHATOLOGY OF THE OLD TESTAMENT

    [isbe] ESCHATOLOGY OF THE OLD TESTAMENT - es-ka-tol'-o-ji A) Scope of Article B) Dr. Charles' Work C) Individual Religion in Israel I. FUNDAMENTAL IDEAS 1. Idea of God 2. Idea of Man Body, Soul and Spirit 3. Sin and Death II. CONCE...

  • MEMORIAL; MEMORY

    [isbe] MEMORIAL; MEMORY - me-mo'-ri-al, mem'-o-ri ('azkarah, zekher, zekher, zikkaron; mnemosunon): "Memorial" as the translation of 'azkdrah is a sacrificial term, that which brings the offerer into remembrance before God, or brin...

  • Madness

    [ebd] This word is used in its proper sense in Deut. 28:34, John 10:20, 1 Cor. 14:23. It also denotes a reckless state of mind arising from various causes, as over-study (Eccl. 1:17; 2:12), blind rage (Luke 6:11), or a depraved te...

  • SACRIFICE, IN THE OLD TESTAMENT, 3

    [isbe] SACRIFICE, IN THE OLD TESTAMENT, 3 - VIII. Sacrifice in the "Writings." 1. Proverbs: Dates are very uncertain here. The Psalms and Proverbs extend from David and Solomon into the Persian period. The sages take the same attit...

Arts

Hymns

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  • [Ecc 9:4] Life Is The Time To Serve The Lord

Resources/Books

Expository Notes on the Bible (Constable)

  • I believe that the message of Ecclesiastes is essentially a positive one. This may seem strange since the vanity of various human endeavors is such a major theme of this book. Nevertheless the total statement that Solomon mad...
  • I. The introductory affirmation 1:1-11A. Title and theme 1:1-21. The title 1:12. The theme 1:2B. The futility of all human endeavor 1:3-111. The vanity of work 1:32. The illustrations from life 1:4-11II. The futility of work ...
  • Rather than saying, "All work is vanity,"Solomon made the same point by asking this rhetorical question that expects a negative response. He used this literary device often throughout the book (cf. 2:2; 3:9; 6:8, 11-12; et al...
  • To conduct his investigation of human achievements Solomon had employed the tool of wisdom.27However, he discovered it inadequate to turn up any meaningful activity. Consequently wisdom was in this respect no better than "mad...
  • Clues in the text indicate the value and purpose of 6:10-11:6. The phrases "does not know"and "cannot discover"occur frequently (6:12; 7:14, 24, 28; 8:17; 19:1, 12; 10:14; 11:2, 6). Also the recurrence of "it is good"(7:18) a...
  • He began by exposing our ignorance of the significance of adversity and prosperity (7:1-14; cf. Job). Both of these conditions, he noted, can have good and bad effects depending on how a person responds to them. Prosperity is...
  • The emphasis in this section (9:1-11:6) 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 (8:16-17) must not diminish human joy...
  • 9:1 "All this"refers to the general pattern of God's inconsistent retribution that Solomon had discussed. Even though he could not predict whether a given person would experience prosperity or adversity, he believed all peopl...
  • Solomon's emphasis in 9:2-10 was on the fact that a righteous person could not be more certain of his or her earthly future than the wicked. In 9:11-10:11 his point was that the wise cannot be more sure of his or her earthly ...
  • In 1:12-6:9, Solomon demonstrated that all work is ultimately futile for two reasons. It does not yield anything really permanent under the sun. Moreover we can never be sure we will enjoy the fruits of our labor before we di...
  • In conclusion Solomon repeated his original thesis (v. 8; cf. 1:2) and his counsel in view of life's realities (vv. 13-14). In between these statements he set forth his source of authority for writing what we have in Ecclesia...
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