Prior Book | Prior Chapter | Prior Verse | Next Verse | Next Chapter | Next Book | Viewing NASB and Amplified 2015 | |
NASB | Ecclesiastes 9:5 For the living know they will die; but the dead do not know anything, nor have they any longer a reward, for their memory is forgotten. |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Ecclesiastes 9:5 For the living know that they will die; but the dead know nothing, and they no longer have a reward [here], for the memory of them is forgotten. |
Bible Question: What do you think about the verse in Eccl. 9:5, 6 that says that the dead do not know anything? |
Bible Answer: Dear "Hear I am" - This verse, Ecclesiastes 9:5, is a favorite mecca to which false teachers gravitate to prove that the soul sleeps in death, that consciousness ceases when one breathes his last. It is, of course, senseless to build a doctrine of the hereafter on this isolated verse of Scripture, as it is to build any other doctrine on a single verse. ...... What would you think if you saw a person die and watched his lifeless body as it was lowered into the grave? You might think, as did Solomon, that there is no more love, hatred, envy or any other human emotion or experience available to this person on earth, for never again will this dead person have a share of this world's activities and experiences, no more portion of anything that is done "under the sun." (v.6) And that is perfectly true, of course. .... But this does not mean, and Solomon is not saying, that there is no future life or conscienciousness after death, but only that nothing more can be done to earn heavenly rewards. Even the greatest men are soon forgotten after they die. Thus it is important to make one's brief candle, as Shakespeare called it, as bright and as productive for God as possible, "inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment." (Hebrews 9:27). ..... I pray that this comes near to being a proper exegesis of this portion of God's holy word. --Hank |