Bible Strands
Ecclesiastes 9:5
For the living know that they will die, but the dead know nothing. They have no further reward, because the memory of them is forgotten.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The Preacher (Qoheleth) addresses a general audience, arguing within a passage (9:1–10) that death levels all distinctions, so the living hold a practical advantage over the dead.
The words — יוֹדְעִים (yod.'Im, "knowing") is applied to both the living and the dead, but the dead's knowledge is negated by אֵינָם ('ei.Na/m, "not they") and closed off by מְאוּמָה (me.'U.mah, "anything"), a negative pronoun that leaves no residue of awareness.
The thread — The same non-participation of the dead recurs in Isaiah 26:14 (the departed will not rise), Psalms 6:5 (no praise from Sheol), and Ecclesiastes 1:11 (no remembrance of those who came before).
Why it lands — The verse removes any consolation located in post-mortem reward, memory, or ongoing relationship, forcing the reader to locate all meaning within the finite span of life.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not any thing, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten.
Cross-references
- Isaiah 26:14 The dead will not live; the departed spirits will not rise. Therefore You have punished and destroyed them; You have wiped out all memory of them.
- Ecclesiastes 1:11 There is no remembrance of those who came before, and those yet to come will not be remembered by those who follow after.
- Psalms 6:5 For there is no mention of You in death; who can praise You from Sheol?
- Psalms 88:10 Do You work wonders for the dead? Do departed spirits rise up to praise You? Selah
- Job 14:21 If his sons receive honor, he does not know it; if they are brought low, he is unaware.
- Hebrews 9:27 Just as man is appointed to die once, and after that to face judgment,
- Psalms 109:15 May their sins always remain before the LORD, that He may cut off their memory from the earth.
- Ecclesiastes 2:16 For there is no lasting remembrance of the wise, just as with the fool, seeing that both will be forgotten in the days to come. Alas, the wise man will die just like the fool!
- Ecclesiastes 8:10 Then too, I saw the burial of the wicked who used to go in and out of the holy place, and they were praised in the city where they had done so. This too is futile.
- Isaiah 63:16 Yet You are our Father, though Abraham does not know us and Israel does not acknowledge us. You, O LORD, are our Father; our Redeemer from Everlasting is Your name.