Ecclesiastes 9:5

American Standard Version with Strong's Numbers

For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not anything, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten.

Grammatical Analysis

Original Text

כִּ֧י הַֽחַיִּ֛ים יוֹדְעִ֖ים שֶׁיָּמֻ֑תוּ וְהַמֵּתִ֞ים אֵינָ֧ם יוֹדְעִ֣ים מְא֗וּמָה וְאֵֽין־ע֤וֹד לָהֶם֙ שָׂכָ֔ר כִּ֥י נִשְׁכַּ֖ח זִכְרָֽם׃

Transliteration

For the-ḥayyîm yôdĕʿîm that-yāmutû and-the-mētîm not-they yôdĕʿîm mĕʾûmâ and-not-yet to-them śākār, for niškkaḥ zikrām.

Grammar Details

*ḥayyîm*: adjective, masculine plural with article - the living
*yôdĕʿîm*: verb, qal participle, masculine plural - knowing
*yāmutû*: verb, qal imperfect, 3rd person masculine plural - they will die
*mētîm*: adjective, masculine plural with article - the dead
*mĕʾûmâ*: noun, feminine singular - anything
*śākār*: noun, masculine singular - reward/wage
*niškkaḥ*: verb, niphal perfect, 3rd person masculine singular - is forgotten
*zikrām*: noun, masculine singular with 3rd person masculine plural suffix - their memory

Word Meanings

*ḥayyîm*: living ones/those who are alive
*yôdĕʿîm*: know/are aware/understand
*yāmutû*: they will die/they shall die
*mētîm*: dead ones/those who have died
*mĕʾûmâ*: anything/something/nothing
*śākār*: reward/wage/payment/compensation
*niškkaḥ*: is forgotten/has been forgotten
*zikrām*: their memory/remembrance of them

ℹ️

About this Translation

American Standard Version with Strong's Numbers

Formal EquivalenceSource: American Standard VersionBest for: Word studies and original-language research

🎯 Translation Approach

A highly literal, word-for-word translation (ASV, 1901) augmented with Strong's numbering to connect English words to underlying Hebrew and Greek terms for study.

Word-for-word

5/5

Readability

2/5

💎 Distinctive Features

Integrated Strong's numbering: Links English terms to underlying Hebrew and Greek words for deeper lexical study.
Formal equivalence: Prioritizes close alignment with source-language forms and structures.
Divine name rendering: Frequently renders the Tetragrammaton as Jehovah in the Old Testament, following ASV tradition.
Study-focused formatting: Optimized for reference and research rather than casual reading.

✅ Strengths

High fidelity to original languages
Includes Strong's numbers for precise word study
Consistent lexical choices aid exegesis
Stable, longstanding scholarly text

⚠️ Considerations

Archaic language reduces readability
Older textual basis compared to some modern translations
Strong's numbers are a concordance index, not full lexical definitions

👥 Who is this for?

Ideal for

Pastors and teachers
Seminary students
Serious Bible students
Readers conducting word studies
Those referencing Hebrew/Greek tools

Consider alternatives for

Casual readers
Children and early teens
ESL learners seeking simple English
Readers preferring contemporary language

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Additional Resources

Referenced Verses

Job 14:21 : 21 His sons come to honor, and he knoweth it not; And they are brought low, but he perceiveth it not of them.
Isa 26:14 : 14 [They are] dead, they shall not live; [they are] deceased, they shall not rise: therefore hast thou visited and destroyed them, and made all remembrance of them to perish.
Eccl 8:10 : 10 So I saw the wicked buried, and they came [to the grave]; and they that had done right went away from the holy place, and were forgotten in the city: this also is vanity.
Ps 6:5 : 5 For in death there is no remembrance of thee: In Sheol who shall give thee thanks?
Eccl 2:16 : 16 For of the wise man, even as of the fool, there is no remembrance for ever; seeing that in the days to come all will have been long forgotten. And how doth the wise man die even as the fool!
Eccl 1:11 : 11 There is no remembrance of the former [generations]; neither shall there be any remembrance of the latter [generations] that are to come, among those that shall come after.
Heb 9:27 : 27 And {G2596} inasmuch as it is appointed unto men once to die, and after this [cometh] judgment;
Isa 63:16 : 16 For thou art our Father, though Abraham knoweth us not, and Israel doth not acknowledge us: thou, O Jehovah, art our Father; our Redeemer from everlasting is thy name.
Job 7:8-9 : 8 The eye of him that seeth me shall behold me no more; Thine eyes shall be upon me, but I shall not be. 9 As the cloud is consumed and vanisheth away, So he that goeth down to Sheol shall come up no more. 10 He shall return no more to his house, Neither shall his place know him any more.
Eccl 7:2 : 2 It is better to go to the house of mourning than to go to the house of feasting: for that is the end of all men; and the living will lay it to his heart.
Ps 88:10-12 : 10 Wilt thou show wonders to the dead? Shall they that are deceased arise and praise thee? Selah 11 Shall thy lovingkindness be declared in the grave? Or thy faithfulness in Destruction? 12 Shall thy wonders be known in the dark? And thy righteousness in the land of forgetfulness?
Ps 109:15 : 15 Let them be before Jehovah continually, That he may cut off the memory of them from the earth;
Job 30:23 : 23 For I know that thou wilt bring me to death, And to the house appointed for all living.

Similar Verses (AI)

These verses are found using AI-powered semantic similarity based on meaning and context. Results may occasionally include unexpected connections.

Eccl 9:6
81%
6As well their love, as their hatred and their envy, is perished long ago; neither have they any more a portion for ever in anything that is done under the sun.
Eccl 9:3-4
2 verses
79%
3This is an evil in all that is done under the sun, that there is one event unto all: yea also, the heart of the sons of men is full of evil, and madness is in their heart while they live, and after that [they go] to the dead.
4For to him that is joined with all the living there is hope; for a living dog is better than a dead lion.
Eccl 2:16-17
2 verses
77%
16For of the wise man, even as of the fool, there is no remembrance for ever; seeing that in the days to come all will have been long forgotten. And how doth the wise man die even as the fool!
17So I hated life, because the work that is wrought under the sun was grievous unto me; for all is vanity and a striving after wind.
Eccl 4:2-3
2 verses
77%
2Wherefore I praised the dead that have been long dead more than the living that are yet alive;
3yea, better than them both [did I esteem] him that hath not yet been, who hath not seen the evil work that is done under the sun.
Ps 6:5
76%
5For in death there is no remembrance of thee: In Sheol who shall give thee thanks?
Ps 115:17
76%
17The dead praise not Jehovah, Neither any that go down into silence;
Eccl 1:11
76%
11There is no remembrance of the former [generations]; neither shall there be any remembrance of the latter [generations] that are to come, among those that shall come after.
Eccl 9:10
75%
10Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do [it] with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in Sheol, whither thou goest.
Eccl 8:10
74%
10So I saw the wicked buried, and they came [to the grave]; and they that had done right went away from the holy place, and were forgotten in the city: this also is vanity.
Job 7:9-10
2 verses
74%
9As the cloud is consumed and vanisheth away, So he that goeth down to Sheol shall come up no more.
10He shall return no more to his house, Neither shall his place know him any more.
Isa 26:14
74%
14[They are] dead, they shall not live; [they are] deceased, they shall not rise: therefore hast thou visited and destroyed them, and made all remembrance of them to perish.
Job 14:12
73%
12So man lieth down and riseth not: Till the heavens be no more, they shall not awake, Nor be roused out of their sleep.
Prov 9:18
73%
18But he knoweth not that the dead are there; That her guests are in the depths of Sheol.
Eccl 3:19-22
4 verses
73%
19For that which befalleth the sons of men befalleth beasts; even one thing befalleth them: as the one dieth, so dieth the other; yea, they have all one breath; and man hath no preeminence above the beasts: for all is vanity.
20All go unto one place; all are of the dust, and all turn to dust again.
21Who knoweth the spirit of man, whether it goeth upward, and the spirit of the beast, whether it goeth downward to the earth?
22Wherefore I saw that there is nothing better, than that a man should rejoice in his works; for that is his portion: for who shall bring him [back] to see what shall be after him?
Eccl 6:5-6
2 verses
73%
5moreover it hath not seen the sun nor known it; this hath rest rather than the other:
6yea, though he live a thousand years twice told, and yet enjoy no good, do not all go to one place?
Ps 88:5
72%
5Cast off among the dead, Like the slain that lie in the grave, Whom thou rememberest no more, And they are cut off from thy hand.
Eccl 4:16
72%
16There was no end of all the people, even of all them over whom he was: yet they that come after shall not rejoice in him. Surely this also is vanity and a striving after wind.
Eccl 6:8
72%
8For what advantage hath the wise more than the fool? [or] what hath the poor man, that knoweth how to walk before the living?
Eccl 8:7-8
2 verses
72%
7for he knoweth not that which shall be; for who can tell him how it shall be?
8There is no man that hath power over the spirit to retain the spirit; neither hath he power over the day of death; and there is no discharge in war: neither shall wickedness deliver him that is given to it.
Eccl 6:12
72%
12For who knoweth what is good for man in [his] life, all the days of his vain life which he spendeth as a shadow? for who can tell a man what shall be after him under the sun?
Ps 49:9-10
2 verses
71%
9That he should still live alway, That he should not see corruption.
10For he shall see it. Wise men die; The fool and the brutish alike perish, And leave their wealth to others.
Eccl 3:12
71%
12I know that there is nothing better for them, than to rejoice, and to do good so long as they live.
Eccl 9:1
71%
1For all this I laid to my heart, even to explore all this: that the righteous, and the wise, and their works, are in the hand of God; whether it be love or hatred, man knoweth it not; all is before them.
Eccl 7:2
71%
2It is better to go to the house of mourning than to go to the house of feasting: for that is the end of all men; and the living will lay it to his heart.
Job 28:13
71%
13Man knoweth not the price thereof; Neither is it found in the land of the living.
Job 8:9
70%
9(For we are but of yesterday, and know nothing, Because our days upon earth are a shadow);
Ps 89:48
70%
48What man is he that shall live and not see death, That shall deliver his soul from the power of Sheol? {H5542}
Job 3:21
70%
21Who long for death, but it cometh not, And dig for it more than for hid treasures;
Ps 49:19
70%
19He shall go to the generation of his fathers; They shall never see the light.
Job 14:10
70%
10But man dieth, and is laid low: Yea, man giveth up the ghost, and where is he?
Eccl 1:9
70%
9That which hath been is that which shall be; and that which hath been done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun.
Job 4:21
69%
21Is not their tent-cord plucked up within them? They die, and that without wisdom.
1 Thess 4:13
69%
13But we would not have you ignorant, brethren, concerning them that fall asleep; that ye sorrow not, even as the rest, who have no hope.
Eccl 8:17
69%
17then I beheld all the work of God, that man cannot find out the work that is done under the sun: because however much a man labor to seek it out, yet he shall not find it; yea moreover, though a wise man think to know it, yet shall he not be able to find it.
Eccl 5:20
69%
20For he shall not much remember the days of his life; because God answereth [him] in the joy of his heart.
Ps 103:16
69%
16For the wind passeth over it, and it is gone; And the place thereof shall know it no more.
Isa 38:18
69%
18For Sheol cannot praise thee, death cannot celebrate thee: They that go down into the pit cannot hope for thy truth.
Ps 146:4
69%
4His breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth; In that very day his thoughts perish.
Ps 49:17
69%
17For when he dieth he shall carry nothing away; His glory shall not descend after him.
Eccl 11:8
69%
8Yea, if a man live many years, let him rejoice in them all; but let him remember the days of darkness, for they shall be many. All that cometh is vanity.