Ecclesiastes 9:4

Linguistic Bible Translation from Source Texts

Anyone who is among the living has hope—even a live dog is better than a dead lion!

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Other Translations

Referenced Verses

  • Job 14:7-9 : 7 At least there is hope for a tree: If it is cut down, it will sprout again, and its shoots will not fail. 8 Even if its roots grow old in the ground and its stump dies in the soil, 9 at the scent of water it will bud and produce branches like a young plant. 10 But a man dies and is laid low; he breathes his last and where is he? 11 As the waters of a lake dry up or a riverbed becomes parched and dry, 12 so man lies down and does not rise; till the heavens are no more, people will not awake or be roused from their sleep.
  • Job 27:8 : 8 For what hope has the godless when he is cut off, when God takes away his life?
  • Isa 38:18 : 18 For Sheol cannot thank You, death cannot praise You. Those who go down to the pit cannot hope for Your faithfulness.
  • Lam 3:21-22 : 21 Yet this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: 22 Because of the LORD’s steadfast love we are not consumed, for His mercies never end.
  • Luke 16:26-29 : 26 And besides all this, a great chasm has been fixed between us and you, so that those who want to cross from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us. 27 He said, 'Then I beg you, father, to send him to my father’s house, 28 for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so they will not also come to this place of torment.' 29 But Abraham said, 'They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them.'

Similar Verses (AI)

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

  • Eccl 9:5-6
    2 verses
    79%

    5For the living know that they will die, but the dead know nothing; they have no further reward, and even their memory is forgotten.

    6Their love, their hatred, and their envy have already vanished, and they will never again have a part in anything that happens under the sun.

  • Eccl 4:2-3
    2 verses
    76%

    2And I praised the dead who had already died, more than the living who are still alive.

    3But better than both is the one who has not yet been born, who has not seen the evil deeds that are done under the sun.

  • Eccl 3:18-22
    5 verses
    73%

    18I said in my heart concerning the matter of the sons of man, that God is testing them to show them that they are like animals.

    19For the fate of humans and the fate of animals is the same. As one dies, so dies the other; they all have the same breath, and humans have no advantage over animals, for everything is meaningless.

    20All go to the same place; all come from dust, and to dust all return.

    21Who knows if the spirit of man rises upward and if the spirit of the animal goes down to the earth?

    22So I saw that there is nothing better than for a person to rejoice in their work, for that is their lot. Who can bring them to see what will happen after them?

  • 3This is the distressing thing about everything that happens under the sun: the same fate befalls all. Moreover, the hearts of humans are full of evil, and madness resides in their hearts during their lives; and after that, they join the dead.

  • 2It is better to go to a house of mourning than to a house of feasting, because death is the destination of everyone, and the living should take it to heart.

  • 9for the redemption of their soul is costly, and it ceases forever—

  • Eccl 9:9-10
    2 verses
    70%

    9Enjoy life with the wife you love all the days of your meaningless life that God has given you under the sun—all your meaningless days. For this is your portion in life and in your hard work under the sun.

    10Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might, for in the realm of the dead, where you are going, there is no work or planning or knowledge or wisdom.

  • 12I know that there is nothing better for people than to rejoice and to do good while they live.

  • 6Even if someone lives a thousand years twice over but does not enjoy their prosperity, do not all go to the same place?

  • 48Remember how fleeting my life is; for what futility have you created all humanity!

  • 7At least there is hope for a tree: If it is cut down, it will sprout again, and its shoots will not fail.

  • Eccl 2:16-17
    2 verses
    69%

    16For the wise, like the fool, will not be remembered forever; in the days to come, everything will be forgotten. How does the wise person die? Just like the fool!

    17So I hated life, because the work done under the sun was grievous to me. For everything is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.

  • 8What advantage has the wise person over the fool? What does the poor person gain by knowing how to conduct themselves before the living?

  • 8For if a person lives many years, let him rejoice in all of them, but let him remember the days of darkness, for they will be many. All that comes is meaningless.

  • Eccl 4:15-16
    2 verses
    68%

    15I saw all the living who walk under the sun following the youth, the second one, who replaces him.

    16There is no end to all the people who were before them, yet those who come later will not rejoice in him. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.

  • Eccl 6:11-12
    2 verses
    68%

    11The more words, the more meaningless—and what advantage does that bring to anyone?

    12For who knows what is good for a person in life, during the few days of their fleeting life? They pass like a shadow. Who can tell them what will happen under the sun after they are gone?

  • 32The wicked are brought down by their own evil, but the righteous take refuge when they die.

  • 30to bring back their soul from the pit, that they may be enlightened with the light of life.

  • 9Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor.

  • 38He is not the God of the dead but of the living, for to him all are alive.

  • 15So I praised enjoyment, because there is nothing better for a person under the sun than to eat, drink, and be glad. This will accompany them in their toil through the days of life that God has given them under the sun.

  • 14If someone dies, will they live again? All the days of my hard service I will wait for my renewal to come.

  • 3A man may father a hundred children and live many years; yet no matter how long he lives, if he cannot enjoy life's good things and receives no proper burial, I say that a stillborn child is better off than he.

  • Job 3:20-22
    3 verses
    67%

    20Why is light given to those in misery, and life to the bitter in soul?

    21To those who long for death, but it does not come, and dig for it more than for hidden treasures.

    22Who rejoice exceedingly and are glad when they find the grave.

  • 6For this is the reason the gospel was preached even to those who are now dead, so that they may be judged according to human standards in the body but live according to God in the spirit.

  • 12Their inward thought is that their houses will last forever, and their dwelling places for all generations; they call their lands by their own names.

  • 1So I reflected on all this and set my heart to examine it: that the righteous, the wise, and their deeds are in the hand of God. People do not know whether love or hatred awaits them; everything lies before them.

  • 15In my fleeting life, I have seen it all: The righteous perishing in their righteousness, and the wicked living long in their wickedness.

  • 24There is nothing better for a person than to eat and drink and find enjoyment in their work. This too, I realized, is from the hand of God.

  • Ps 49:18-19
    2 verses
    66%

    18For when he dies, he will carry nothing away; his glory will not follow him down.

    19Though he blesses himself during his lifetime, and people praise you when you prosper,

  • 24The path of life leads upward for the prudent, to keep them from descending to the grave.

  • 16A person who wanders from the path of understanding will rest in the assembly of the dead.

  • 16Lord, by such things people live, and in all of them is the life of my spirit. You restored me to health and let me live.

  • 5Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the LORD his God.

  • 12Come, my children, and listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the Lord.

  • 15I have the same hope in God as they do, that there will be a resurrection of both the righteous and the unrighteous.

  • 13But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who have fallen asleep, so that you will not grieve like the rest, who have no hope.