Ecclesiastes 9:5

King James Version with Strong's Numbers

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.

📖 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

Referenced Verses

• Job 14:21 : 21 His sons come to honour, 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 their memory to perish.
• Eccl 8:10 : 10 And so I saw the wicked buried, who had come and gone from the place of the holy, and they were forgotten in the city where they had so done: this is also vanity.
• Ps 6:5 : 5 For in death there is no remembrance of thee: in the grave who shall give thee thanks?
• Eccl 2:16 : 16 For there is no remembrance of the wise more than of the fool for ever; seeing that which now is in the days to come shall all be forgotten. And how dieth the wise man? as the fool.
• Eccl 1:11 : 11 There is no remembrance of former things; neither shall there be any remembrance of things that are to come with those that shall come after.
• Heb 9:27 : 27 And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:
• Isa 63:16 : 16 Doubtless thou art our father, though Abraham be ignorant of us, and Israel acknowledge us not: thou, O LORD, art our father, our redeemer; thy name is from everlasting.
• Job 7:8-9 : 8 The eye of him that hath seen me shall see me no more: thine eyes are upon me, and I am not. 9 As the cloud is consumed and vanisheth away: so he that goeth down to the grave 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 shew{H8799)} wonders to the dead{H8801)}? shall the dead arise{H8799)} and praise{H8686)} thee? Selah. 11 Shall thy lovingkindness be declared{H8792)} in the grave? or thy faithfulness in destruction? 12 Shall thy wonders be known{H8735)} in the dark? and thy righteousness in the land of forgetfulness?
• Ps 109:15 : 15 Let them be before the LORD 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.