Ecclesiastes 9:4 BSB

Ecclesiastes 9:4

There is hope, however, for anyone who is among the living; for even a live dog is better than a dead lion.

BSB

Parallel translations (2) ▾

ASV

For to him that is joined with all the living there is hope; for a living dog is better than a dead lion.

KJV

For to him that is joined to all the living there is hope: for a living dog is better than a dead lion.

⋯

Commentary

2 voices

Gregory the Dialogist

Do not, I pray thee, in such a question trust to humility only or to gravity, which are often deceived. Better by far is a living dog in this problem than a dead lion. For a living saint may correct what had not been corrected by another who came before him.

The record, by era

The Nineteenth Century1 voice

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible (1832)

For to him that is joined to all the living there is hope - While a man lives he hopes to amend, and he hopes to have a better lot; and thus life is spent, hoping to grow better, and hoping to get more. The Vulgate has, “There is none that shall live always, nor has any hope of such a thing.” Perhaps the best translation is the following: “What, therefore, is to be chosen? In him that is living there is hope.” Then choose that eternal life which thou hopest to possess.

Voices on this verse

loading…

Original language & word study

17 tagged words

Original	Transliteration	Meaning	Word study
כִּי־	ki-	for	H3588 →
מִי֙	mi	who?	H4310 →
אֲשֶׁ֣ר	'a.Sher	[is [the] one] who	H834 →
יְחֻבַּ֔ר	yi.ba.cher	he is united	H2266 →
אֶ֥ל	'el	to	H413 →
כָּל־	kol-	all	H3605 →
הַחַיִּ֖ים	ha.chai.Yim	the living	H2416 →
יֵ֣שׁ	yesh	there	H3426 →
בִּטָּח֑וֹן	bi.ta.Chon	[is] hope	H986 →
כִּֽי־	ki-	for	H3588 →
לְכֶ֤לֶב	le.Khe.lev	to a dog	H3611 →
חַי֙	chai	living	H2416 →
ה֣וּא	hu'	it	H1931 →
ט֔וֹב	Tov	[is] good	H2896 →
מִן־	min-	more than	H4480 →
הָאַרְיֵ֖ה	ha.'ar.Yeh	the lion	H738 →
הַמֵּֽת׃	ha.Met	<the> dead	H4191 →

Rare words are the text's own signal of a deliberate thread: the fewer the occurrences, the more the places it appears belong together.

H3426yeshthere140×

The walk

The walk8

Where the connections lead

Follow this verse’s cross-references two steps out. Each card is a verse this one points to, and beneath it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several different paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it. Every stop shows its own words, and every stop is a page.

Through
Isaiah 38:18
For Sheol cannot thank You; Death cannot praise You. Those who descend to the Pit cannot hope for Your faithfulness.
leads to
- Ecclesiastes 9:10
  Whatever you find to do with your hands, do it with all your might, for in Sheol, where you are going, there is no work or planning or knowledge or wisdom.
- Psalms 6:5
  For there is no mention of You in death; who can praise You from Sheol?
- Psalms 30:9
  “What gain is there in my bloodshed, in my descent to the Pit? Will the dust praise You? Will it proclaim Your faithfulness?
- Psalms 115:17–18
  It is not the dead who praise the LORD, nor any who descend into silence.
- Psalms 88:10–11
  Do You work wonders for the dead? Do departed spirits rise up to praise You? Selah
Through
Job 27:8
For what is the hope of the godless when he is cut off, when God takes away his life?
leads to
- Matthew 16:26
  What will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?
- Job 8:13
  Such is the destiny of all who forget God; so the hope of the godless will perish.
- Luke 12:20–21
  But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be required of you. Then who will own what you have accumulated?’

Featured studies on this passage

Walks through Ecclesiastes 9

Vanity Under the Sun — Ecclesiastes

Open the study →

About Ecclesiastes

King Solomon in Old Age — Gustave Doré, Doré's English Bible (1866), public domain

Ecclesiastes: the study guide →Read chapter 9 →The featured study →

Continue: Ecclesiastes 9 →

01Commentary

The record, by era

Voices on this verse

02Original language & word study

03The walk

Where the connections lead

04Related verses

05Featured studies on this passage

06About Ecclesiastes

The record, by era

Where the connections lead

Commentary

Original language & word study

The walk

Related verses

Featured studies on this passage

About Ecclesiastes