Ecclesiastes 9:4
in Ecclesiastes 9There is hope, however, for anyone who is among the living; for even a live dog is better than a dead lion.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
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.
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This verse in Ecclesiastes 9
Commentary
8 notes on this verseDo 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.
This site's exposition
There is hope, however, for anyone who is among the living
The proverb even a live dog is better than a dead lion trades on the ancient contempt for dogs and honor for lions. Its ground is stated first: There is hope, however, for anyone who is among the living. The proverb weighs life's remaining possibility, action and choice.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
"This is an evil about all things that are done under the sun: that the same fate awaits all Therefore the heart of man is full of evil; and madness is in their heart while they live; and after that, they go to the dead. "Symmachus interprets this in his usual clearer way, saying, "but even the heart of mankind is filled with wickedness and impudence like their heart in life". But all of them succumb to death, for who is able to continually live forever? The Scripture has the same meaning regarding this.
The Medieval Church1 voice
A commentator
BonaventureCommentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 9 · Written in the 13th century.
proposed
Secondly, it is shown how pleasure arises from this. "No one lives forever." He has now shown how the vanity of false security arises from indistinction; here secondly he shows how pleasure arises from security: and indeed he does this in the following order. First …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
If a man's condition be, upon any account, bad, there is hope it will be amended. If the heart be full of evil, and madness be in it, yet while there is life there is hope that by the grace of God there may be a blessed change wrought; but after men go to the dead (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
For to him that is joined to all the living there is hope,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
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.
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
For to him - Rather: “Yet to him.” Notwithstanding evils, life has its advantage, and especially when compared with death. Dog - To the Hebrews a type of all that was contemptible 1Sa 17:43.
The words behind it
17 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| כִּי־ | ki- | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| מִי֙ | mi | who? | H4310 → | 423 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֣ר | ʾasher | [is [the] one] who | H834 → | 5497 times |
| יְחֻבַּ֔ר | yibacher | he is united | H2266 → | |
| אֶ֥ל | ʾel | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| כָּל־ | kol- | all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| הַחַיִּ֖ים | hachaiyim | the living | H2416 → | 498 times |
| יֵ֣שׁ | yesh | there | H3426 → | 140 times |
| בִּטָּח֑וֹן | bitachon | [is] hope | H986 → | |
| כִּֽי־ | ki- | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| לְכֶ֤לֶב | lekhelev | to a dog | H3611 → | |
| חַי֙ | chai | living | H2416 → | 498 times |
| ה֣וּא | hu' | it | H1931 → | 1879 times |
| ט֔וֹב | tov | [is] good | H2896 → | 538 times |
| מִן־ | min- | more than | H4480 → | 1188 times |
| הָאַרְיֵ֖ה | haaryeh | the lion | H738 → | |
| הַמֵּֽת׃ | hamet | <the> dead | H4191 → | 839 times |
כִּי־for
ki-H3588 →4482 times
מִי֙who?
miH4310 →423 times
אֲשֶׁ֣ר[is [the] one] who
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
יְחֻבַּ֔רhe is united
yibacherH2266 →
אֶ֥לto
ʾelH413 →5510 times
כָּל־all
kol-H3605 →5413 times
הַחַיִּ֖יםthe living
hachaiyimH2416 →498 times
יֵ֣שׁthere
yeshH3426 →140 times
בִּטָּח֑וֹן[is] hope
bitachonH986 →
כִּֽי־for
ki-H3588 →4482 times
לְכֶ֤לֶבto a dog
lekhelevH3611 →
חַי֙living
chaiH2416 →498 times
ה֣וּאit
hu'H1931 →1879 times
ט֔וֹב[is] good
tovH2896 →538 times
מִן־more than
min-H4480 →1188 times
הָאַרְיֵ֖הthe lion
haaryehH738 →
הַמֵּֽת׃<the> dead
hametH4191 →839 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Isaiah 38:18For Sheol cannot thank You; Death cannot praise You. Those who descend to the Pit cannot hope for Your faithfulness.
it 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
- Ecclesiastes 9:10
Through
Job 27:8For what is the hope of the godless when he is cut off, when God takes away his life?
it 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?’
- Matthew 16:26
Where this verse is studied
About Ecclesiastes
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Bonaventure, Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 9; Gregory the Dialogist, Register of Epistles, Book 9; Jerome, Commentary on Ecclesiastes; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.