Can somebody explain this scripture to me?

Question

Ecclesiastes 9:5

"For the living are conscious that they will die; but as for the dead, they are conscious of nothing at all, neither do they anymore have wages, because the remembrance of them has been forgotten."

Answer 1

False religion has left many confused as to the whereabouts and condition of the dead. Heaven, hell, purgatory, Limbo—these and various other destinations range from being incomprehensible to being downright terrifying. The Bible, on the other hand, tells us that the dead are unconscious; they are in a condition best compared to sleep. (Ecclesiastes 9:5, 10; John 11:11-14) Thus, we need not worry about what happens to us after death, any more than we worry when we see someone sleeping soundly. Jesus spoke of a time when “all those in the memorial tombs” would “come out” to renewed life on a paradise earth.—John 5:28, 29; Luke 23:43.

Answer 2

the slight changes to this verse in your translation does make it a bit more confusing. here is the verse the way it is meant to be read, from the KJV;
5For 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.
this has both a physical meaning and a spiritual meaning.
1.physical: when we die, we "sleep" until the Judgement Day. all life, be they good, evil, or indifferent, know they must eventually die, there is no escaping that end. once dead, there is no chance and no opportunity...for anything.
2.spiritual: all mankind is spirituall dead, until ressurected in CHRIST...those who are saved know, accept and understand the death of the body, realizing their spirit has been spared the second death. CHRIST was asked if a person could first go and bury their dead, and HE told him to let the dead bury the dead...meaning that the spiritually dead were left to their own devices and were no concern to HIM. those who deny the divinity and sacrifice of CHRIST are dead already, all that they strive to do and accomplish while alive is in vain...it is empty.

Answer 3

The author is referring to those in Sheol - the place of the dead, or the place of shadows.

"For the living are conscious that they will die" - those who are alive know that death is a reality.

"But as for the dead, they are conscious of nothing at all" - the Jews of the Old Testament believed that those who died went to Sheol, the place of shadows, where a soul could no longer feel, think or have any "living" experience. They were dead, and felt nothing any more.

"Neither do they anymore have wages, because the remembrance of them has been forgotten." - In old testament times, before the belief in the resurrection and heaven, you lived on in the memories of those who lived after you - your children would be the first to remember you, but this might only last for a few generations. Those who were more famous, like Moses, Abraham and Adam, lived on forever, as their names were remembered and written down. They have lived on for countless generations. Those in Sheol, though, no longer feel, think and are not remembered (do not live on) by anyone - they are truly dead.

Answer 4

5-6 The contrast between the dead lion and the living dog supplies the meaning for v. 5. The Teacher believes in a future judgment (12:14); so here he cannot be teaching the nonexistence of the departed. The context concerns the ability to plan and work. The living at least know that death must come, but from a human perspective the dead have not had it revealed to them what future there may be for them. The Teacher is not teaching soul-sleep here. Rather his emphasis is on the contrast between the carnal knowledge of the living and the dead.
To fully understand this passage, it is important to realize that our knowledge of the hereafter depends on how much God reveals to us. Attempts to discover the state of the departed through mediums is forbidden in Scripture (e.g., Isa 8:19-20). The OT speaks of the patriarchs being "gathered to [their] people" (Ge 25:8; 49:33). The significance of this expression is shown in Christ's answer to the Sadducees concerning God as the continuing God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob: "He is not the God of the dead but of the living" (Mt 22:32). The spirits in Sheol can be roused to address the king of Babylon when he dies and joins them (Isa 14:9). Yet they clearly do not have the capacities that they once had on earth. There is, for example, nothing corresponding to the temple worship in which they can join in singing the praises of God (Ps 115:17). Occasionally God speaks of a future resurrection, but this is linked to the coming of the Messiah (e.g., Ps 16:9-11; cf. Isa 25:7-8; 26:19; Da 12:2-3; Ac 2:24-35).
So the dead at that time did not know what future they could expect. They had to wait for this until after the resurrection of Jesus Christ. They are soon forgotten on earth, and memorial inscriptions are obliterated with time. "For them love, hate, ambition, all are now over" (NEB), and they cannot return to this life to do or undo.

Answer 5

In part it is saying you must learn while on this earth. The time to learn to repent is now for when you die you no longer can change. Also in part it is saying that in 100 or 200 years what you did on this earth will be forgotten so this is the time not for worldly things but for spiritual progression for things of the spirit will not be forgotten as the worldly are. The earthly possessions you have will in the end be forgotten and turn to dust but things of spiritual value will never go away Those things are family, friends, and love. The service you have rendered to those in need ETC.

Answer 6

Wow. Thank you for bringing this verse to my attention. I am a consummate studyer of the Bible, but hadn't gotten around to this part yet (the Bible is very big).

This seems to imply that there is no afterlife, of that there is one generic afterlife for both the good and bad. Eccl 9:2 says that "one fate comes to all, to the righteous and the wicked, to the good and the evil (RSV)."
Note that this passage is from the OLD Testament. This is of great significance. Both the Old and New Testaments use rewards to encourage believers to follow God's commandments. Most people, even many Jews, believe that this reward consists of a pleasant eternity in Heaven, or, conversely, that not following the rules results in an agonizing eternity in Hell. But this is an NT concept; in the OT, the reward offered is a large, wealthy and prosperous family, and the result of sin is just the opposite. Heaven is mentioned as the home of God and the angels, and Hell as the place of the devil. But the OT does not explicitly state that these are places that we go when we die. It mentions Sheol as the burial place for the dead, but this is hardly Heaven or Hell; it seems to be more like a morgue.

While this is surprising to many Christians, it doesn't necessarily contradict any of their beliefs. Jesus said that he is the only way to Heaven, so how could anyone from the Old Testament be there?

I've heard it said that most of our society's understanding of religious details comes not from the Bible but from John Milton's "Paradise Lost." I know that this is true to some extent, but I haven't finished the Bible (like I said, it's big) and have not yet read "Paradise" (I own it and it's on my list). Perhaps the Heaven idea got into everyone's minds through this work of fiction.

Anyway, sorry to go on a tangent. I don't believe in any of the Bible and presume that the change in attitudes toward the afterlife came from a change in values of the people to whom believers were preaching. No longer content with just a big and successful family, early Christians invented the promise of eternal life to lure Jews and Gentiles to worship in (and tithe to) thier church.

Answer 7

5 For the living know that they will die,
but the dead know nothing;
they have no further reward,
and even the memory of them is forgotten.
Yes, we all know that one day we will die. But we do not know what it will be like when we are dead. Solomon assumed that dead people will not know anything. That is his opionion from his living point of view. Now that he is dead, he would probably rephrase it. He says they have no further reward. He did not know that God has rewards for his faithful followers. Solomon may have been wise in some things, but not in all things. He lacked spiritually....and became very carnal, to the downfall of his Kingdom. Of couse it is not true that the memory of the dead is forgotten.... We are talking about the thoughts of dead King Solomon after all....and it has been a few years ago.... Solomon was trying to understand it all... He was just like folks today who try to talk it out when they are thinking... Sometimes they just don't quite hit it right on the head.

Answer 8

Here is what my Bible commentary says: This is true as far as the dead bodies are concerned. They know nothing and are not concious in the least, for they came from dust, and returned to dust; but the souls and spirits of all men are immortal and continue in a full state of conciousness between death and the resurrection of their bodies.
The bodies do not have reward at death and won't have until the resurrection; then rewards will be meted out to all--to the righteous before the Millenium (Rev. 20:4-6), and to the wicked after the Millenium (Rev.20:11-15).
The souls and spirits have some reward at death, being admitted to heaven if they are righteous, and to hell if they are wicked.
Hope this helps.

Answer 9

That the when you are dead there is no conscience to anything. Lots of people think you go to either heaven or hell but you go to neither you are just dead until the resurrection when Jesus comes back and thats when we will get our reward(John 3:13 No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven—the Son of Man.) so nobody is in heaven thats what it means by they have no further reward right then. Thats why it says the dead know nothing because the soul is dead and isn't anywhere, until Jesus comes back with the new earth(Revelation 21)(Revelation 22:12
"Behold, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to everyone according to what he has done.)

Answer 10

Hello. The verse you are desiring says: For the living know they will die; but the dead do not know anything, nor have they any longer a reward, for their memory is forgotten. (NASB). So this verse of scripture is saying that the dead have understanding that they will die, but as for the dead they don't have any understanding. It also speaks to the dead as no longer making a living or getting wages, and the memory of them is no more. For other bible verses you'd like to know more about, go to www.blueletterbible.com. This is a really good website to study and research God's Word. They've got all kind of versions and tools for study. God bless.