Ecclesiastes 9:1

Ecclesiastes 9:1 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)For all this I considered in my heart even to declare all this, that the righteous, and the wise, and their works, are in the hand of God: no man knoweth either love or hatred by all that is before them.
• New International Version (NIV)So I reflected on all this and concluded that the righteous and the wise and what they do are in God’s hands, but no one knows whether love or hate awaits them.
• English Standard Version (ESV)But all this I laid to heart, examining it all, how the righteous and the wise and their deeds are in the hand of God. Whether it is love or hate, man does not know; both are before him.
• New King James Version (NKJV)For I considered all this in my heart, so that I could declare it all: that the righteous and the wise and their works are in the hand of God. People know neither love nor hatred by anything they see before them.

Context of Ecclesiastes 9:1

So I took all this to heart and concluded that the righteous and the wise, as well as their deeds, are in God’s hands. Man does not know what lies ahead, whether love or hate. 2It is the same for all: There is a common fate for the righteous and the wicked, for the good and the bad, for the clean and the unclean, for the one who sacrifices and the one who does not. As it is for the good, so it is for the sinner; as it is for the one who makes a vow, so it is for the one who refuses to take a vow. 3This is an evil in everything that is done under the sun: There is one fate for everyone. Furthermore, the hearts of men are full of evil and madness while they are alive, and afterward they join the dead.

Ecclesiastes 9:1 word by word

כִּ֣י אֶת־כָּל־זֶ֞ה נָתַ֤תִּי אֶל־לִבִּי֙ וְלָב֣וּר אֶת־כָּל־זֶ֔ה אֲשֶׁ֨ר הַצַּדִּיקִ֧ים וְהַחֲכָמִ֛ים וַעֲבָדֵיהֶ֖ם בְּיַ֣ד הָאֱלֹהִ֑ים גַּֽם־אַהֲבָ֣ה גַם־שִׂנְאָ֗ה אֵ֤ין יוֹדֵ֙עַ֙ הָֽאָדָ֔ם הַכֹּ֖ל לִפְנֵיהֶֽם׃Read the interlinear

• Soכִּיkîy · forH3588
• ·אֵת'êth · [Obj.]H853
• I tookנָתַןnâthan · to give: putH5414
• allכֹּלkôl kôl · allH3605
• thisזֶהzeh · thisH2088
• toאֶל'êl 'el · to(wards)H413
• heartלֵבlêb · heartH3820
• and concludedבּוּרbûr · to explainH952
• thatאֲשֶׁר'ăsher · whichH834
• the righteousצַדִּיקtsaddîyq · righteousH6662
• and the wiseחָכָםchâkâm · wiseH2450
• as well as their deedsעֲבָד‛ăbâd · workH5652
• are in God’sאֱלֹהִים'ĕlôhîym · GodH430
• handsיָדyâd · hand: powerH3027
• Manאָדָם'âdâm · manH120
• does notאַ֫יִן'ayin · nothingH369
• knowיָדַעyâda‛ · to knowH3045
• lies aheadפָּנֶהpânîym · face: beforeH6440
• whetherגַּםgam · alsoH1571
• loveאַהֲבָה'ahăbâh · loveH160
• hateשִׂנְאָהώin'âh · hatingH8135

Cross-references for Ecclesiastes 9:1

• Ecclesiastes 1:17So I set my mind to know wisdom and madness and folly; I learned that this, too, is a pursuit of the wind.
• Ecclesiastes 7:25I directed my mind to understand, to explore, to search out wisdom and explanations, and to understand the stupidity of wickedness and the folly of madness.
• Ecclesiastes 8:16When I applied my mind to know wisdom and to observe the task that one performs on the earth—though his eyes do not see sleep in the day or even in the night—
• Ecclesiastes 12:9Not only was the Teacher wise, but he also taught the people knowledge; he pondered, searched out, and arranged many proverbs.
• Ecclesiastes 8:14There is a futility that is done on the earth: There are righteous men who get what the actions of the wicked deserve, and there are wicked men who get what the actions of the righteous deserve. I say that this too is futile.
• Deuteronomy 33:3Surely You love the people; all the holy ones are in Your hand, and they sit down at Your feet; each receives Your words—
• 1 Samuel 2:9He guards the steps of His faithful ones, but the wicked perish in darkness; for by his own strength shall no man prevail.
• 2 Samuel 15:25Then the king said to Zadok, “Return the ark of God to the city. If I find favor in the eyes of the LORD, He will bring me back and let me see both it and His dwelling place again.
• Job 5:8However, if I were you, I would appeal to God and lay my cause before Him—
• Psalms 10:14But You have regarded trouble and grief; You see to repay it by Your hand. The victim entrusts himself to You; You are the helper of the fatherless.
• Psalms 31:5Into Your hands I commit my spirit; You have redeemed me, O LORD, God of truth.
• Psalms 37:5Commit your way to the LORD; trust in Him, and He will do it.
• Proverbs 16:3Commit your works to the LORD and your plans will be achieved.
• Isaiah 26:12O LORD, You will establish peace for us. For all that we have accomplished, You have done for us.
• Isaiah 49:1Listen to Me, O islands; pay attention, O distant peoples: The LORD called Me from the womb; from the body of My mother He named Me.
• Jeremiah 1:18Now behold, this day I have made you like a fortified city, an iron pillar, and bronze walls against the whole land—against the kings of Judah, its officials, its priests, and the people of the land.

Commentaries on Ecclesiastes 9:1

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 1The righteous, and the wise, and their works, are in the hand of God - This is a continuation of the preceding subject; and here the wise man draws a conclusion from what he had seen, and from the well-known character of God, that the righteous, the wise, and their conduct, were all in the hand of God, protected by his power, and safe in his approbation: but we cannot judge from the occurrences which take place in life who are the objects of God's love or…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 1A good man‘s trust in God is set forth as a counterpoise to our Ignorance of the ways of Providence. In the hand of God - Under His special protection (Deuteronomy 33:3 ff) as righteous, and under His direction Proverbs 21:1 as people. No man … - literally, both love and also hatred man knoweth not: all are before them. Love and hatred here mean the ordinary outward tokens of God‘s favor or displeasure, i. e., prosperity and adversity. “Man knoweth not”…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 1Good and bad men fare alike as to this world. (Eccl. 9:1-3) All men must die, Their portion as to this life. (Eccl. 9:4-10) Disappointments common. (Eccl. 9:11,12) Benefits of wisdom. (Eccl. 9:13-18) Verses 1-3 We are not to think our searching into the word or works of God useless, because we cannot explain all difficulties. We may learn many things good for ourselves and useful to others. But man cannot always decide who are objects of God's special…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 1Man does not know what lies ahead: There is no promise that doing good will bring rewards in this life (see Ecclesiastes 3:17–22; 8:10–15; 12:14).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1-18Ec 9:1-18. 1. declare--rather, explore; the result of my exploring is this, that "the righteous, &c., are in the hand of God. No man knoweth either the love or hatred (of God to them) by all that is before them," that is, by what is outwardly seen in His present dealings (Ec 8:14, 17). However, from the sense of the same words, in Ec 9:6, "love and hatred" seem to be the feelings of the wicked towards the righteous, whereby they caused to the latter…Read the comment

In the dictionaries

• God
• god, false god, goddess, idol, idolater, idolatrous, idolatry
• Event
• Evil
• Remember
• Reward
• Providence
• Synagogue, the Great

Commentaries on Ecclesiastes 9

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings