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KING JAMES BIBLE · PCE

Ecclesiastes 9:3–4

TEXT EDITION
Pure Cambridge Edition selected
This is an evil among all things that are done under the sun, that there is one event unto all: yea, also the heart of the sons of men is full of evil, and madness is in their heart while they live, and after that they go to the dead.
¶ 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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PASSAGE SELECTION

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SCRIPTURE WITH SCRIPTURE

Cross References

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Reference depth

From verse 3

  1. Jeremiah 17:9Rank 1 from verse 3
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    9¶ The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?

  2. Ecclesiastes 8:11Rank 2 from verse 3
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    11Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil.

  3. Ecclesiastes 1:17Rank 3 from verse 3
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    17And I gave my heart to know wisdom, and to know madness and folly: I perceived that this also is vexation of spirit.

  4. Job 15:16Rank 4 from verse 3
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    16How much more abominable and filthy is man, which drinketh iniquity like water?

  5. Psalms 51:5Rank 5 from verse 3
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    5Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.

From verse 4

  1. Job 14:7–12Rank 1 from verse 4
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    7For there is hope of a tree, if it be cut down, that it will sprout again, and that the tender branch thereof will not cease.

    8Though the root thereof wax old in the earth, and the stock thereof die in the ground;

    9Yet through the scent of water it will bud, and bring forth boughs like a plant.

    10But man dieth, and wasteth away: yea, man giveth up the ghost, and where is he?

    11As the waters fail from the sea, and the flood decayeth and drieth up:

    12So man lieth down, and riseth not: till the heavens be no more, they shall not awake, nor be raised out of their sleep.

  2. Isaiah 38:18Rank 2 from verse 4
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    18For the grave cannot praise thee, death can not celebrate thee: they that go down into the pit cannot hope for thy truth.

  3. Luke 16:26–29Rank 3 from verse 4
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    26And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence.

    27Then he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him to my father’s house:

    28For I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment.

    29Abraham saith unto him, They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.

  4. Lamentations 3:21–22Rank 4 from verse 4
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    21This I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope.

    22It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not.

  5. Job 27:8Rank 5 from verse 4
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    8For what is the hope of the hypocrite, though he hath gained, when God taketh away his soul?

WORDS IN THIS PASSAGE

Definitions

Open a word for its full definition and concordance.

DEFINED WORDS

Ecclesiastes 9:3

COMBINED MEANING

evil

↗

Sense 1: Moral wickedness, sin, wrong, or corruption. Sense 2: Harm, misery, calamity, adversity, or punishment.

Meaning drawn from: KJV context and cross-references

COMBINED MEANING

sun

↗

The great light that rules the day and gives light and heat.

Meaning drawn from: KJV context and cross-references

COMBINED MEANING

yea

↗

1. Indeed, marking confirmation, emphasis, addition, continuation, or heightening of what is said; it may also emphasize a question. 2. Yes, expressing an affirmative answer or declaration.

Meaning drawn from: KJV context and cross-references

COMBINED MEANING

heart

↗

Sense 1: The bodily organ. Sense 2: The inward person: the mind, will, affections, conscience, or moral character.

Meaning drawn from: KJV context and cross-references

COMBINED MEANING

madness

↗

Extreme folly; headstrong passion and rashness that act in opposition to reason; Wildness of passion; fury; rage.

Meaning drawn from: KJV context and cross-references · Webster 1828

COMBINED MEANING

in

↗

1. A preposition marking position, presence, state, circumstance, manner, means, sphere, reference, relation, association, or participation. 2. As an adverb, inward, inside, or into the place or position referred to.

Meaning drawn from: KJV context and cross-references

COMBINED MEANING

live

↗

Sense 1: As a verb, to have or continue in life; to remain alive, be restored to life, or not die. Sense 2: To dwell, abide, or continue in a place, state, relation, or manner of life. Sense 3: To subsist or be sustained by or upon what is named. Sense 4: As an adjective, alive rather than dead; or containing fire and not extinguished.

Meaning drawn from: Direct Scripture definition · KJV context and cross-references · Webster 1828

COMBINED MEANING

after

↗

1. Later than or following in time or order. 2. Behind. 3. In pursuit of.

Meaning drawn from: KJV context and cross-references

COMBINED MEANING

dead

↗

Sense 1: Without life; deprived of life. Sense 2: Lifeless, inactive, insensible, or separated from a former state by figure.

Meaning drawn from: KJV context and cross-references

DEFINED WORDS

Ecclesiastes 9:4

COMBINED MEANING

for

↗

1. In behalf of or in the place of. 2. With respect to, concerning, or toward. 3. Because of or on account of. 4. During or throughout. 5. In order to obtain or reach. 6. As a conjunction, because or seeing that.

Meaning drawn from: KJV context and cross-references

COMBINED MEANING

joined

↗

Connected, fastened, united, associated, attached, adjoining, or brought together.

Meaning drawn from: KJV context and cross-references

COMBINED MEANING

living

↗

Sense 1: Alive or having life. Sense 2: As a noun, one's means of support or possessions.

Meaning drawn from: KJV context and cross-references

COMBINED MEANING

hope

↗

1. Expectation, trust, reliance, or the good expected. 2. The person or ground on which expectation rests. 3. To expect, look for, trust, or rely upon.

Meaning drawn from: Direct Scripture definition · KJV context and cross-references

COMBINED MEANING

dog

↗

Sense 1: The animal that barks, laps, scavenges, and may attack. Sense 2: A term of contempt for a person regarded as low, despised, unclean, or hostile.

Meaning drawn from: KJV context and cross-references

COMBINED MEANING

better

↗

Sense 1: More excellent, more fitting, or to a greater degree. Sense 2: To improve or make better.

Meaning drawn from: KJV context and cross-references · Webster 1828

COMBINED MEANING

dead

↗

Sense 1: Without life; deprived of life. Sense 2: Lifeless, inactive, insensible, or separated from a former state by figure.

Meaning drawn from: KJV context and cross-references

COMBINED MEANING

lion

↗

Sense 1: A large, powerful wild cat. Sense 2: Figuratively, one fierce or strong.

Meaning drawn from: KJV context and cross-references

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2All things come alike to all: there is one event to the righteous, and to the wicked; to the good and to the clean, and to the unclean; to him that sacrificeth, and to him that sacrificeth not: as is the good, so is the sinner; and he that sweareth, as he that feareth an oath.

3This is an evil among all things that are done under the sun, that there is one event unto all: yea, also the heart of the sons of men is full of evil, and madness is in their heart while they live, and after that they go to the dead.

Selected passage

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

Selected passage

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.

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