Bible verse
For the living know that they will die, but the dead know nothing. They have no further reward, because the memory of them is forgotten.
Ecclesiastes 9:5 · BSB
The verses around it, from 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.
2 It 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.
3 This 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.
4 There is hope, however, for anyone who is among the living; for even a live dog is better than a dead lion.
5 For the living know that they will die, but the dead know nothing. They have no further reward, because the memory of them is forgotten.
6 Their love, their hate, and their envy have already vanished, and they will never again have a share in all that is done under the sun.
7 Go, eat your bread with joy, and drink your wine with a cheerful heart, for God has already approved your works:
8 Let your garments always be white, and never spare the oil for your head.
9 Enjoy life with your beloved wife all the days of the fleeting life that God has given you under the sun—all your fleeting days. For this is your portion in life and in your labor under the sun.
KJV
For 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.
ASV
For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not anything, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten.
ERV
For 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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Scripture quotations are from the Berean Standard Bible, which is free of copyright restrictions for use on websites. Read the full Bible on Great Faith.