Ecclesiastes 9:2

All 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.

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Word by word — the Hebrew

Word	Hebrew	Strong’s	Meaning
one	אֶחָ֜ד 'e.Chad	H259	properly · cardinal number, feminine singular absolute
event	מִקְרֶ֨ה mik.Reh	H4745	something met with · noun, common masculine singular absolute
righteous	לַצַּדִּ֤יק la.tza.Dik	H6662	just · preposition with the article + adjective, masculine singular absolute
wicked	וְלָרָשָׁע֙ ve.la.ra.Sha'	H7563	morally wrong · conjunction + preposition with the article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
good	לַטּוֹב֙ la.tOv	H2896	good (as an adjective) in the widest sense · preposition with the article + adjective, masculine singular absolute
clean	וְלַטָּה֣וֹר ve.la.ta.Hor	H2889	pure (in a physical · conjunction + preposition with the article + adjective, masculine singular absolute

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Cross-references

Malachi 3:18 Then shall ye return, and discern between the righteous and the wicked, between him that serveth God and him that serveth him not.
Ecclesiastes 2:14-16 The wise man’s eyes are in his head; but the fool walketh in darkness: and I myself perceived also that one event happeneth to them all.
Job 9:22 This is one thing, therefore I said it, He destroyeth the perfect and the wicked.
Psalms 73:3 For I was envious at the foolish, when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.
Malachi 3:5 And I will come near to you to judgment; and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, and against the adulterers, and against false…
Malachi 3:15 And now we call the proud happy; yea, they that work wickedness are set up; yea, they that tempt God are even delivered.
Genesis 24:3 And I will make thee swear by the LORD, the God of heaven, and the God of the earth, that thou shalt not take a wife unto my son of the daug…
Genesis 24:8-9 And if the woman will not be willing to follow thee, then thou shalt be clear from this my oath: only bring not my son thither again.

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Ecclesiastes 9:1-3

It has been observed concerning those who have pretended to search for the philosophers' stone that, though they could never find what they sought for, yet in the search they have hit upon many other useful discoveries and experiments. Thus Solomon, when, in the close of the foregoing chapter, he applied his heart to know the work of God, and took a great deal of pains to search into it, though he despaired of finding it out, yet he found out that which abundantly recompensed him for the search, and gave him some satisfaction, which he here gives us; for therefore he considered all this in his heart, and weighed it deliberately, that he might declare it for the good of others. Note, What we…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Ecclesiastes 9:2

All things . . . alike--not universally; but as to death. Ecc 9:2-10 are made by HOLDEN the objection of a skeptical sensualist. However, they may be explained as Solomon's language. He repeats the sentiment already implied in Ecc 2:14; Ecc 3:20; Ecc 8:14. one event--not eternally; but death is common to all. good--morally. clean--ceremonially. sacrificeth--alike to Josiah who sacrificed to God, and to Ahab who made sacrifice to Him cease. sweareth--rashly and falsely.

John Gill on Ecclesiastes 9:2

All things come alike to all,.... That is, all outward things in this life, good and bad men share in alike; which proves that neither love nor hatred can be known by them: so the emperor Mark Antonine, in speaking of life and death, of honour and dishonour, of pain and pleasure, riches and poverty, says (s), all these things happen alike to good men and bad men; there is one event to the righteous and to the wicked; the same prosperous ones happen to one as to another, as riches, honour, health, wisdom and learning, fame and reputation: if Abraham was rich in cattle, gold, and silver, so was Nabal, and the rich fool in the Gospel; if Joseph was advanced to great dignity in Pharaoh's court,…

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The Church Fathers

Except that our belief in Christ raises us up to heaven and promises eternity to our souls, the physical conditions of life are the same for us as for the brutes.
— Jerome, LETTER 108.27

"All things come alike to all; the same fate awaits the righteous and the wicked, the good and the clean and the unclean, the one who brings a sacrifice and the one who does not. As is the good man so is the sinner, as is the one who swears, so is the one who fears an oath. "These things which in themselves are neither good nor bad but are called 'in-between' by the wise, (since equally things happen to both the righteous and the wicked), they perturb each single man, especially as to why they should happen thus, and therefore do not think they are being judged, while there will be a distinction between all things in the future when they have been done, yet now all things are confused. But he says: "there is one outcome for the just and the unjust", he means either the outcome of hardships or of death, and therefore they do not know the kingdom of God nor His hate. Those who bring sacrifice and those who do not, and others in contrast who are not listed here must be seen in a spiritual understanding, according to that verse which says, "sacrifice to God with a troubled spirit" [Ps. 50, 19.].
— Jerome, Commentary on Ecclesiastes

The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).

Dictionary and topics

Oaths · To be taken in fear and reverence — To be taken in fear and reverence
Tyre · .Commerce of — .Commerce of

Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).

Ecclesiastes 9:2

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Ecclesiastes 9:1-3

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Ecclesiastes 9:2

John Gill on Ecclesiastes 9:2

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Ecclesiastes 9:2

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Ecclesiastes 9:1-3

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Ecclesiastes 9:2

John Gill on Ecclesiastes 9:2

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Keil & Delitzsch on Ecclesiastes 9:2

Tyndale Open Study Notes on Ecclesiastes 9:2

Rashi on Ecclesiastes 9:2