Ecclesiastes 9:6 Meaning and Explanation
“Also their love, and their hatred, and their envy, is now perished; neither have they any more a portion for ever in any thing that is done under the sun.”
King James Version (KJV)
Read this verse in context with translation switching:
Read Full Chapter →The strong passions that once drove people, love, hatred, envy, end at death, and the dead have no further share in anything done in this world.
What Does Ecclesiastes 9:6 Mean?
Still speaking of the dead from the standpoint of life under the sun, the Preacher notes how their fiercest feelings have ceased. The love that warmed them, the hatred that consumed them, the envy that gnawed at them, all are now perished from the stage of this world. They hold no more portion in its affairs.
The passions we pour our lives into here will one day fall silent, and the rivalries that seem so urgent will lose their grip. This is not despair but perspective. If even our loves and hatreds end at the grave under the sun, then they are too small to be our final treasure. The verse gently turns us toward what endures beyond this world and the labors done in it.
Ecclesiastes 9:6 in the Original Language
cheleq (חֵלֶק), 'portion' -- an allotted share or stake, the part one holds in something.
Frequently Asked Questions About Ecclesiastes 9:6
What does Ecclesiastes 9:6 mean?
The strong passions that once drove people, love, hatred, envy, end at death, and the dead have no further share in anything done in this world.