9:4 But whoever is among 1 the living 2 has hope;
a live dog is better than a dead lion.
9:5 For the living know that they will die, but the dead do not know anything;
they have no further reward – and even the memory of them disappears. 3
9:6 What they loved, 4 as well as what they hated 5 and envied, 6 perished long ago,
and they no longer have a part in anything that happens on earth. 7
1 tn The consonantal text (Kethib) has “is chosen, selected.” The translation follows the marginal reading (Qere), “is joined.” See BDB 288 s.v. חָבַר Pu.
2 tn Heb “all the living.”
3 tn Heb “for their memory is forgotten.” The pronominal suffix is an objective genitive, “memory of them.”
4 tn Heb “their love.”
5 tn Heb “their hatred.”
6 tn Heb “their envy.”
7 tn Heb “under the sun.”