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The living at least know they will die, but the dead know nothing. They have no further reward, nor are they remembered.

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For the living know that they will die,
    but the dead know nothing;(A)
they have no further reward,
    and even their name(B) is forgotten.(C)

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14 Those we served before are dead and gone.
    Their departed spirits will never return!
You attacked them and destroyed them,
    and they are long forgotten.

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14 They are now dead,(A) they live no more;
    their spirits(B) do not rise.
You punished them and brought them to ruin;(C)
    you wiped out all memory of them.(D)

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11 We don’t remember what happened in the past, and in future generations, no one will remember what we are doing now.

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11 No one remembers the former generations,(A)
    and even those yet to come
will not be remembered
    by those who follow them.(B)

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For the dead do not remember you.
    Who can praise you from the grave?[a]

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Footnotes

  1. 6:5 Hebrew from Sheol?

Among the dead no one proclaims your name.
    Who praises you from the grave?(A)

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10 Are your wonderful deeds of any use to the dead?
    Do the dead rise up and praise you? Interlude

11 Can those in the grave declare your unfailing love?
    Can they proclaim your faithfulness in the place of destruction?[a]
12 Can the darkness speak of your wonderful deeds?
    Can anyone in the land of forgetfulness talk about your righteousness?

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Footnotes

  1. 88:11 Hebrew in Abaddon?

10 Do you show your wonders to the dead?
    Do their spirits rise up and praise you?(A)
11 Is your love declared in the grave,
    your faithfulness(B) in Destruction[a]?
12 Are your wonders known in the place of darkness,
    or your righteous deeds in the land of oblivion?

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Footnotes

  1. Psalm 88:11 Hebrew Abaddon

21 They never know if their children grow up in honor
    or sink to insignificance.

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21 If their children are honored, they do not know it;
    if their offspring are brought low, they do not see it.(A)

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27 And just as each person is destined to die once and after that comes judgment,

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27 Just as people are destined to die once,(A) and after that to face judgment,(B)

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16 For the wise and the foolish both die. The wise will not be remembered any longer than the fool. In the days to come, both will be forgotten.

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16 For the wise, like the fool, will not be long remembered;(A)
    the days have already come when both have been forgotten.(B)
Like the fool, the wise too must die!(C)

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15 May the Lord always remember these sins,
    and may his name disappear from human memory.

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15 May their sins always remain before(A) the Lord,
    that he may blot out their name(B) from the earth.

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10 I have seen wicked people buried with honor. Yet they were the very ones who frequented the Temple and are now praised[a] in the same city where they committed their crimes! This, too, is meaningless.

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Footnotes

  1. 8:10 As in some Hebrew manuscripts and Greek version; many Hebrew manuscripts read and are forgotten.

10 Then too, I saw the wicked buried(A)—those who used to come and go from the holy place and receive praise[a] in the city where they did this. This too is meaningless.

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Footnotes

  1. Ecclesiastes 8:10 Some Hebrew manuscripts and Septuagint (Aquila); most Hebrew manuscripts and are forgotten

16 Surely you are still our Father!
    Even if Abraham and Jacob[a] would disown us,
Lord, you would still be our Father.
    You are our Redeemer from ages past.

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Footnotes

  1. 63:16 Hebrew Israel. See note on 14:1.

16 But you are our Father,(A)
    though Abraham does not know us
    or Israel acknowledge(B) us;
you, Lord, are our Father,
    our Redeemer(C) from of old is your name.

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Better to spend your time at funerals than at parties.
    After all, everyone dies—
    so the living should take this to heart.

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It is better to go to a house of mourning
    than to go to a house of feasting,
for death(A) is the destiny(B) of everyone;
    the living should take this to heart.

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You see me now, but not for long.
    You will look for me, but I will be gone.
Just as a cloud dissipates and vanishes,
    those who die[a] will not come back.
10 They are gone forever from their home—
    never to be seen again.

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Footnotes

  1. 7:9 Hebrew who go down to Sheol.

The eye that now sees me will see me no longer;
    you will look for me, but I will be no more.(A)
As a cloud vanishes(B) and is gone,
    so one who goes down to the grave(C) does not return.(D)
10 He will never come to his house again;
    his place(E) will know him no more.(F)

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