He shall go to the generation of his fathers; they shall never see light.
The word for generation denotes fathers or ancestors, not a measured span of time. The one who goes to the generation of his fathers is given in the Hebrew margin as the soul, so that it is the soul that goes. The wicked die to join the generations of their fathers in death and no longer see light, and death is thus the end of earthly life.
Even those in honor and with wealth must die, and their riches cannot secure life forever for them. The wicked go down to the grave forgotten and without honor, while in contrast the righteous look for dominion in the morning when redeemed from the power of the grave. Human beings do not possess inherent immortality and do not go on living forever after death, but like the animals are mortal and depend on the life God gives. The soul or spirit is the animating life-principle, not an immortal part that lives on independently after death. The declaration that they shall never see light refers to this temporal state of mortal life and does not rule out a resurrection.
The word for generation denotes fathers or ancestors, not a measured span of time. The one who goes to the generation of his fathers is given in the Hebrew margin as the soul, so that it is the soul that goes. The wicked die to join the generations of their fathers in death and no longer see light, and death is thus the end of earthly life.
Even those in honor and with wealth must die, and their riches cannot secure life forever for them. The wicked go down to the grave forgotten and without honor, while in contrast the righteous look for dominion in the morning when redeemed from the power of the grave. Human beings do not possess inherent immortality and do not go on living forever after death, but like the animals are mortal and depend on the life God gives. The soul or spirit is the animating life-principle, not an immortal part that lives on independently after death. The declaration that they shall never see light refers to this temporal state of mortal life and does not rule out a resurrection.