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Texts -- Ecclesiastes 9:11-18 (NET)

Context
Wisdom Cannot Protect against Seemingly Chance Events
9:11 Again , I observed this on the earth : the race is not always won by the swiftest , the battle is not always won by the strongest ; prosperity does not always belong to those who are the wisest , wealth does not always belong to those who are the most discerning , nor does success always come to those with the most knowledge – for time and chance may overcome them all . 9:12 Surely , no one knows his appointed time ! Like fish that are caught in a deadly net , and like birds that are caught in a snare – just like them , all people are ensnared at an unfortunate time that falls upon them suddenly .
Most People Are Not Receptive to Wise Counsel
9:13 This is what I also observed about wisdom on earth , and it is a great burden to me: 9:14 There was once a small city with a few men in it, and a mighty king attacked it, besieging it and building strong siege works against it. 9:15 However, a poor but wise man lived in the city, and he could have delivered the city by his wisdom , but no one listened to that poor man . 9:16 So I concluded that wisdom is better than might , but a poor man’s wisdom is despised ; no one ever listens to his advice .
Wisdom versus Fools, Sin, and Folly
9:17 The words of the wise are heard in quiet , more than the shouting of a ruler is heard among fools . 9:18 Wisdom is better than weapons of war , but one sinner can destroy much that is good .

Pericope

NET
  • Ecc 9:11-12 -- Wisdom Cannot Protect against Seemingly Chance Events
  • Ecc 9:13-16 -- Most People Are Not Receptive to Wise Counsel
  • Ecc 9:17--10:1 -- Wisdom versus Fools, Sin, and Folly

Bible Dictionary

  • Instruction

    [nave] INSTRUCTION From nature, Prov. 24:30-34; Eccl. 1:13-18; 3; 4:1; Matt. 6:25-30. See: Parables. From the study of human nature, Eccl. 3-12. By Object Lessons: The pot of maa, Ex. 16:32. The pillar of twelve stones at the f...

  • Wisdom

    [isbe] WISDOM - wiz'-dum: 1. Linguistic 2. History 3. Religious Basis 4. Ideals 5. Teaching of Christ 6. Remainder of the New Testament (1) James (2) Paul 7. Hypostasis LITERATURE 1. Linguistic: In the Revised Version (British and ...
    [nave] WISDOM Of Joseph, Gen. 41:16, 25-39; Acts 7:10. Of Moses, Acts 7:22. Of Bezaleel, Ex. 31:3-5; 35:31-35; 36:1. Of Aholiab, Ex. 31:6; 35:34, 35; 36:1; of other skilled artisans, Ex. 36:2; of women, Ex. 35:26. Of Hiram, 1 K...

  • War

    [nave] WAR Divine approval of, 2 Sam. 22:35. Civil, Judg. 12:1-6; 20; 2 Sam. 2:12-31; 3:1; 20; 1 Kin. 14:30; 16:21; Isa. 19:2; forbidden, 2 Chr. 11:4; averted, Josh. 22:11-34. Enemy harangued by general of opposing side, 2 Kin. 1...

  • Poor

    [isbe] POOR - poor ('ebhyon, dal, `ani, rush; ptochos): I. In the Old Testament. The poor have great prominence in the Bible; it is said, indeed, that there should be no poor among the Hebrews because Yahweh should so greatly bless...
    [nave] POOR Atonement money of, uniform with that of the rich, Ex. 30:15. Inexpensive offerings of the poor, Lev. 5:7; 12:8; 14:21, 22. See: Beneficence; Giving; Liberality; Orphans; Poverty; Widow. Also See: Rich; Riches. Uncl...

  • Ingratitude

    [nave] INGRATITUDE. Of Mankind to God Num. 16:9, 10; Deut. 8:12-14 Deut. 6:11, 12. Deut. 28:47, 48; Deut. 31:16; Deut. 32:6, 15, 18 v. 13.; Judg. 2:10-12; Judg. 8:34, 35; Judg. 10:11, 13, 14 Neh. 9:25, 35; Psa. 106:7, 21; Jer. 2:...

  • CHANCE

    [ebd] (Luke 10:31). "It was not by chance that the priest came down by that road at that time, but by a specific arrangement and in exact fulfilment of a plan; not the plan of the priest, nor the plan of the wounded traveller, but...
    [isbe] CHANCE - chans: The idea of chance in the sense of something wholly fortuitous was utterly foreign to the Hebrew creed. Throughout the whole course of Israel's history, to the Hebrew mind, law, not chance, ruled the universe...

  • GAMES

    [ebd] (1.) Of children (Zech. 8:5; Matt. 11:16). The Jewish youth were also apparently instructed in the use of the bow and the sling (Judg. 20:16; 1 Chr. 12:2). (2.) Public games, such as were common among the Greeks and Romans, ...
    [isbe] GAMES - gamz: I. ISRAELITISH GAMES 1. Children's Games Mimicry 2. Sports 3. Games of Chance and Skill 4. Story-Telling 5. Dancing 6. Proverbs 7. Riddles II. THE GAMES OF GREECE AND ROME 1. Historical Introduction 2. General ...

  • Hunting

    [isbe] HUNTING - hunt'-ing (tsayidh): The hunting of wild animals for sport, or for the defense of men and flocks, or for food, was common in Western Asia and Egypt, especially in early times. Some of the Egyptian and Assyrian king...
    [nave] HUNTING Authorized in the Mosaic law, Lev. 17:13. By Nimrod, Gen. 10:9. By Esau, Gen. 27:3, 5, 30, 33. By Ishmael, Gen. 21:20. Of lion, Job 10:16. Fowling, 1 Sam. 26:20; Psa. 140:5; 141:9, 10; Prov. 1:17; Eccl. 9:12; La...

  • Net

    [ebd] in use among the Hebrews for fishing, hunting, and fowling. The fishing-net was probably constructed after the form of that used by the Egyptians (Isa. 19:8). There were three kinds of nets. (1.) The drag-net or hauling-net ...
    [nave] NET Of checker work, 1 Kin. 7:17. Hidden in a pit, Psa. 35:7, 8. Set for birds, Prov. 1:17; wild animals, Isa. 51:20. Fish caught in, Matt. 4:18-21; 13:47; Luke 5:4; John 21:6-11. See: Snare. Figurative Job 18:8; 19:6;...

  • Fish

    [nave] FISH Creation of, Gen. 1:20-22. Appointed for food, Gen. 9:2, 3. Clean and unclean, Lev. 11:9-12; Deut. 14:9, 10. Taken with nets, Eccl. 9:12; Hab. 1:14-17; Matt. 4:21; Luke 5:2-6; John 21:6-8; hooks, Isa. 19:8; Amos 4:2;...

  • Race

    [nave] RACE 1. Human. Unity of, Gen. 3:20; Mal. 2:10. 2. Foot race. Figurative: Psa. 19:5; Eccl. 9:11; 1 Cor. 9:24; Gal. 5:7; Phil. 2:16; Heb. 12:1, 2.

  • God

    [nave] GOD. List of Sub-Topics Miscellany; Unclassified Scriptures Relating to; Access to; Compassion of; Creator; Creator of Mankind; Eternity of; Faithfulness of; Fatherhood of; Favor of; Foreknowledge of; Glory of; Goodness of...

  • Associations

    [nave] ASSOCIATIONS, Evil Gen. 19:15; Gen. 49:6; Ex. 23:2, 32, 33 Ex. 34:12-15; Deut. 7:2-4; Josh. 23:6-13. Lev. 18:3 Lev. 20:23. Num. 16:26 vs. 21-26.; Num. 33:55 Judg. 2:1-3. Deut. 12:30; 2 Sam. 23:6, 7; 2 Chr. 19:2; Ezra 9:14;...

  • Siegeworks

    [nave] SIEGEWORKS Deut. 20:20; 2 Chr. 26:15; Eccl. 9:14. Figurative Psa. 48:13; Isa. 26:1.

  • Ignorance

    [nave] IGNORANCE. Job 8:9; Job 11:7, 8, 12; Job 28:12, 13, 20, 21; Job 36:26, 29; Job 37:5, 15, 16, 19, 23 Job 38; 39. Psa. 139:6; Prov. 7:6-23; Prov. 8:5; Prov. 9:14-18; Prov. 19:2; Prov. 20:24; Prov. 22:3 Prov. 27:12. Prov. 27:1...

  • Speaking

    [nave] SPEAKING. Evil Ex. 22:28; Job 19:18; Psa. 10:7, 8; Psa. 12:3, 4; Psa. 34:13; Psa. 35:21; Psa. 41:5-9; Psa. 52:2-4; Psa. 59:12; Psa. 64:2-5; Psa. 69:12, 26; Psa. 70:3; Psa. 102:8; Psa. 106:33; Psa. 119:23; Psa. 120:1-7; Psa...

  • QUIET

    [isbe] QUIET - kwi'-et: Verb or adjective only in English Versions of the Bible, "quietness" being used for the noun. No special Hebrew or Greek words are represented, but in the Old Testament usually for some form or derivative of...

  • EDUCATION

    [isbe] EDUCATION - ed-u-ka'-shun: I. EDUCATION DEFINED II. EDUCATION IN EARLY ISRAEL 1. Nomadic and Agricultural Periods 2. The Monarchical Period 3. Deuteronomic Legislation 4. Reading and Writing III. EDUCATION IN LATER ISRAEL 1....

  • BULWARK

    [isbe] BULWARK - bool'-wark: The word represents several Hebrew terms (chel, Isa 26:1; chelah, Ps 48:13; matsodh, Eccl 9:14; matsor, Dt 20:20). In 2 Ch 26:15 the word is translated in the Revised Version (British and American) "bat...

  • Fowler

    [ebd] the arts of, referred to Ps. 91:3; 124:7; Prov. 6:5; Jer. 5:26; Hos. 9:8; Ezek. 17:20; Eccl. 9:12. Birds of all kinds abound in Palestine, and the capture of these for the table and for other uses formed the employment of ma...
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Expository Notes on the Bible (Constable)

  • I believe that the message of Ecclesiastes is essentially a positive one. This may seem strange since the vanity of various human endeavors is such a major theme of this book. Nevertheless the total statement that Solomon mad...
  • I. The introductory affirmation 1:1-11A. Title and theme 1:1-21. The title 1:12. The theme 1:2B. The futility of all human endeavor 1:3-111. The vanity of work 1:32. The illustrations from life 1:4-11II. The futility of work ...
  • Rather than saying, "All work is vanity,"Solomon made the same point by asking this rhetorical question that expects a negative response. He used this literary device often throughout the book (cf. 2:2; 3:9; 6:8, 11-12; et al...
  • Clues in the text indicate the value and purpose of 6:10-11:6. The phrases "does not know"and "cannot discover"occur frequently (6:12; 7:14, 24, 28; 8:17; 19:1, 12; 10:14; 11:2, 6). Also the recurrence of "it is good"(7:18) a...
  • The emphasis in this section (9:1-11:6) is on what man does not know because God has not revealed many things. Solomon also emphasized, however, that the remaining mystery in this subject (8:16-17) must not diminish human joy...
  • Solomon's emphasis in 9:2-10 was on the fact that a righteous person could not be more certain of his or her earthly future than the wicked. In 9:11-10:11 his point was that the wise cannot be more sure of his or her earthly ...
  • In 1:12-6:9, Solomon demonstrated that all work is ultimately futile for two reasons. It does not yield anything really permanent under the sun. Moreover we can never be sure we will enjoy the fruits of our labor before we di...
  • In conclusion Solomon repeated his original thesis (v. 8; cf. 1:2) and his counsel in view of life's realities (vv. 13-14). In between these statements he set forth his source of authority for writing what we have in Ecclesia...
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