9:11 Again, 3 I observed this on the earth: 4
the race is not always 5 won by the swiftest,
the battle is not always won by the strongest;
prosperity 6 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 7 always come to those with the most knowledge –
for time and chance may overcome 8 them all.
1 tn Heb “and they grabbed each one the head of his neighbor with his sword in the side of his neighbor and they fell together.”
2 tn The meaning of the name “Helkath Hazzurim” (so NIV; KJV, NASB, NRSV similar) is not clear. BHK relates the name to the Hebrew term for “side,” and this is reflected in NAB “the Field of the Sides”; the Greek OT revocalizes the Hebrew to mean something like “Field of Adversaries.” Cf. also TEV, NLT “Field of Swords”; CEV “Field of Daggers.”
3 tn Heb “I returned and.” In the Hebrew idiom, “to return and do” means “to do again.”
4 tn Heb “under the sun.”
5 tn The term “always” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation (five times in this verse) for clarity.
6 tn Heb “bread.”
7 tn Heb “favor.”
8 tn Heb “happen to.”