4:2 So I considered 1 those who are dead and gone 2
more fortunate than those who are still alive. 3
9:1 So I reflected on all this, 4 attempting to clear 5 it all up.
I concluded that 6 the righteous and the wise, as well as their works, are in the hand of God;
whether a person will be loved or hated 7 –
no one knows what lies ahead. 8
1 tn The verb שָׁבַח (shavakh) has a two-fold range of meaning: (1) “to praise; to laud”; and (2) “to congratulate” (HALOT 1387 s.v. I שׁבח; BDB 986 s.v. II שָׁבַח). The LXX translated it as ἐπῄνεσα (ephnesa, “I praised”). The English versions reflect the range of possible meanings: “praised” (KJV, ASV, Douay); “congratulated” (MLB, NASB); “declared/judged/accounted/thought…fortunate/happy” (NJPS, NEB, NIV, RSV, NRSV, NAB).
2 tn Heb “the dead who had already died.”
3 tn Heb “the living who are alive.”
4 tn Heb “I laid all this to my heart.”
5 tn The term וְלָבוּר (velavur, conjunction + Qal infinitive construct from בּוּר, bur, “to make clear”) denotes “to examine; to make clear; to clear up; to explain” (HALOT 116 s.v. בור; BDB 101 s.v. בּוּר). The term is related to Arabic baraw “to examine” (G. R. Driver, “Supposed Arabisms in the Old Testament,” JBL 55 [1936]: 108). This verb is related to the Hebrew noun בֹּר (bor, “cleanness”) and adjective בַּר (bar, “clean”). The term is used in the OT only in Ecclesiastes (1:13; 2:3; 7:25; 9:1). This use of the infinitive has a connotative sense (“attempting to”), and functions in a complementary sense, relative to the main verb.
6 tn The words “I concluded that” do not appear in the Hebrew text, but are supplied in the translation for clarity.
7 tn Heb “whether love or hatred.”
8 tn Heb “man does not know anything before them.”