6:2 God gives a man riches, property, and wealth
so that he lacks nothing that his heart 1 desires, 2
yet God does not enable 3 him to enjoy 4 the fruit of his labor 5 –
instead, someone else 6 enjoys 7 it! 8
This is fruitless and a grave misfortune. 9
8:8 Just as no one has power over the wind to restrain it, 10
so no one has power over the day of his 11 death.
Just as no one can be discharged during the battle, 12
so wickedness cannot rescue the wicked. 13
9:11 Again, 14 I observed this on the earth: 15
the race is not always 16 won by the swiftest,
the battle is not always won by the strongest;
prosperity 17 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 18 always come to those with the most knowledge –
for time and chance may overcome 19 them all.
1 tn Heb “his appetite.”
2 tn Heb “There is no lack in respect to his appetite”; or “his desire lacks nothing.”
3 tn The verb שָׁלַט (shalat) in the Qal stem means “to domineer; to dominate; to lord it over; to be master of” and in the Hiphil stem “to give power to” (BDB 1020 s.v. שָׁלַט) and “to grant” (HALOT 1522 s.v. שׁלט). God must grant a person the ability to enjoy the fruit of his labor, otherwise a person will not be able to enjoy his possessions and wealth. The ability to partake of the fruit of one’s labor and to find satisfaction and joy in it is a gift from God (e.g., Eccl 2:24-26; 3:13; 5:18 [19]; 9:7).
4 tn Heb “to eat of it.” The verb אָכַל (’akhal, “to eat”) functions as a metonymy of association, that is, the action of eating is associated with the enjoyment of the fruit of one’s labor (e.g., Eccl 2:24-26; 3:12-13, 22; 5:17-19; 8:15; 9:9).
5 tn The phrase “the fruit of his labor” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity.
6 tn Heb “a stranger.” The Hebrew expression אִיש נָכְרִי (’ish nokhri, “stranger”) sometimes refers not to a foreigner or someone that the person does not know, but simply to someone else other than the subject (e.g., Prov 27:2). In the light of 6:3-6, it might even refer to the man’s own heirs. The term is used as a synecdoche of species (foreigner for stranger) in the sense of someone else other than the subject: “someone else” (BDB 649 s.v. נָכְרִי 3).
7 tn Heb “eats.”
8 sn Instead, someone else enjoys it. A person may be unable to enjoy the fruit of his/her labor due to an unfortunate turn of events that robs a person of his possessions (5:13-14) or a miserly, lifelong hoarding of one’s wealth that robs him of the ability to enjoy what he has worked so hard to acquire (5:15-17). Qoheleth recommends the enjoyment of life and the fruit of one’s labor, as God enables (5:18-20). Unfortunately, the ability to enjoy the fruits of one’s labor is often thwarted by the obstacles described in 6:1-2 and 6:3-9.
9 tn Heb “an evil sickness.”
10 tn Heb “There is not a man who has mastery over the wind to restrain the wind.”
11 tn The word “his” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity.
12 tn Heb “There is no discharge in war.”
13 tn Heb “its owners.”
19 tn Heb “I returned and.” In the Hebrew idiom, “to return and do” means “to do again.”
20 tn Heb “under the sun.”
21 tn The term “always” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation (five times in this verse) for clarity.
22 tn Heb “bread.”
23 tn Heb “favor.”
24 tn Heb “happen to.”