7:14 In times of prosperity 1 be joyful,
but in times of adversity 2 consider this:
God has made one as well as the other, 3
so that no one can discover what the future holds. 4
8:8 Just as no one has power over the wind to restrain it, 5
so no one has power over the day of his 6 death.
Just as no one can be discharged during the battle, 7
so wickedness cannot rescue the wicked. 8
8:16 When I tried 9 to gain 10 wisdom
and to observe the activity 11 on earth –
even though it prevents anyone from sleeping day or night 12 –
1 tn Heb “the day of good.”
2 tn Heb “the day of evil.”
3 tn Less probable renderings of this line are “God hath made the one side by side with the other” (ASV) and “God has set the one alongside the other” (NEB).
4 tn Heb “anything after him.” This line is misinterpreted by several versions: “that man may not find against him any just complaint” (Douay); “consequently, man may find no fault with Him” (NJPS); “so that man cannot find fault with him in anything” (NAB).
5 tn Heb “There is not a man who has mastery over the wind to restrain the wind.”
6 tn The word “his” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity.
7 tn Heb “There is no discharge in war.”
8 tn Heb “its owners.”
9 tn Heb “I applied my heart.”
10 tn Heb “to know.”
11 tn Heb “and to see the business which is done.”
12 tn Heb “for no one sees sleep with their eyes either day or night.” The construction גַם …כִּי (ki… gam) expresses a concessive sense: “even though” (e.g., Ps 23:4; Prov 22:6; Eccl 4:14; Isa 1:15; Lam 3:8; Hos 8:10; 9:16); cf. HALOT 196 s.v. גַּם 9; BDB 169 s.v. גַּם 6; 473 s.v. כִּי 2.c.