9:15 However, a poor but wise man lived in the city, 1
and he could have delivered 2 the city by his wisdom,
but no one listened 3 to that poor man.
9:16 So I concluded that wisdom is better than might, 4
but a poor man’s wisdom is despised; no one ever listens 5 to his advice. 6
9:17 The words of the wise are heard in quiet,
more than the shouting of a ruler is heard 7 among fools.
9:18 Wisdom is better than weapons of war,
but one sinner can destroy much that is good.
9:2 Everyone shares the same fate 8 –
the righteous and the wicked,
the good and the bad, 9
the ceremonially clean and unclean,
those who offer sacrifices and those who do not.
What happens to the good person, also happens to the sinner; 10
what happens to those who make vows, also happens to those who are afraid to make vows.
1:16 I thought to myself, 11
“I have become much wiser 12 than any of my predecessors who ruled 13 over Jerusalem; 14
I 15 have acquired much wisdom and knowledge.” 16
21:22 The wise person 17 can scale 18 the city of the mighty
and bring down the stronghold 19 in which they trust. 20
24:5 A wise warrior 21 is strong, 22
and a man of knowledge makes his strength stronger;
1:9 For this reason we also, from the day we heard about you, 23 have not ceased praying for you and asking God 24 to fill 25 you with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, 1:10 so that you may live 26 worthily of the Lord and please him in all respects 27 – bearing fruit in every good deed, growing in the knowledge of God, 1:11 being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might for the display of 28 all patience and steadfastness, joyfully
1 tn Heb “was found in it”; the referent (the city) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
2 tn Or “he delivered.” The verb וּמִלַּט (umillat, from מָלַט, malat, “to deliver”) is functioning either in an indicative sense (past definite action: “he delivered”) or in a modal sense (past potential: “he could have delivered”). The literal meaning of זָכַר (zakhar, “to remember”) in the following line harmonizes with the indicative: “but no one remembered that poor man [afterward].” However, the modal is supported by v. 16: “A poor man’s wisdom is despised; no one ever listens to his advice.” This approach must nuance זָכַר (“to remember”) as “[no one] listened to [that poor man].” Most translations favor the indicative approach: “he delivered” or “he saved” (KJV, RSV, NRSV, NAB, ASV, NASB, MLB, NIV); however, some adopt the modal nuance: “he might have saved” (NEB, NJPS, NASB margin).
3 tn Heb “remembered.”
4 tn Or “power.”
5 tn The participle form נִשְׁמָעִים (nishma’im, Niphal participle mpl from שָׁמַע, “to listen”) is used verbally to emphasize a continual, durative, gnomic action.
6 tn Heb “his words are never listened to.”
7 tn The phrase “is heard” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity and smoothness. Note its appearance in the previous line.
8 tn Heb “all things just as to everyone, one fate.”
9 tc The MT reads simply “the good,” but the Greek versions read “the good and the bad.” In contrast to the other four pairs in v. 2 (“the righteous and the wicked,” “those who sacrifice, and those who do not sacrifice,” “the good man…the sinner,” and “those who make vows…those who are afraid to make vows”), the MT has a triad in the second line: לַטּוֹב וְלַטָּהוֹר וְלַטָּמֵא (lattov vÿlattahor vÿlattame’, “the good, and the clean, and the unclean”). This reading in the Leningrad Codex (ca.
10 tn Heb “As is the good (man), so is the sinner.”
11 tn Heb “I spoke, I, with my heart.”
12 tn Heb “I, look, I have made great and increased wisdom.” The expression הִגְדַּלְתִּי וְהוֹסַפְתִּי (higdalti vÿhosafti) is a verbal hendiadys; it means that Qoheleth had become the wisest man in the history of Jerusalem.
13 tn The phrase “who ruled” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity.
14 map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.
15 tn Heb “my heart” (לִבִּי, libbi). The term “heart” is a metonymy of part for the whole (“my heart” = myself).
16 tn Heb “My heart has seen much wisdom and knowledge.”
17 tn Heb “The wise [one/man].”
18 tn The Qal perfect tense of עָלָה (’alah) functions in a potential nuance. Wisdom can be more effectual than physical strength.
19 sn In a war the victory is credited not so much to the infantry as to the tactician who plans the attack. Brilliant strategy wins wars, even over apparently insuperable odds (e.g., Prov 24:5-6; Eccl 9:13-16; 2 Cor 10:4).
20 tn Heb “and bring down the strength of its confidence.” The word “strength” is a metonymy of adjunct, referring to the place of strength, i.e., “the stronghold.” “Confidence” is a genitive of worth; the stronghold is their confidence, it is appropriate for the confidence of the city.
21 sn The twenty-first saying seems to be concerned with the need for wisdom in warfare. In line with that, the word used here is גֶּבֶר (gever), “mighty man; hero; warrior.”
22 tn The expression בַּעוֹז (ba’oz) employs a beth essentiae, meaning he “is strong,” not “in strength.”
23 tn Or “heard about it”; Grk “heard.” There is no direct object stated in the Greek (direct objects were frequently omitted in Greek when clear from the context). A direct object is expected by an English reader, however, so most translations supply one. Here, however, it is not entirely clear what the author “heard”: a number of translations supply “it” (so KJV, NASB, NRSV; NAB “this”), but this could refer back either to (1) “your love in the Spirit” at the end of v. 8, or (2) “your faith in Christ Jesus and the love that you have for all the saints” (v. 4). In light of this uncertainty, other translations supply “about you” (TEV, NIV, CEV, NLT). This is preferred by the present translation since, while it does not resolve the ambiguity entirely, it does make it less easy for the English reader to limit the reference only to “your love in the Spirit” at the end of v. 8.
24 tn The term “God” does not appear in the Greek text, but the following reference to “the knowledge of his will” makes it clear that “God” is in view as the object of the “praying and asking,” and should therefore be included in the English translation for clarity.
25 tn The ἵνα (Jina) clause has been translated as substantival, indicating the content of the prayer and asking. The idea of purpose may also be present in this clause.
26 tn The infinitive περιπατῆσαι (peripathsai, “to walk, to live, to live one’s life”) is best taken as an infinitive of purpose related to “praying” (προσευχόμενοι, proseucomenoi) and “asking” (αἰτούμενοι, aitoumenoi) in v. 9 and is thus translated as “that you may live.”
27 tn BDAG 129 s.v. ἀρεσκεία states that ἀρεσκείαν (areskeian) refers to a “desire to please εἰς πᾶσαν ἀ. to please (the Lord) in all respects Col 1:10.”
28 tn The expression “for the display of” is an attempt to convey in English the force of the Greek preposition εἰς (eis) in this context.