19:5 Like a bridegroom it emerges 1 from its chamber; 2
like a strong man it enjoys 3 running its course. 4
9:11 Again, 5 I observed this on the earth: 6
the race is not always 7 won by the swiftest,
the battle is not always won by the strongest;
prosperity 8 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 9 always come to those with the most knowledge –
for time and chance may overcome 10 them all.
12:5 The Lord answered, 11
“If you have raced on foot against men and they have worn you out,
how will you be able to compete with horses?
And if you feel secure only 12 in safe and open country, 13
how will you manage in the thick undergrowth along the Jordan River? 14
1 tn The participle expresses the repeated or regular nature of the action.
2 tn The Hebrew noun חֻפָּה (khufah, “chamber”) occurs elsewhere only in Isa 4:5 and Joel 2:16 (where it refers to the bedroom of a bride and groom).
3 tn The imperfect verbal form draws attention to the regularity of the action.
4 tn Heb “[on] a path.”
5 tn Heb “I returned and.” In the Hebrew idiom, “to return and do” means “to do again.”
6 tn Heb “under the sun.”
7 tn The term “always” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation (five times in this verse) for clarity.
8 tn Heb “bread.”
9 tn Heb “favor.”
10 tn Heb “happen to.”
11 tn The words “The
12 tn Some commentaries and English versions follow the suggestion given in HALOT 116 s.v. II בָּטַח that a homonym meaning “to stumble, fall down” is involved here and in Prov 14:16. The evidence for this homonym is questionable because both passages can be explained on other grounds with the usual root.
13 tn Heb “a land of tranquility.” The expression involves a figure of substitution where the feeling engendered is substituted for the conditions that engender it. For the idea see Isa 32:18. The translation both here and in the following line is intended to bring out the contrast implicit in the emotive connotations connected with “peaceful country” and “thicket along the Jordan.”
14 tn Heb “the thicket along the Jordan.” The word “River” is not in the Hebrew text, but has been supplied in the translation for clarity.