Ecclesiastes 12:9

Concluding Epilogue: Qoheleth’s Advice is Wise

12:9 Not only was the Teacher wise, ¹ 

but he also taught knowledge to the people;

he carefully evaluated ²  and arranged ³  many proverbs.

Jeremiah 32:33

32:33 They have turned away from me instead of turning to me. ⁴  I tried over and over again ⁵  to instruct them, but they did not listen and respond to correction. ⁶ 

John 18:20

18:20 Jesus replied, ⁷  “I have spoken publicly to the world. I always taught in the synagogues ⁸  and in the temple courts, ⁹  where all the Jewish people ¹⁰  assemble together. I ¹¹  have said nothing in secret.

[12:9]  ¹ sn Eccl 12:9-12 fits the pattern of a concluding colophon that draws from a conventional stock of ancient Near Eastern scribal practices and vocabulary. See M. A. Fishbane, Biblical Interpretation, 29–31.

[12:9]  ² tn Heb “he weighed and studied.” The verbs וְאִזֵּן וְחִקֵּר (vÿ’izzen vekhiqqer, “he weighed and he explored”) form a hendiadys (a figurative expression in which two separate terms used in combination to convey a single idea): “he studiously weighed” or “carefully evaluated.” The verb וְאִזֵּן (conjunction + Piel perfect 3rd person masculine singular from II אָזַן (’azan) “to weigh; to balance”) is related to the noun מֹאזֵן (mo’zen) “balances; scales” used for weighing money or commercial items (e.g., Jer 32:10; Ezek 5:1). This is the only use of the verb in the OT. In this context, it means “to weigh” = “to test; to prove” (BDB 24 s.v. מאזן) or “to balance” (HALOT 27 II אָזַן). Cohen suggests, “He made an examination of the large number of proverbial sayings which had been composed, testing their truth and worth, to select those which he considered deserving of circulation” (A. Cohen, The Five Megilloth [SoBB], 189).

[12:9]  ³ tn The verb תָּקַן (taqan, “to make straight”) connotes “to put straight” or “to arrange in order” (HALOT 1784 s.v. תקן; BDB 1075 s.v. תָּקַן).This may refer to Qoheleth’s activity in compiling a collection of wisdom sayings in an orderly manner, or writing the wisdom sayings in a straightforward, direct manner.

[32:33]  ⁴ tn Heb “they have turned [their] backs to me, not [their] faces.” Compare the same idiom in 2:27.

[32:33]  ⁵ tn For the idiom involved here see the translator’s note on 7:13. The verb that introduces this clause is a Piel infinitive absolute which is functioning in place of the finite verb (see, e.g., GKC 346 §113.ff and compare usage in Jer 8:15; 14:19. This grammatical point means that the versions cited in BHS fn a may not be reading a different text after all, but may merely be interpreting the form as syntactically equivalent to a finite verb as the present translation has done.).

[32:33]  ⁶ tn Heb “But they were not listening so as to accept correction.”

[18:20]  ⁷ tn Grk “Jesus answered him.”

[18:20]  ⁸ sn See the note on synagogue in 6:59.

[18:20]  ⁹ tn Grk “in the temple.”

[18:20]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “the Jews.” Here the phrase refers to the Jewish people generally, for whom the synagogues and the temple courts in Jerusalem were important public gathering places. See also the note on the phrase “Jewish religious leaders” in v. 12.

[18:20]  ¹¹ tn Grk “And I.” The conjunction καί (kai, “and”) has not been translated here in keeping with the tendency of contemporary English style to use shorter sentences.