Ecclesiastes 1:16

Futility of Secular Wisdom

1:16 I thought to myself, ¹ 

“I have become much wiser ²  than any of my predecessors who ruled ³  over Jerusalem; ⁴ 

I ⁵  have acquired much wisdom and knowledge.” ⁶ 

Ecclesiastes 2:10

2:10 I did not restrain myself from getting whatever I wanted; ⁷ 

I did not deny myself anything that would bring me pleasure. ⁸ 

So all my accomplishments gave me joy; ⁹ 

this was my reward for all my effort. ¹⁰ 

Ecclesiastes 4:16

4:16 There is no end to all the people ¹¹  nor to the past generations, ¹² 

yet future generations ¹³  will not rejoice in him.

This also is profitless and like ¹⁴  chasing the wind.

Ecclesiastes 7:14

7:14 In times of prosperity ¹⁵  be joyful,

but in times of adversity ¹⁶  consider this:

God has made one as well as the other, ¹⁷ 

so that no one can discover what the future holds. ¹⁸ 

[1:16]  ¹ tn Heb “I spoke, I, with my heart.”

[1:16]  ² 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.

[1:16]  ³ tn The phrase “who ruled” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity.

[1:16]  ⁴ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[1:16]  ⁵ tn Heb “my heart” (לִבִּי, libbi). The term “heart” is a metonymy of part for the whole (“my heart” = myself).

[1:16]  ⁶ tn Heb “My heart has seen much wisdom and knowledge.”

[2:10]  ⁷ tn Heb “all which my eyes asked for, I did not withhold from them.”

[2:10]  ⁸ tn Heb “I did not refuse my heart any pleasure.” The term לִבִּי (libbi, “my heart”) is a synecdoche of part (i.e., heart) for the whole (i.e., whole person); see E. W. Bullinger, Figures of Speech, 648. The term is repeated twice in 2:10 for emphasis.

[2:10]  ⁹ tn Heb “So my heart was joyful from all my toil.”

[2:10]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “and this was my portion from all my toil.”

[4:16]  ¹³ tn Heb “the people.” The term עַם (’am, “people”) can refer to the subjects of the king (BDB 766 s.v. עַם 2).

[4:16]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “those who were before them.”

[4:16]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “those coming after.” The Hebrew term הָאַחֲרוֹנִים (ha’akharonim, “those coming after”) is derived from the preposition אַחַר (’akhar, “behind”). When used in reference to time, it refers to future generations (e.g., Deut 29:21; Pss 48:14; 78:4, 6; 102:19; Job 18:20; Eccl 1:11; 4:16); cf. HALOT 36 s.v. אַחַר B.3; BDB 30 s.v. אַחַר 2.b).

[4:16]  ¹⁶ tn The word “like” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity.

[7:14]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “the day of good.”

[7:14]  ²⁰ tn Heb “the day of evil.”

[7:14]  ²¹ 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).

[7:14]  ²² 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).