Ecclesiastes 1:18

1:18 For with great wisdom comes ¹  great frustration;

whoever increases his ²  knowledge merely ³  increases his ⁴  heartache.

Ecclesiastes 2:9

2:9 So ⁵  I was far wealthier ⁶  than all my predecessors in Jerusalem,

yet I maintained my objectivity: ⁷ 

Ecclesiastes 1:16

Futility of Secular Wisdom

1:16 I thought to myself, ⁸ 

“I have become much wiser ⁹  than any of my predecessors who ruled ¹⁰  over Jerusalem; ¹¹ 

I ¹²  have acquired much wisdom and knowledge.” ¹³ 

Ecclesiastes 3:14

God’s Sovereignty

3:14 I also know that whatever God does will endure forever;

nothing can be added to it, and nothing taken away from it.

God has made it this way, so that men will fear him.

[1:18]  ¹ tn This term does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity.

[1:18]  ² tn This term does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity.

[1:18]  ³ tn This term does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity.

[1:18]  ⁴ tn This term does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity.

[2:9]  ⁵ tn The vav prefixed to וְגָדַלְתִּי (vÿgadalti, vav + Qal perfect first common singular from גָּדַל, gadal, “to be great; to increase”) functions in a final summarizing sense, that is, it introduces the concluding summary of 2:4-9.

[2:9]  ⁶ tn Heb “I became great and I surpassed” (וְהוֹסַפְתִּי וְגָדַלְתִּי, vÿgadalti vÿhosafti). This is a verbal hendiadys in which the second verb functions adverbially, modifying the first: “I became far greater.” Most translations miss the hendiadys and render the line in a woodenly literal sense (KJV, ASV, RSV, NEB, NRSV, NAB, NASB, MLB, Moffatt), while only a few recognize the presence of hendiadys here: “I became greater by far” (NIV) and “I gained more” (NJPS).

[2:9]  ⁷ tn Heb “yet my wisdom stood for me,” meaning he retained his wise perspective despite his great wealth.

[1:16]  ⁹ tn Heb “I spoke, I, with my heart.”

[1:16]  ¹⁰ 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]  ¹¹ tn The phrase “who ruled” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity.

[1:16]  ¹² map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[1:16]  ¹³ tn Heb “my heart” (לִבִּי, libbi). The term “heart” is a metonymy of part for the whole (“my heart” = myself).

[1:16]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “My heart has seen much wisdom and knowledge.”