Ecclesiastes 1:8

1:8 All this ¹  monotony ²  is tiresome; no one can bear ³  to describe it: ⁴ 

The eye is never satisfied with seeing, nor is the ear ever content ⁵  with hearing.

Ecclesiastes 2:14

2:14 The wise man can see where he is going, ⁶  but the fool walks in darkness.

Yet I also realized that the same fate ⁷  happens to them both. ⁸ 

Ecclesiastes 4:3

4:3 But better than both is the one who has not been born ⁹ 

and has not seen the evil things that are done on earth. ¹⁰ 

Ecclesiastes 6:9

6:9 It is better to be content with ¹¹  what the eyes can see ¹² 

than for one’s heart always to crave more. ¹³ 

This continual longing ¹⁴  is futile – like ¹⁵  chasing the wind.

Ecclesiastes 8:16

Limitations of Human Wisdom

8:16 When I tried ¹⁶  to gain ¹⁷  wisdom

and to observe the activity ¹⁸  on earth –

even though it prevents anyone from sleeping day or night ¹⁹  –

[1:8]  ¹ tn The word “this” is not in Hebrew, but is supplied in the translation for clarity.

[1:8]  ² tn Heb “the things.” The Hebrew term דְּבָרִים (dÿvarim, masculine plural noun from דָּבָר, davar) is often used to denote “words,” but it can also refer to actions and events (HALOT 211 s.v. דָּבָר 3.a; BDB 183 s.v. דָּבָר IV.4). Here, it means “things,” as is clear from the context: “What has been is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done” (1:9). Here דְּבָרִים can be nuanced “occurrences” or even “[natural] phenomena.”

[1:8]  ³ tn Heb “is able.”

[1:8]  ⁴ tn The Hebrew text has no stated object. The translation supplies “it” for stylistic reasons and clarification.

[1:8]  ⁵ tn The term מָלֵא (male’, “to be filled, to be satisfied”) is repeated in 1:7-8 to draw a comparison between the futility in the cycle of nature and human secular accomplishments: lots of action, but no lasting effects. In 1:7 אֵינֶנּוּ מָלֵא (’enennu male’, “it is never filled”) describes the futility of the water cycle: “All the rivers flow into the sea, yet the sea is never filled.” In 1:8 וְלֹא־תִמָּלֵא (vÿlo-timmale’, “it is never satisfied”) describes the futility of human labor: “the ear is never satisfied with hearing.”

[2:14]  ⁶ tn Heb “has his eyes in his head.” The term עַיִן (’ayin, “eye”) is used figuratively in reference to mental and spiritual faculties (BDB 744 s.v. עַיִן 3.a). The term “eye” is a metonymy of cause (eye) for effect (sight and perception).

[2:14]  ⁷ sn The common fate to which Qoheleth refers is death.

[2:14]  ⁸ tn The term כֻּלָּם (kullam, “all of them”) denotes “both of them.” This is an example of synecdoche of general (“all of them”) for the specific (“both of them,” that is, both the wise man and the fool).

[4:3]  ¹¹ tn The word “born” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity.

[4:3]  ¹² tn Heb “under the sun.”

[6:9]  ¹⁶ tn The phrase “to be content with” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity.

[6:9]  ¹⁷ tn The expression מַרְאֵה עֵינַיִם (mar’eh ’enayim, “the seeing of the eyes”) is a metonymy of cause (i.e., seeing an object) for effect (i.e., being content with what the eyes can see); see E. W. Bullinger, Figures of Speech, 552-54.

[6:9]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “the roaming of the soul.” The expression מֵהֲלָךְ־נָפֶשׁ (mehalakh-nafesh, “the roaming of the soul”) is a metonymy for unfulfilled desires. The term “soul” (נֶפֶשׁ, nefesh) is used as a metonymy of association for man’s desires and appetites (BDB 660 s.v. נֶפֶשׁ 5.c; 6.a). This also involves the personification of the roving appetite as “roving” (מֵהֲלָךְ); see BDB 235 s.v. הָלַךְ II.3.f; 232 I.3.

[6:9]  ¹⁹ tn The phrase “continual longing” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity.

[6:9]  ²⁰ tn The term “like” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity and smoothness.

[8:16]  ²¹ tn Heb “I applied my heart.”

[8:16]  ²² tn Heb “to know.”

[8:16]  ²³ tn Heb “and to see the business which is done.”

[8:16]  ²⁴ tn Heb “for no one sees sleep with their eyes either day or night.” The construction גַם …כִּי (ki… gam) expresses a concessive sense: “even though” (e.g., Ps 23:4; Prov 22:6; Eccl 4:14; Isa 1:15; Lam 3:8; Hos 8:10; 9:16); cf. HALOT 196 s.v. גַּם 9; BDB 169 s.v. גַּם 6; 473 s.v. כִּי 2.c.