Ecclesiastes 1:9

1:9 What exists now ¹  is what will be, ² 

and what has been done is what will be done;

there is nothing truly new on earth. ³ 

Ecclesiastes 1:11

1:11 No one remembers the former events, ⁴ 

nor will anyone remember ⁵  the events that are yet to happen; ⁶ 

they will not be remembered by the future generations. ⁷ 

Ecclesiastes 1:17

1:17 So I decided ⁸  to discern the benefit of ⁹  wisdom and knowledge over ¹⁰  foolish behavior and ideas; ¹¹ 

however, I concluded ¹²  that even ¹³  this endeavor ¹⁴  is like ¹⁵  trying to chase the wind! ¹⁶ 

Ecclesiastes 2:17

2:17 So I loathed ¹⁷  life ¹⁸  because what

happens ¹⁹  on earth ²⁰  seems awful to me;

for all the benefits of wisdom ²¹  are futile – like chasing the wind.

Ecclesiastes 12:13

12:13 Having heard everything, I have reached this conclusion: ²² 

Fear God and keep his commandments,

because this is the whole duty ²³  of man.

[1:9]  ¹ tn Heb “what is.” The Hebrew verbal form is a perfect. Another option is to translate, “What has been.” See the next line, which speaks of the past and the future.

[1:9]  ² tn The Hebrew verbal form is an imperfect.

[1:9]  ³ tn Heb “under the sun.”

[1:11]  ⁴ tn Heb “There is no remembrance of former things.” The term רִאשֹׁנִים (ri’shonim, “former things”) is the masculine plural form of the adjective רִאשׁוֹן (ri’shon,“former, first, chief”; BDB 911 s.v. רִאשׁוֹן). When used in a temporal sense, the singular denotes “former” in time (BDB 911 s.v. 1.a) or “first” in time (BDB 911 s.v. 2.a). The plural form is only used to denote “former” in time: “former persons,” i.e., ancestors, men of old (e.g., Lev 26:45; Deut 19:14; Job 18:20; Isa 61:4; Ps 79:8; Sirach 4:16) or “former things,” i.e., past events (e.g., Isa 41:22; 42:9; 43:9, 18; 46:9; 48:3). See BDB 911 s.v. 1.a, which suggests that this usage refers to “former persons.” This approach is adopted by several translations: “men of old” (NEB, NAB, NIV, Moffatt), “people of long ago” (NRSV), “earlier ones” (NJPS), and “former generations” (ASV). On the other hand, this Hebrew phrase may be nuanced “former things” or “earlier things” (HALOT 1168 s.v. ן(וֹ)רִאשֹׁ). This is adopted by some translations: “former things” (KJV, RSV) and “earlier things” (NASB). Although future generations are mentioned in 1:11, what they will not remember is the past events. The context of 1:3-11 focuses on human achievement, that is, former things.

[1:11]  ⁵ tn The term “remember” is not in the Hebrew text, but has been supplied in the translation for clarity.

[1:11]  ⁶ tn Heb “and also of the last things which will be.” The term אַחֲרֹנִים (’akharonim, “the future things”) is the masculine plural form of the adjective אַחֲרוֹן (’akharon) which means “coming after” (BDB 30 s.v. אַחֲרוֹן) or “at the back” (HALOT 36 s.v. אַחֲרוֹן). When used in a temporal sense, it may mean (1) “later one; (2) “in the future”; (3) “last”; or (4) “at the last” or “in the end” (HALOT 36 s.v. 2). The plural form may be used in reference to (1) future generations, e.g., Deut 29:21; Pss 48:14; 78:4, 6; 102:19; Job 18:20; Eccl 4:16, or (2) future events, e.g., Neh 8:18 (BDB 30 s.v.). BDB 30 s.v. b suggests that this usage refers to “future generations,” while HALOT 36 s.v. 2.c suggests future events. As mentioned in the previous note, it probably refers to future events rather than future generations.

[1:11]  ⁷ tn Heb “There will not be any remembrance of them among those who come after.”

[1:17]  ⁷ tn Heb “gave my heart,” or “set my mind.” See v. 13.

[1:17]  ⁸ tn The phrase “the benefit of” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity.

[1:17]  ⁹ tn The word “over” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity.

[1:17]  ¹⁰ tn The terms שִׂכְלוּת (sikhlut, “folly”) and הוֹלֵלוֹת (holelot, “foolishness”) are synonyms. The term שִׂכְלוּת (alternate spelling of סִכְלוּת, sikhlut) refers to foolish behavior (HALOT 755 s.v. סִכְלוּת), while הוֹלֵלוֹת refers to foolish ideas and mental blindness (HALOT 242 s.v. הוֹלֵלוֹת). Qoheleth uses these terms to refer to foolish ideas and self-indulgent pleasures (e.g., Eccl 2:2-3, 12-14; 7:25; 9:3; 10:1, 6, 13).

[1:17]  ¹¹ tn Heb “I know.”

[1:17]  ¹² tn The term גַּם (gam, “even”) is a particle of association and emphasis (HALOT 195 s.v. גַּם).

[1:17]  ¹³ tn This term does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity.

[1:17]  ¹⁴ tn This term does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity.

[1:17]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “striving of wind.”

[2:17]  ¹⁰ tn Or “I hated.”

[2:17]  ¹¹ tn The term הַחַיִּים (hakhayyim, “life”) functions as a metonymy of association, that is, that which is associated with life, that is, the profitlessness and futility of human secular achievement.

[2:17]  ¹² tn Heb “the deed that is done.” The root עָשָׂה (’asah, “to do”) is repeated in הַמַּעֲשֶׂה שֶׁנַּעֲשָׂה (hamma’aseh shenna’asah, “the deed that is done”) for emphasis. Here, the term “deed” does not refer to human accomplishment, as in 2:1-11, but to the fact of death that destroys any relative advantage of wisdom over folly (2:14a-16). Qoheleth metaphorically describes death as a “deed” that is “done” to man.

[2:17]  ¹³ tn Heb “under the sun.”

[2:17]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “all,” referring here to the relative advantage of wisdom.

[12:13]  ¹³ tn Heb “The end of the matter, everything having been heard.”

[12:13]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “This is all men”; or “This is the whole of man.” The phrase זֶה כָּל־הָאָדָם (zeh kol-ha’adam, “this is all men”) features rhetorical elision of a key word. The ambiguity over the elided word has led to no less than five basic approaches: (1) “this is the whole duty of man” (KJV, ASV, RSV, NAB, NIV); (2) “this is the duty of all men” (MLB, ASV margin, RSV margin); (3) “this applies to all men” (NASB, NJPS); (4) “this is the whole duty of all men” (NRSV, Moffatt); and (5) “there is no more to man than this” (NEB). The four-fold repetition of כֹּל (kol, “all”) in 12:13-14 suggests that Qoheleth is emphasizing the “bottom line,” that is, the basic duty of man is simply to fear and obey God: After “all” (כֹּל) has been heard in the book, his conclusion is that the “whole” (כֹּל) duty of man is to obey God because God will bring “all” (כֹּל) acts into judgment, including “all” (כֹּל) that is hidden, whether good or bad. See D. Barthélemy, ed., Preliminary and Interim Report on the Hebrew Old Testament Text Project, 3:596.