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 2:11

2:11 Yet when I reflected on everything I had accomplished ⁴ 

and on all the effort that I had expended to accomplish it, ⁵ 

I concluded: ⁶  “All these ⁷  achievements and possessions ⁸  are ultimately ⁹  profitless ¹⁰  –

like chasing the wind!

There is nothing gained ¹¹  from them ¹²  on earth.” ¹³ 

Ecclesiastes 4:10

4:10 For if they fall, one will help his companion up,

but pity ¹⁴  the person who falls down and has no one to help him up.

Ecclesiastes 9:5

9:5 For the living know that they will die, but the dead do not know anything;

they have no further reward – and even the memory of them disappears. ¹⁵ 

[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.”

[2:11]  ⁴ tn Heb “all my works that my hands had done.”

[2:11]  ⁵ tn Heb “and all the toil with which I had toiled in doing it.” The term עָמַל (’amal, “toil”) is repeated to emphasize the burden and weariness of the labor which Qoheleth exerted in his accomplishments.

[2:11]  ⁶ tn Heb “Behold!”

[2:11]  ⁷ tn The term הַכֹּל (hakkol, “everything” or “all”) must be qualified and limited in reference to the topic that is dealt with in 2:4-11. This is an example of synecdoche of general for the specific; the general term “all” is used only in reference to the topic at hand. This is clear from the repetition of כֹּל (kol, “everything”) and (“all these things”) in 2:11.

[2:11]  ⁸ tn The phrase “achievements and possessions” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in translation for clarity.

[2:11]  ⁹ tn The term “ultimately” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity.

[2:11]  ¹⁰ tn The parallelism with יִתְרוֹן (yitron), “profit; advantage; gain”) indicates that הֶבֶל (hevel) should be nuanced as “profitless, fruitless, futile” in this context. While labor offers some relative and temporal benefits, such as material acquisitions and the enjoyment of the work of one’s hands, there is no ultimate benefit to be gained from secular human achievement.

[2:11]  ¹¹ tn The noun יִתְרוֹן (yitron, “profit”) has a two-fold range of meanings: (1) “what comes of [something]; result” (Eccl 1:3; 2:11; 3:9; 5:8, 15; 7:12; 10:10) and (2) “profit; advantage” (Eccl 2:13; 10:11); see HALOT 452–53 s.v. יִתְרוֹי. It is derived from the noun יֶתֶר (yeter, “what is left behind; remainder”; HALOT 452 s.v. I יֶתֶר). The related verb יָתַר (yatar) denotes “to be left over; to survive” (Niphal) and “to have left over” (Hiphil); see HALOT 451–52 s.v. יתר. When used literally, יִתְרוֹן refers to what is left over after expenses (gain or profit); when used figuratively, it refers to what is advantageous or of benefit. Though some things have relative advantage over others (e.g., light over darkness, and wisdom over folly in 2:13), there is no ultimate profit in man’s labor due to death.

[2:11]  ¹² tn The phrase “from them” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity.

[2:11]  ¹³ tn Heb “under the sun.”

[4:10]  ⁷ tn Heb “woe to him.”

[9:5]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “for their memory is forgotten.” The pronominal suffix is an objective genitive, “memory of them.”