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 3:21

3:21 Who really knows if the human spirit ⁴  ascends upward,

and the animal’s spirit descends into the earth?

Ecclesiastes 9:15

9:15 However, a poor but wise man lived in the city, ⁵ 

and he could have delivered ⁶  the city by his wisdom,

but no one listened ⁷  to that poor 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.”

[3:21]  ⁴ tn Heb “the spirit of the sons of man.”

[9:15]  ⁷ tn Heb “was found in it”; the referent (the city) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[9:15]  ⁸ tn Or “he delivered.” The verb וּמִלַּט (umillat, from מָלַט, malat, “to deliver”) is functioning either in an indicative sense (past definite action: “he delivered”) or in a modal sense (past potential: “he could have delivered”). The literal meaning of זָכַר (zakhar, “to remember”) in the following line harmonizes with the indicative: “but no one remembered that poor man [afterward].” However, the modal is supported by v. 16: “A poor man’s wisdom is despised; no one ever listens to his advice.” This approach must nuance זָכַר (“to remember”) as “[no one] listened to [that poor man].” Most translations favor the indicative approach: “he delivered” or “he saved” (KJV, RSV, NRSV, NAB, ASV, NASB, MLB, NIV); however, some adopt the modal nuance: “he might have saved” (NEB, NJPS, NASB margin).

[9:15]  ⁹ tn Heb “remembered.”