Ecclesiastes 2:12

Wisdom is Better than Folly

2:12 Next, I decided to consider ¹  wisdom, as well as foolish behavior and ideas. ² 

For what more can the king’s successor do than what the king ³  has already done?

Ecclesiastes 2:15

2:15 So I thought to myself, “The fate of the fool will happen even to me! ⁴ 

Then what did I gain by becoming so excessively ⁵  wise?” ⁶ 

So I lamented to myself, ⁷ 

“The benefits of wisdom ⁸  are ultimately ⁹  meaningless!”

Ecclesiastes 3:22

3:22 So I perceived there is nothing better than for people ¹⁰  to enjoy their work, ¹¹ 

because that is their ¹²  reward;

for who can show them what the future holds? ¹³ 

Ecclesiastes 5:11

5:11 When someone’s ¹⁴  prosperity ¹⁵  increases, those who consume it also increase;

so what does its owner ¹⁶  gain, except that he gets to see it with his eyes? ¹⁷ 

Ecclesiastes 5:16

5:16 This is another misfortune: ¹⁸ 

Just as he came, so will he go.

What did he gain from toiling for the wind?

Ecclesiastes 6:10

The Futile Way Life Works

6:10 Whatever has happened was foreordained, ¹⁹ 

and what happens to a person ²⁰  was also foreknown.

It is useless for him to argue with God about his fate

because God is more powerful than he is. ²¹ 

Ecclesiastes 7:10

7:10 Do not say, “Why were the old days better than these days?” ²² 

for it is not wise to ask that. ²³ 

Ecclesiastes 10:14

10:14 yet a fool keeps on babbling. ²⁴ 

No one knows what will happen;

who can tell him what will happen in the future? ²⁵ 

Ecclesiastes 11:2

11:2 Divide your merchandise ²⁶  among seven or even eight ²⁷  investments, ²⁸ 

for you do not know ²⁹  what calamity ³⁰  may happen on earth.

[2:12]  ¹ tn Heb “and I turned to see.”

[2:12]  ² sn See 1:17 for the same expression. Throughout 2:1-11, Qoheleth evaluated the merits of merrymaking (2:1-3), accomplishing grand things (2:4-6), amassing great wealth (2:7-8), and secular acquisitions and accomplishments (2:9-10). Now, he reflects on the benefit in life in living wisely and not giving oneself over to frivolous self-indulgence.

[2:12]  ³ tc The Hebrew text reads עָשׂוּהוּ (’asuhu, “they have done it”; Qal perfect 3rd person masculine plural from עָשַׂה [’asah] + 3rd person masculine singular suffix). However, many medieval Hebrew mss read עָשָׂהוּ (’asahu, “he has done”; Qal perfect 3rd person masculine singular from עָשַׂה), reflected in the LXX and Syriac. The error was caused by dittography (ו, vav, written twice) or by orthographic confusion between ו and ה (hey) in הוו (confused as והוו) at the end of 2:12 and beginning of 2:13. The 3rd person masculine singular referent of עָשׂוּהוּ “what he has done” is the king, that is, Qoheleth himself. The referent (the king) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[2:15]  ⁴ tn The emphatic use of the 1st person common singular personal pronoun אֲנִי (’ani, “me”) with the emphatic particle of association גַּם (gam, “even, as well as”; HALOT 195–96 s.v. גַּם) appears to emphasize the 1st person common singular suffix on יִקְרֵנִי (yiqreni) “it will befall [or “happen to”] me” (Qal imperfect 3rd person masculine singular + 1st person common singular suffix from קָרָה, qarah, “to befall; to happen to”); see GKC 438 §135.e. Qoheleth laments not that the fate of the wise man is the same as that of the fool, but that even he himself – the wisest man of all – would fare no better in the end than the most foolish.

[2:15]  ⁵ tn The adjective יוֹתֵר (yoter) means “too much; excessive,” e.g., 7:16 “excessively righteous” (HALOT 404 s.v. יוֹתֵר 2; BDB 452 s.v. יוֹתֵר). It is derived from the root יֶתֶר (yeter, “what is left over”); see HALOT 452 s.v. I יֶתֶר. It is related to the verbal root יתר (Niphal “to be left over”; Hiphil “to have left over”); see HALOT 451–52 s.v. I יתר. The adjective is related to יִתְרוֹן (yitron, “advantage; profit”) which is a key-term in this section, creating a word-play: The wise man has a relative “advantage” (יִתְרוֹן) over the fool (2:13-14a); however, there is no ultimate advantage because both share the same fate, i.e., death (2:14b-15a). Thus, Qoheleth’s acquisition of tremendous wisdom (1:16; 2:9) was “excessive” because it exceeded its relative advantage over folly: it could not deliver him from the same fate as the fool. He had striven to obtain wisdom, yet it held no ultimate advantage.

[2:15]  ⁶ tn Heb “And why was I wise (to) excess?” The rhetorical question is an example of negative affirmation, expecting a negative answer: “I gained nothing!” (E. W. Bullinger, Figures of Speech, 949).

[2:15]  ⁷ tn Heb “So I said in my heart.”

[2:15]  ⁸ tn Heb “and also this,” referring to the relative advantage of wisdom over folly.

[2:15]  ⁹ tn The word “ultimately” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity.

[3:22]  ⁷ tn Heb “man.”

[3:22]  ⁸ tn Heb “his works.”

[3:22]  ⁹ tn Heb “his.”

[3:22]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “what will be after him” (cf. KJV, NASB, NIV) or “afterward” (cf. NJPS).

[5:11]  ¹⁰ tn The word “someone’s” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity.

[5:11]  ¹¹ tn The term טוֹבָה (tovah, “good”) connotes “prosperity” (Deut 23:7; Job 9:25; 21:25; Ps 106:5; Lam 3:17; Eccl 4:8; 5:10, 17; 6:3, 6; 7:14; 9:18; Neh 2:10; Sir 6:11; 41:13); cf. HALOT 372 s.v. טוֹבָה 2. The related term טוֹב (tov, “good”) connotes “prosperity” as well (Prov 11:10; Job 20:21; 21:16); cf. HALOT 372 s.v. טוֹבָה 1.b. Here, it refers to the possessions and wealth a person acquires as the fruit of his labors. This nuance is well reflected in several English versions: “The more a man gains, the more there are to spend it” (Moffatt); “When riches multiply, so do those who live off them” (NEB); “As his substance increase, so do those who consume it” (NJPS); and “Where there are great riches, there are also many to devour them” (NAB). The line does not describe the economic law of “supply and demand,” as some versions seem to imply, e.g., “As goods increase, so do those who consume them” (NIV); “When goods increase, those who eat them increase” (NRSV); cf. also KJV, ASV, RSV, MLB, NASB.

[5:11]  ¹² tn The form is plural in the Hebrew text, but the plural is one of intensification; it is used here to emphasize the owner’s authority over his wealth. See GKC 399 §124.i. See v 13 as well.

[5:11]  ¹³ tn The rhetorical question is an example of negative affirmation, expecting a negative answer: “There is no ultimate advantage!” (see E. W. Bullinger, Figures of Speech, 947-48).

[5:16]  ¹³ tn See the note on the phrase “depressing misfortune” in v. 13.

[6:10]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “already its name was called.”

[6:10]  ¹⁷ tn Or “and what a person (Heb “man”) is was foreknown.”

[6:10]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “he cannot contend with the one who is more powerful than him.” The referent of the “the one who is more powerful than he is” (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity. The words “with God about his fate” have been added for clarity as well.

[7:10]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “these.” “Days” does not appear in the Hebrew text as second time, but is supplied in the translation for smoothness.

[7:10]  ²⁰ tn Heb “It is not from wisdom that you ask about this.”

[10:14]  ²² tn Heb “and the fool multiplies words.” This line is best taken as the third line of a tricola encompassing 10:13-14a (NASB, NRSV, NJPS, Moffatt) rather than the first line of a tricola encompassing 10:14 (KJV, NEB, RSV, NAB, ASV, NIV). Several versions capture the sense of this line well: “a fool prates on and on” (Moffatt) and “Yet the fool talks and talks!” (NJPS).

[10:14]  ²³ tn Heb “after him”; or “after he [dies].”

[11:2]  ²⁵ tn Heb “give a portion.”

[11:2]  ²⁶ tn The phrase “seven or eight” is a graded numerical saying depicting an indefinite plurality: “The collocation of a numeral with the next above it is a rhetorical device employed in numerical sayings to express a number, which need not, or cannot, be more exactly specified. It must be gathered from the context whether such formulae are intended to denote only an insignificant number (e.g., Is 17:6 “two” or at the most “three”) or a considerable number (e.g., Mi 5:4). Sometimes, however, this juxtaposition serves to express merely an indefinite total, without the collateral idea of intensifying the lower by means of the higher number” (GKC 437 §134.s). Examples: “one” or “two” (Deut 32:30; Jer 3:14; Job 33:14; 40:5; Ps 62:12); “two” or “three” (2 Kgs 9:32; Isa 17:6; Hos 6:2; Amos 4:8; Sir 23:16; 26:28; 50:25); “three” or “four” (Jer 36:23; Amos 1:3-11; Prov 21:19; 30:15, 18; Sir 26:5); “four” or “five” (Isa 17:6); “six” or “seven” (Job 5:19; Prov 6:16); “seven” or “eight” (Mic 5:4; Eccl 11:2).

[11:2]  ²⁷ tn The word “investments” is not in the Hebrew text; it is added here for clarity. This line is traditionally understood as an exhortation to be generous to a multitude of people (KJV, NAB, ASV, NASB, RSV, NRSV, NIV, NJPS); however, it is better taken as shrewd advice to not commit all one’s possessions to a single venture (A. Cohen, The Five Megilloth [SoBB], 181). D. R. Glenn (“Ecclesiastes,” BKCOT, 1003) writes: “In view of the possibility of disaster, a person should make prudent investments in numerous ventures rather than put all his ‘eggs in one basket’ (e.g., Gen 32:7-8 for a practical example of this advice).” Several translations reflect this: “Divide your merchandise among seven ventures, eight maybe” (NEB); “Take shares in several ventures” (Moffatt).

[11:2]  ²⁸ sn The phrase you do not know is repeated throughout this section (11:2, 5-6). Human beings are ignorant of the future. This should motivate a person to invest their financial resources wisely (11:1-3) and to work diligently (11:4-6).

[11:2]  ²⁹ tn The term רעה (lit. “evil”) refers to calamity (e.g., Eccl 5:13; 7:14; 9:12).