Ecclesiastes 3:10

3:10 I have observed the burden

that God has given to people ¹  to keep them occupied.

Ecclesiastes 4:2

4:2 So I considered ²  those who are dead and gone ³ 

more fortunate than those who are still alive. ⁴ 

Ecclesiastes 4:9

Labor is Beneficial When Its Rewards Are Shared

4:9 Two people are better than one,

because they can reap ⁵  more benefit ⁶  from their labor.

Ecclesiastes 4:13

Labor Motivated by Prestige-Seeking

4:13 A poor but wise youth is better than an old and foolish king

who no longer knows how to receive advice.

Ecclesiastes 6:1

Not Everyone Enjoys Life

6:1 Here is ⁷  another misfortune ⁸  that I have seen on earth, ⁹ 

and it weighs ¹⁰  heavily on people: ¹¹ 

Ecclesiastes 7:13

Wisdom Acknowledges God’s Orchestration of Life

7:13 Consider the work of God:

For who can make straight what he has bent?

Ecclesiastes 7:20

7:20 For ¹²  there is not one truly ¹³  righteous person on the earth

who continually does good and never sins.

Ecclesiastes 7:22

7:22 For you know in your own heart ¹⁴ 

that you also have cursed others many times.

Ecclesiastes 10:15

10:15 The toil of a stupid fool ¹⁵  wears him out, ¹⁶ 

because he does not even know the way to the city. ¹⁷ 

Ecclesiastes 12:2

12:2 before the sun and the light ¹⁸  of the moon and the stars grow dark,

and the clouds disappear ¹⁹  after the rain;

Ecclesiastes 12:7

12:7 and the dust returns to the earth as it was,

and the life’s breath ²⁰  returns to God who gave it.

[3:10]  ¹ tn Heb “the sons of man.”

[4:2]  ² tn The verb שָׁבַח (shavakh) has a two-fold range of meaning: (1) “to praise; to laud”; and (2) “to congratulate” (HALOT 1387 s.v. I שׁבח; BDB 986 s.v. II שָׁבַח). The LXX translated it as ἐπῄνεσα (ephnesa, “I praised”). The English versions reflect the range of possible meanings: “praised” (KJV, ASV, Douay); “congratulated” (MLB, NASB); “declared/judged/accounted/thought…fortunate/happy” (NJPS, NEB, NIV, RSV, NRSV, NAB).

[4:2]  ³ tn Heb “the dead who had already died.”

[4:2]  ⁴ tn Heb “the living who are alive.”

[4:9]  ³ tn Heb “they have.”

[4:9]  ⁴ tn Heb “a good reward.”

[6:1]  ⁴ tn The term יֵשׁ (yesh, “there is”) is often used in aphorisms to assert the existence of a particular situation that occurs sometimes. It may indicate that the situation is not the rule but that it does occur on occasion, and may be nuanced “sometimes” (Prov 11:24; 13:7, 23; 14:12; 16:25; 18:24; 20:15; Eccl 2:21; 4:8; 5:12; 6:1; 7:15 [2x]; 8:14 [3x]).

[6:1]  ⁵ tn The noun רָעָה (ra’ah, “evil”) probably means “misfortune” (HALOT 1263 s.v. רָעָה 4) or “injustice, wrong” (HALOT 1262 s.v. רָעָה 2.b); see, e.g., Eccl 2:17; 5:12, 15; 6:1; 10:5.

[6:1]  ⁶ tn Heb “under the sun.”

[6:1]  ⁷ tn The word “weighs” does not appear in Hebrew, but is added in the translation for smoothness.

[6:1]  ⁸ tn Heb “it is great upon men.” The phrase וְרַבָּה הִיא עַל־הָאָדָם (vÿrabbah hi’ ’al-ha’adam) is taken in two basic ways: (1) commonality: “it is common among men” (KJV, MLB), “it is prevalent among men” (NASB), “that is frequent among men” (Douay). (2) oppressiveness: “it lies heavy upon men” (RSV, NRSV), “it weighs heavily upon men” (NEB, NAB, NIV), “it presses heavily on men” (Moffatt), “it is heavy upon men” (ASV), and “a grave one it is for man” (NJPS). The preposition עַל (’al, “upon”) argues against the first in favor of the second; the notion of commonality would be denoted by the preposition בְּ (bet, “among”). The singular noun אָדָם (’adam) is used as a collective, denoting “men.” The article on הָאָדָם (ha’adam) is used in a generic sense referring to humankind as a whole; the generic article is often used with a collective singular (IBHS 244 §13.5.1f).

[7:20]  ⁵ tn The introductory particle כִּי (ki) is rendered variously: “for” (KJV); “indeed” (NASB); not translated (NIV); “for” (NJPS). The particle functions in an explanatory sense, explaining the need for wisdom in v. 19. Righteousness alone cannot always protect a person from calamity (7:15-16); therefore, something additional, such as wisdom, is needed. The need for wisdom as protection from calamity is particularly evident in the light of the fact that no one is truly righteous (7:19-20).

[7:20]  ⁶ tn The term “truly” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity. Qoheleth does not deny the existence of some people who are relatively righteous.

[7:22]  ⁶ tn Heb “your heart knows.”

[10:15]  ⁷ tn The plural form of הַכְּסִילִים (hakkÿsilim, from כְּסִיל, kÿsil, “fool”) denotes (1) plural of number: referring to several fools or (2) plural of habitual character or plural of intensity (referring to a single person characterized by a habitual or intense quality of foolishness). The latter is favored because the two verbs in 10:15 are both singular in form: “wearies him” (תְּיַגְּעֶנּוּ, tÿyaggÿ’ennu) and “he does [not] know” (לֹא־יָדַע, lo’-yada’); see GKC 440-41 §135.p. The article on הַכְּסִילִים is used in the generic sense.

[10:15]  ⁸ tn This line may be interpreted in one of three ways: (1) “the labor of fools wearies him because he did not know enough to go to a town,” referring to the labor of the peasants who had not been able to find a place in town where life was easier; (2) “the labor of the fools so wearies everyone of them (singular pronoun taken in a distributive sense) so much that he even does not know how to go to town,” that is, he does not even know how to do the easiest thing in the world; (3) “let the labor of fools so weary him that he may not even know how to go to town,” taking the verb as a jussive, describing the foolish man described in 10:12-14. See D. Barthélemy, ed., Preliminary and Interim Report on the Hebrew Old Testament Text Project, 3:592–93.

[10:15]  ⁹ tn Heb “he does not know to go to the city.”

[12:2]  ⁸ tn Heb “the light and the moon and the stars.” The phrase “the light and the moon” is a hendiadys (two separate terms denoting one idea) or perhaps even a hendiatris (three separate terms denoting one idea) for “the light of the moon and stars” (e.g., Gen 1:14).

[12:2]  ⁹ tn The verb שׁוּב (shuv, “to return”) here denotes “to desist” (HALOT 1430 s.v. שׁוּב 3). It pictures the disappearance of the clouds as a result of the precipitation of their contents.

[12:7]  ⁹ tn Or “spirit.” The likely referent is the life’s breath that originates with God. See Eccl 3:19, as well as Gen 2:7; 6:17; 7:22.