Ecclesiastes 3:9

Man is Ignorant of God’s Timing

3:9 What benefit can a worker ¹  gain from his toil? ² 

Ecclesiastes 8:4

8:4 Surely the king’s authority ³  is absolute; ⁴ 

no one can say ⁵  to him, “What are you doing?”

Ecclesiastes 7:2

7:2 It is better to go to a funeral ⁶ 

than a feast. ⁷ 

For death ⁸  is the destiny ⁹  of every person, ¹⁰ 

and the living should ¹¹  take this ¹²  to heart.

[3:9]  ¹ tn The term הָעוֹשֶׂה (ha’oseh, article + Qal active participle ms from עָשַׂה, ’asah, “to do”) functions substantively (“the worker”); see BDB 794 s.v. עָשַׂה II.1. This is a figurative description of man (metonymy of association), and plays on the repetition of עָשַׂה (verb: “to do,” noun: “work”) throughout the passage. In the light of God’s orchestration of human affairs, man’s efforts cannot change anything. It refers to man in general with the article functioning in a generic sense (see IBHS 244-45 §13.5.1f; Joüon 2:511 §137.m).

[3:9]  ² sn This rhetorical question is an example of negative affirmation, expecting a negative answer: “Man gains nothing from his toil!” (see E. W. Bullinger, Figures of Speech, 949-51). Any advantage that man might gain from his toil is nullified by his ignorance of divine providence.

[8:4]  ³ tn Heb “word.”

[8:4]  ⁴ tn Heb “supreme.”

[8:4]  ⁵ tn Heb “Who can say…?”

[7:2]  ⁵ tn Heb “house of mourning.” The phrase refers to a funeral where the deceased is mourned.

[7:2]  ⁶ tn Heb “house of drinking”; or “house of feasting.” The Hebrew noun מִשְׁתֶּה (mishteh) can denote (1) “feast; banquet,” occasion for drinking-bouts (1 Sam 25:36; Isa 5:12; Jer 51:39; Job 1:5; Esth 2:18; 5:14; 8:17; 9:19) or (2) “drink” (exilic/postexilic – Ezra 3:7; Dan 1:5, 8, 16); see HALOT 653 s.v. מִשְׁתֶּה 4; BDB 1059 s.v. שָׁתַה.

[7:2]  ⁷ tn Heb “it”; the referent (“death”) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[7:2]  ⁸ tn Heb “the end.” The noun סוֹף (sof) literally means “end; conclusion” (HALOT 747 s.v. סוֹף 1; BDB 693 s.v. סוֹף). It is used in this context in reference to death, as the preceding phrase “house of mourning” (i.e., funeral) suggests.

[7:2]  ⁹ tn Heb “all men” or “every man.”

[7:2]  ¹⁰ tn The imperfect tense verb יִתֵּן, yitten (from נָתָן, natan, “to give”) functions in a modal sense, denoting obligation, that is, the subject’s obligatory or necessary conduct: “should” or “ought to” (see R. J. Williams, Hebrew Syntax, 31-32, §172; IBHS 508-9 §31.4g).

[7:2]  ¹¹ tn The word “this” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for smoothness.