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 7:28

7:28 What I have continually sought, I have not found;

I have found only ¹  one upright ²  man among a thousand,

but I have not found one upright woman among all of them.

Ecclesiastes 9:5-6

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. ³ 

9:6 What they loved, ⁴  as well as what they hated ⁵  and envied, ⁶  perished long ago,

and they no longer have a part in anything that happens on earth. ⁷ 

Ecclesiastes 12:9

Concluding Epilogue: Qoheleth’s Advice is Wise

12:9 Not only was the Teacher wise, ⁸ 

but he also taught knowledge to the people;

he carefully evaluated ⁹  and arranged ¹⁰  many proverbs.

[7:28]  ¹ tn The word “only” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for smoothness.

[7:28]  ² tn The word “upright” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation twice, here and in the following line, for clarity.

[9:5]  ¹ tn Heb “for their memory is forgotten.” The pronominal suffix is an objective genitive, “memory of them.”

[9:6]  ¹ tn Heb “their love.”

[9:6]  ² tn Heb “their hatred.”

[9:6]  ³ tn Heb “their envy.”

[9:6]  ⁴ tn Heb “under the sun.”

[12:9]  ¹ sn Eccl 12:9-12 fits the pattern of a concluding colophon that draws from a conventional stock of ancient Near Eastern scribal practices and vocabulary. See M. A. Fishbane, Biblical Interpretation, 29–31.

[12:9]  ² tn Heb “he weighed and studied.” The verbs וְאִזֵּן וְחִקֵּר (vÿ’izzen vekhiqqer, “he weighed and he explored”) form a hendiadys (a figurative expression in which two separate terms used in combination to convey a single idea): “he studiously weighed” or “carefully evaluated.” The verb וְאִזֵּן (conjunction + Piel perfect 3rd person masculine singular from II אָזַן (’azan) “to weigh; to balance”) is related to the noun מֹאזֵן (mo’zen) “balances; scales” used for weighing money or commercial items (e.g., Jer 32:10; Ezek 5:1). This is the only use of the verb in the OT. In this context, it means “to weigh” = “to test; to prove” (BDB 24 s.v. מאזן) or “to balance” (HALOT 27 II אָזַן). Cohen suggests, “He made an examination of the large number of proverbial sayings which had been composed, testing their truth and worth, to select those which he considered deserving of circulation” (A. Cohen, The Five Megilloth [SoBB], 189).

[12:9]  ³ tn The verb תָּקַן (taqan, “to make straight”) connotes “to put straight” or “to arrange in order” (HALOT 1784 s.v. תקן; BDB 1075 s.v. תָּקַן).This may refer to Qoheleth’s activity in compiling a collection of wisdom sayings in an orderly manner, or writing the wisdom sayings in a straightforward, direct manner.