Ecclesiastes 5:17

5:17 Surely, he ate in darkness every day of his life, ¹ 

and he suffered greatly with sickness and anger.

Ecclesiastes 9:4

Better to Be Poor but Alive than Rich but Dead

9:4 But whoever is among ²  the living ³  has hope;

a live dog is better than a dead lion.

[5:17]  ¹ tn Heb “all his days.” The phrase “of his life” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity.

[9:4]  ² tn The consonantal text (Kethib) has “is chosen, selected.” The translation follows the marginal reading (Qere), “is joined.” See BDB 288 s.v. חָבַר Pu.

[9:4]  ³ tn Heb “all the living.”