Ecclesiastes 6:9-12

6:9 It is better to be content with ¹  what the eyes can see ² 

than for one’s heart always to crave more. ³ 

This continual longing ⁴  is futile – like ⁵  chasing the wind.

The Futile Way Life Works

6:10 Whatever has happened was foreordained, ⁶ 

and what happens to a person ⁷  was also foreknown.

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

because God is more powerful than he is. ⁸ 

6:11 The more one argues with words, the less he accomplishes. ⁹ 

How does that benefit him? ¹⁰ 

6:12 For no one knows what is best for a person during his life ¹¹  –

during the few days of his fleeting life –

for ¹²  they pass away ¹³  like a shadow.

Nor can anyone tell him what the future will hold for him on earth. ¹⁴ 

[6:9]  ¹ tn The phrase “to be content with” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity.

[6:9]  ² tn The expression מַרְאֵה עֵינַיִם (mar’eh ’enayim, “the seeing of the eyes”) is a metonymy of cause (i.e., seeing an object) for effect (i.e., being content with what the eyes can see); see E. W. Bullinger, Figures of Speech, 552-54.

[6:9]  ³ tn Heb “the roaming of the soul.” The expression מֵהֲלָךְ־נָפֶשׁ (mehalakh-nafesh, “the roaming of the soul”) is a metonymy for unfulfilled desires. The term “soul” (נֶפֶשׁ, nefesh) is used as a metonymy of association for man’s desires and appetites (BDB 660 s.v. נֶפֶשׁ 5.c; 6.a). This also involves the personification of the roving appetite as “roving” (מֵהֲלָךְ); see BDB 235 s.v. הָלַךְ II.3.f; 232 I.3.

[6:9]  ⁴ tn The phrase “continual longing” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity.

[6:9]  ⁵ tn The term “like” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity and smoothness.

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

[6:10]  ⁷ tn Or “and what a person (Heb “man”) is was foreknown.”

[6:10]  ⁸ 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.

[6:11]  ¹¹ tn Heb “The more the words, the more the futility.”

[6:11]  ¹² tn Or “What benefit does man have [in that]?”

[6:12]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “For who knows what is good for a man in life?” The rhetorical question (“For who knows…?”) is a negative affirmation, expecting a negative answer: “For no one knows…!” (see E. W. Bullinger, Figures of Speech, 949-51). The translation renders this rhetorical device as a positive affirmation.

[6:12]  ¹⁷ tn The vav prefixed to וְיַעֲשֵׂם (vÿya’asem, conjunction + Qal imperfect 3rd person masculine singular from עָשַׂה, ’asah, “to do” + 3rd person masculine plural suffix) functions in an explanatory or epexegetical sense (“For …”).

[6:12]  ¹⁸ tn The 3rd person masculine plural suffix on the verb וְיַעֲשֵׂם (vÿya’asem, conjunction + Qal imperfect 3rd person masculine singular from ָָעשַׂה, ’asah, “to do” + 3rd person masculine plural suffix) refers to מִסְפַּר יְמֵי־חַיֵּי הֶבְלוֹ (mispar yÿme-khayye hevlo, “the few days of his fleeting life”). The suffix may be taken as an objective genitive: “he spends them [i.e., the days of his life] like a shadow” (HALOT 891 s.v. I ָָעשַׂה 8) or as a subjective genitive: “they [i.e., the days of his life] pass like a shadow” (BDB 795 s.v. ָָעשַׂה II.11).

[6:12]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “Who can tell the man what shall be after him under the sun?” The rhetorical question (“For who can tell him…?”) is a negative affirmation, expecting a negative answer: “For no one can tell him…!” (see E. W. Bullinger, Figures of Speech, 949-51). The translation renders this rhetorical device as a positive affirmation.