Ecclesiastes 8:16

Limitations of Human Wisdom

8:16 When I tried ¹  to gain ²  wisdom

and to observe the activity ³  on earth –

even though it prevents anyone from sleeping day or night ⁴  –

Ecclesiastes 9:1

Everyone Will Die

9:1 So I reflected on all this, ⁵  attempting to clear ⁶  it all up.

I concluded that ⁷  the righteous and the wise, as well as their works, are in the hand of God;

whether a person will be loved or hated ⁸  –

no one knows what lies ahead. ⁹ 

[8:16]  ¹ tn Heb “I applied my heart.”

[8:16]  ² tn Heb “to know.”

[8:16]  ³ tn Heb “and to see the business which is done.”

[8:16]  ⁴ tn Heb “for no one sees sleep with their eyes either day or night.” The construction גַם …כִּי (ki… gam) expresses a concessive sense: “even though” (e.g., Ps 23:4; Prov 22:6; Eccl 4:14; Isa 1:15; Lam 3:8; Hos 8:10; 9:16); cf. HALOT 196 s.v. גַּם 9; BDB 169 s.v. גַּם 6; 473 s.v. כִּי 2.c.

[9:1]  ⁵ tn Heb “I laid all this to my heart.”

[9:1]  ⁶ tn The term וְלָבוּר (velavur, conjunction + Qal infinitive construct from בּוּר, bur, “to make clear”) denotes “to examine; to make clear; to clear up; to explain” (HALOT 116 s.v. בור; BDB 101 s.v. בּוּר). The term is related to Arabic baraw “to examine” (G. R. Driver, “Supposed Arabisms in the Old Testament,” JBL 55 [1936]: 108). This verb is related to the Hebrew noun בֹּר (bor, “cleanness”) and adjective בַּר (bar, “clean”). The term is used in the OT only in Ecclesiastes (1:13; 2:3; 7:25; 9:1). This use of the infinitive has a connotative sense (“attempting to”), and functions in a complementary sense, relative to the main verb.

[9:1]  ⁷ tn The words “I concluded that” do not appear in the Hebrew text, but are supplied in the translation for clarity.

[9:1]  ⁸ tn Heb “whether love or hatred.”

[9:1]  ⁹ tn Heb “man does not know anything before them.”