Ecclesiastes 8:17

8:17 then I discerned all that God has done: ¹ 

No one really comprehends what happens ²  on earth. ³ 

Despite all human ⁴  efforts to discover it, no one can ever grasp ⁵  it. ⁶ 

Even if ⁷  a wise person claimed ⁸  that he understood,

he would not really comprehend ⁹  it. ¹⁰ 

[8:17]  ¹ tn Heb “all the work of God.”

[8:17]  ² tn Heb “the work that is done.”

[8:17]  ³ tn Heb “under the sun.”

[8:17]  ⁴ tn Heb “his”; the referent (man, in a generic sense) has been specified in the translation as the adjective “human” for clarity.

[8:17]  ⁵ tn Heb “find.”

[8:17]  ⁶ tn The term “it” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for smoothness.

[8:17]  ⁷ tn The particle אִם (’im, “even if”) introduces the protasis in a real conditional clause (“If a wise man …”); see IBHS 636-37 §38.2d; R. J. Williams, Hebrew Syntax, 74, §453.

[8:17]  ⁸ tn The imperfect tense verb יֹאמַר (yo’mar, “to say”) functions in a modal sense, denoting possibility (see IBHS 508 §31.4e; R. J. Williams, Hebrew Syntax, 31, §169).

[8:17]  ⁹ tn Heb “he cannot find”; or “he does not find.”

[8:17]  ¹⁰ tn The term “it” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is an implied direct object and has been supplied in the translation for smoothness and stylistic reasons.