Ecclesiastes 9:10

9:10 Whatever you find to do with your hands, ¹ 

do it with all your might,

because there is neither work nor planning nor knowledge nor wisdom in the grave, ² 

the place where you will eventually go. ³ 

Proverbs 14:8

14:8 The wisdom of the shrewd person ⁴  is to discern ⁵  his way,

but the folly of fools is deception. ⁶ 

Luke 14:28-32

14:28 For which of you, wanting to build a tower, doesn’t sit down ⁷  first and compute the cost ⁸  to see if he has enough money to complete it? 14:29 Otherwise, ⁹  when he has laid ¹⁰  a foundation and is not able to finish the tower, ¹¹  all who see it ¹²  will begin to make fun of ¹³  him. 14:30 They will say, ¹⁴  ‘This man ¹⁵  began to build and was not able to finish!’ ¹⁶  14:31 Or what king, going out to confront another king in battle, will not sit down ¹⁷  first and determine whether he is able with ten thousand to oppose ¹⁸  the one coming against him with twenty thousand? 14:32 If he cannot succeed, ¹⁹  he will send a representative ²⁰  while the other is still a long way off and ask for terms of peace. ²¹ 

[9:10]  ¹ tn Heb “Whatever your hand finds to do.”

[9:10]  ² tn Heb “Sheol.”

[9:10]  ³ tn Or “where you are about to go.”

[14:8]  ⁴ tn Or “the prudent [person]” (cf. KJV, NASB, NIV).

[14:8]  ⁵ tn The Hiphil infinitive construct denotes purpose. Those who are shrewd will use it to give careful consideration to all their ways.

[14:8]  ⁶ tn The word means “deception,” but some suggest “self-deception” here (W. McKane, Proverbs [OTL], 466; and D. W. Thomas, “Textual and Philological Notes on Some Passages in the Book of Proverbs,” VTSup 3 [1955]: 286); cf. NLT “fools deceive themselves.” The parallelism would favor this, but there is little support for it. The word usually means “craft practiced on others.” If the line is saying the fool is deceitful, there is only a loose antithesis between the cola.

[14:28]  ⁷ tn The participle καθίσας (kaqisas) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[14:28]  ⁸ tn The first illustration involves checking to see if enough funds exist to build a watchtower. Both ψηφίζω (yhfizw, “compute”) and δαπάνη (dapanh, “cost”) are economic terms.

[14:29]  ⁹ tn Grk “to complete it, lest.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation and ἵνα μήποτε ({ina mhpote, “lest”) has been translated as “Otherwise.”

[14:29]  ¹⁰ tn The participle θέντος (qentos) has been taken temporally.

[14:29]  ¹¹ tn The words “the tower” are not in the Greek text, but are implied. Direct objects were frequently omitted in Greek when clear from the context.

[14:29]  ¹² tn The word “it” is not in the Greek text, but is implied. Direct objects were frequently omitted in Greek when clear from the context.

[14:29]  ¹³ tn Or “mock,” “ridicule.” The person who did not plan ahead becomes an object of joking and ridicule.

[14:30]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “make fun of him, saying.”

[14:30]  ¹⁵ sn The phrase this man is often used in Luke in a derogatory sense; see “this one” and expressions like it in Luke 5:21; 7:39; 13:32; 23:4, 14, 22, 35.

[14:30]  ¹⁶ sn The failure to finish the building project leads to embarrassment (in a culture where avoiding public shame was extremely important). The half completed tower testified to poor preparation and planning.

[14:31]  ¹⁷ tn The participle καθίσας (kaqisa") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[14:31]  ¹⁸ tn On the meaning of this verb see also L&N 55.3, “to meet in battle, to face in battle.”

[14:32]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “And if not.” Here δέ (de) has not been translated; “succeed” is implied and has been supplied in the translation for clarity.

[14:32]  ²⁰ tn Grk “a messenger.”

[14:32]  ²¹ sn This image is slightly different from the former one about the tower (vv. 28-30). The first part of the illustration (sit down first and determine) deals with preparation. The second part of the illustration (ask for terms of peace) has to do with recognizing who is stronger. This could well suggest thinking about what refusing the “stronger one” (God) might mean, and thus constitutes a warning. Achieving peace with God, the more powerful king, is the point of the illustration.