Discovery BoxEcclesiastes 9:11--10:11
Context9:11 Again, 1 I observed this on the earth: 2
the race is not always 3 won by the swiftest,
the battle is not always won by the strongest;
prosperity 4 does not always belong to those who are the wisest,
wealth does not always belong to those who are the most discerning,
nor does success 5 always come to those with the most knowledge –
for time and chance may overcome 6 them all.
9:12 Surely, no one 7 knows his appointed time! 8
Like fish that are caught in a deadly 9 net, and like birds that are caught in a snare –
just like them, all people 10 are ensnared 11 at an unfortunate 12 time that falls upon them suddenly.
9:13 This is what I also observed about wisdom on earth, 13
and it is a great burden 14 to me:
9:14 There was once 15 a small city with a few men in it,
and a mighty king attacked it, besieging 16 it and building strong 17 siege works against it.
9:15 However, a poor but wise man lived in the city, 18
and he could have delivered 19 the city by his wisdom,
but no one listened 20 to that poor man.
9:16 So I concluded that wisdom is better than might, 21
but a poor man’s wisdom is despised; no one ever listens 22 to his advice. 23
9:17 The words of the wise are heard in quiet,
more than the shouting of a ruler is heard 24 among fools.
9:18 Wisdom is better than weapons of war,
but one sinner can destroy much that is good.
10:1 One dead fly 25 makes the perfumer’s ointment give off a rancid stench, 26
so a little folly can outweigh 27 much wisdom. 28
10:2 A wise person’s good sense protects him, 29
but a fool’s lack of sense leaves him vulnerable. 30
10:3 Even when a fool walks along the road he lacks sense, 31
and shows 32 everyone what a fool he is. 33
10:4 If the anger 34 of the ruler flares up 35 against you, do not resign 36 from your position, 37
for a calm 38 response 39 can undo 40 great offenses.
10:5 I have seen another 41 misfortune 42 on the earth: 43
It is an error a ruler makes. 44
10:6 Fools 45 are placed in many positions of authority, 46
while wealthy men sit in lowly positions.
10:7 I have seen slaves 47 on horseback
and princes walking on foot 48 like slaves.
10:8 One who digs a pit may 49 fall into it,
and one who breaks through a wall may be bitten by a snake. 50
10:9 One who quarries stones may be injured by them;
one who splits logs may be endangered by them.
10:10 If an iron axhead 51 is blunt and a workman 52 does not sharpen 53 its edge, 54
he must exert a great deal of effort; 55
so wisdom has the advantage of giving success.
[9:11] 1 tn Heb “I returned and.” In the Hebrew idiom, “to return and do” means “to do again.”
[9:11] 2 tn Heb “under the sun.”
[9:11] 3 tn The term “always” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation (five times in this verse) for clarity.
[9:12] 7 tn Heb “man.” The term is used here in a generic sense and translated “no one.”
[9:12] 8 tn Heb “time.” BDB 773 s.v. עֵת 2.d suggests that עֵת (’et, “time”) refers to an “uncertain time.” On the other hand, HALOT 901 s.v. עֵת 6 nuances it as “destined time,” that is, “no one knows his destined time [i.e., hour of destiny].” It is used in parallelism with זְמָן (zÿman, “appointed time; appointed hour”) in 3:1 (HALOT 273 s.v. זְמָן; BDB 273 s.v. זְמָן). Eccl 3:9-15 teaches God’s sovereignty over the appointed time-table of human events. Similarly, Qoheleth here notes that no one knows what God has appointed in any situation or time. This highlights the limitations of human wisdom and human ability, as 9:11 stresses.
[9:12] 9 tn Heb “bad, evil.” The moral connotation hardly fits here. The adjective would seem to indicate that the net is the instrument whereby the fish come to ruin.
[9:12] 10 tn Heb “the sons of man.”
[9:12] 11 tn The Masoretes pointed the consonantal form יוקשׁים (“are ensnared”) as יוּקָשִׁים (yuqashim, Pual participle mpl from ַָיקֹשׁ, yaqosh, “to be ensnared”). This is an unusual form for a Pual participle: (1) The characteristic doubling of the middle consonant was omitted due to the lengthening of the preceding short vowel from יֻקָּשִׁים to יוּקָשִׁים (GKC 74 §20.n and 143 §52.s), and (2) The characteristic prefix מְ (mem) is absent, as in a few other Pual participles, e.g., Exod 3:2; Judg 13:8; 2 Kgs 2:10; Isa 30:24; 54:11 (GKC 143 §52.s). On the other hand, the consonant form יוקשים might actually be an example of the old Qal passive participle which dropped out of Hebrew at an early stage, and was frequently mistaken by the Masoretes as a Pual form (e.g., Jer 13:10; 23:32) (GKC 143 §52.s). Similarly, the Masoretes pointed אכל as אֻכָּל (’ukkal, Pual perfect 3rd person masculine singular “he was eaten”); however, it probably should be pointed אֻכַל (’ukhal, old Qal passive perfect 3rd person masculine singular “he was eaten”) because אָכַל (’akhal) only occurs in the Qal (see IBHS 373-74 §22.6a).
[9:12] 12 tn Heb “evil.” The term רָעָה (ra’ah, “evil; unfortunate”) is repeated in v. 12 in the two parts of the comparison: “fish are caught in an evil (רָעָה) net” and “men are ensnared at an unfortunate (רָעָה) time.”
[9:13] 13 tn Heb “under the sun.”
[9:13] 14 tn The term “burden” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity.
[9:14] 15 tn The verbs in this section function either as past definite actions (describing a past situation) or as hypothetical past actions (describing an imaginary hypothetical situation for the sake of illustration). The LXX uses subjunctives throughout vv. 14-15 to depict the scenario as a hypothetical situation: “Suppose there was a little city, and a few men [lived] in it; and there should come against it a great king, and surround it, and build great siege-works against it; and should find in it a poor wise man, and he should save the city through his wisdom; yet no man would remember that poor man.”
[9:14] 16 tn The two perfect tense verbs וְסָבַב (vÿsavav, “he besieged”) and וּבָנָה (uvanah, “he built”) may be taken in a complementary sense, qualifying the action of the main perfect tense verb וּבָא (uva’, “he attacked it”).
[9:14] 17 tn The root גדל (“mighty; strong; large”) is repeated in 9:13b for emphasis: “a mighty (גָדוֹל, gadol) king…building strong (גְדֹלִים, gÿdolim) siege works.” This repetition highlights the contrast between the vast power and resources of the attacking king, and the meager resources of the “little” (קְטַנָּה, qÿtannah) city with “few” (מְעָט, mÿ’at) men in it to defend it.
[9:15] 18 tn Heb “was found in it”; the referent (the city) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[9:15] 19 tn Or “he delivered.” The verb וּמִלַּט (umillat, from מָלַט, malat, “to deliver”) is functioning either in an indicative sense (past definite action: “he delivered”) or in a modal sense (past potential: “he could have delivered”). The literal meaning of זָכַר (zakhar, “to remember”) in the following line harmonizes with the indicative: “but no one remembered that poor man [afterward].” However, the modal is supported by v. 16: “A poor man’s wisdom is despised; no one ever listens to his advice.” This approach must nuance זָכַר (“to remember”) as “[no one] listened to [that poor man].” Most translations favor the indicative approach: “he delivered” or “he saved” (KJV, RSV, NRSV, NAB, ASV, NASB, MLB, NIV); however, some adopt the modal nuance: “he might have saved” (NEB, NJPS, NASB margin).
[9:15] 20 tn Heb “remembered.”
[9:16] 22 tn The participle form נִשְׁמָעִים (nishma’im, Niphal participle mpl from שָׁמַע, “to listen”) is used verbally to emphasize a continual, durative, gnomic action.
[9:16] 23 tn Heb “his words are never listened to.”
[9:17] 24 tn The phrase “is heard” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity and smoothness. Note its appearance in the previous line.
[10:1] 25 tn Heb “flies of death.” The plural form of “flies” (זְבוּבֵי, zÿvuve) may be taken as a plural of number (“dead flies”) or a distributive plural referring to one little fly (“one dead fly”). The singular form of the following verb and the parallelism support the latter: “one little fly…so a little folly.”
[10:1] 26 tn The verb בָּאַשׁ (ba’ash) means “to cause to stink; to turn rancid; to emit a stinking odor” (e.g., Exod 16:24; Ps 38:6; Eccl 10:1); see HALOT 107 s.v. באשׁ 1; BDB 93 s.v. בָּאַשׁ. It is related to the noun בְּאשׁ (bÿ’osh, “stench”; Isa 34:3; Joel 2:20; Amos 4:10); cf. HALOT 107 s.v. באשׁ; BDB 93 s.v. בְּאשׁ. The verbal root נבע means “to ferment” or “to emit; to pour out; to bubble; to belch forth; to cause to gush forth” (HALOT 665 s.v. נבע; BDB 615 s.v. נָבַע). The two terms יַבְאִישׁ יַבִּיעַ (yav’ish yabbia’, “to stink” and “to ferment”) create a hendiadys: a figurative expression in which two terms are used to connote one idea: “makes a rancid stench.” Several versions treat this as a hendiadys (Old Greek, Symmachus, Targum, Vulgate); however, the Syriac treats them as separate verbs. Most translations treat these as a hendiadys: “Dead flies cause the ointment of the apothecary to send forth a stinking savor” (KJV); “Dead flies make a perfumer’s oil stink” (NASB); “dead flies give perfume a bad smell” (NIV); “Dead flies make the perfumer’s ointment give off an evil odor” (RSV); Dead flies make the perfumer’s ointment give off a foul odor” (NRSV); “Dead flies cause a perfumer’s perfume to send forth a stink” (YLT); “Dead flies make the perfumer’s ointment give off a foul odor” (NRSV). Others render both separately: “Dead flies make the perfumer’s sweet ointment rancid and ferment” (NEB); “Dead flies turn the perfumer’s ointment fetid and putrid” (NJPS).
[10:1] 27 tn Heb “carries more weight than”; or “is more precious than.” The adjective יָקָר (yaqar) denotes “precious; valuable; costly” (HALOT 432 s.v. יָקָר 2) or “weighty; influential” (BDB 430 s.v. יָקָר 4). The related verb denotes “to carry weight,” that is, to be influential (HALOT 432 s.v. יָקָר 2). The idea is not that a little folly is more valuable than much wisdom; but that a little folly can have more influence than great wisdom. It only takes one little mistake to ruin a life of great wisdom. The English versions understand it this way: “so a little foolishness is weightier than wisdom and honor” (NASB); “so a little folly outweighs massive wisdom” (NJPS); “so a little folly outweighs an abundance of wisdom” (MLB); “so a little folly outweighs wisdom and honor” (RSV, NRSV, NIV); “so can a little folly make wisdom lose its worth” (NEB); “so a little folly annuls great wisdom” (ASV); “a single slip can ruin much that is good” (NAB); “so doth a little folly him that is in reputation for wisdom and honor” (KJV). The LXX rendered the line rather freely: τιμιον ὀλιγον σοφιἀ ὑπερ δοξαν ἀφροσυνης μεγαλην (“a little wisdom is more precious than great glory of folly”). This does not accurately represent the Hebrew syntax.
[10:1] 28 tn The MT reads מֵחָכְמָה מִכָּבוֹד (mekhokhmah mikkavod, “more than wisdom, more than honor”), but several medieval Hebrew
[10:2] 29 tn Heb “a wise man’s heart is at his right hand.” The phrase “right hand” is a Hebrew idiom for the place of protection (e.g., Pss 16:8; 110:5; 121:5). In ancient warfare, the shield of the warrior on one’s right-hand side protected one’s right hand. Qoheleth’s point is that wisdom provides protection (e.g., Eccl 7:12).
[10:2] 30 tn Heb “and the heart of a fool is at his left hand.” The fool lacks the protection of wisdom which is at the right-hand side of the wise man (see note on “right hand” in the previous line). The wise man’s heart (i.e., good sense) protects him, but the fool is always getting into trouble.
[10:3] 31 tn Heb “he lacks his heart.”
[10:3] 32 tn Heb “he tells everyone.”
[10:3] 33 sn A fool’s lack of wisdom is obvious to everyone, even when he is engaged in the simple, ordinary actions of life.
[10:4] 36 tn Heb “Do not leave.”
[10:4] 37 tn Heb “your place.” The term מָקוֹם (maqom, “place”) denotes a position, post or office (1 Kgs 20:24; Eccl 8:3; 10:4; BDB 879 s.v. מָקוֹם 1.c).
[10:4] 38 tn The noun II מַרְפֵּא (marpe’, “calmness”) is used in reference to keeping one’s composure with a peaceful heart (Prov 14:30) and responding to criticism with a gentle tongue (Prov 15:4); cf. HALOT 637 s.v. II מַרְפֵּא. It is used in reference to keeping one’s composure in an emotionally charged situation (BDB 951 s.v. מַרְפֵּא 2). The term “calmness” is used here as a metonymy of association, meaning “calm response.”
[10:4] 39 tn The term “response” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarification (see preceding note on the word “calm”).
[10:4] 40 tn The verbal root נוח means “to leave behind; to leave untouched” (HALOT 680 s.v. I נוח 2) in general, and in this passage, “to undo” or “to allay” offenses (HALOT 680 s.v. I נוח 3; BDB 629 s.v. נוּחַ 5) or “to avoid” offenses (BDB 629 נוּחַ 5). The point is either that (1) a composed response can calm or appease the anger of the ruler, or (2) a calm heart will help one avoid great sins that would offend the king. The root נוח (“to rest”) is repeated, creating a wordplay: “Do not leave” (אַל־תַּנַּח, ’al-tannakh) and “to avoid; to allay” (יַנִּיחַ, yanniakh). Rather than resigning (i.e., leaving), composure can appease a king (i.e., cause the anger of the king to leave).
[10:5] 41 tn The term “another” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation to indicate that this is not the first “misfortune” described by the Teacher. See 5:13, 16; 6:1-2.
[10:5] 43 tn Heb “under the sun.”
[10:5] 44 tn Heb “like an error that comes forth from the presence of a ruler.”
[10:6] 46 tn Heb “high places.”
[10:7] 47 tn Or “servants,” so KJV, ASV, NCV, NLT (also in the following line).
[10:7] 48 tn Heb “upon the earth.”
[10:8] 49 tn The four imperfect verbs in vv. 8-9 may be nuanced as indicatives (“will…”) or in a modal sense denoting possibility (“may…”). The LXX rendered them with indicatives, as do many English translations (KJV, RSV, NRSV, ASV, MLB, YLT, NJPS). However, it is better to take them in a modal sense (NEB, NAB, NASB, NIV, NCV, CEV, NLT). One who digs a pit does not necessarily fall into it, but he may under the right conditions.
[10:8] 50 tn Heb “a serpent will bite him.” The clause “he who breaks through a wall” (וּפֹרֵץ גָּדֵר, uforets gader) is a nominative absolute – the casus pendens is picked up by the resumptive pronoun in the following clause “a serpent will bite him” (יִשְּׁכֶנּוּ נָחָשׁ, yishÿkhennu nakhash). This construction is used for rhetorical emphasis (see IBHS 76-77 §4.7c).
[10:10] 51 tn The term “ax head” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity. The preceding noun “iron” functions as a metonymy of material (i.e., iron) for the object with which it is associated (i.e., ax head).
[10:10] 52 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the workman) is implied, and has been specified in the translation for clarity
[10:10] 53 tn The verb קלל in the Pilpel means “to sharpen; to make a blade sharp” (HALOT 1104 s.v. קלל 1).This denominative verb is derived from the rare noun II קָלַל “smooth; shiny” (referring to bronze; Ezek 1:7; Dan 10:6; HALOT 1105 s.v.). Sharpening the blade or head of a bronze ax will make it smooth and shiny. It is not derived from I קָלַל (qalal) “to treat light” or the noun I קְלָלָה (qÿlalah) “curse.” Nor is it related to I קָלַל “to shake” (Ezek 21:26); cf. HALOT 1104. BDB 886 s.v. קָלַל 2 erroneously relates it to I קָלַל, suggesting “to whet” or “to move quickly to and fro.”
[10:10] 55 tn Heb “strength.” The term וַחֲיָלִים (vakhayalim, conjunction + plural noun from חַיִל, khayil, “strength; efficiency”) is an example of a plural of intensification (GKC 397-98 §124.e). The point is that it is a waste of a great deal of strength and energy. If a person is not smart, he will have to use a lot of energy and waste his efficiency.
[10:11] 56 tn Heb “without charming.”
[10:11] 57 tn Heb “the master of the tongue.”
[10:11] 58 tn Heb “has no profit”; ASV, NAB, NRSV “there is no advantage.”
