Ecclesiastes 9:11-18

Wisdom Cannot Protect against Seemingly Chance Events

9:11 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.

Most People Are Not Receptive to Wise Counsel

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 

Wisdom versus Fools, Sin, and Folly

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.

[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.

[9:11]  ⁴ tn Heb “bread.”

[9:11]  ⁵ tn Heb “favor.”

[9:11]  ⁶ tn Heb “happen to.”

[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]  ²¹ tn Or “power.”

[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.