Ecclesiastes 9:15-18

9:15 However, a poor but wise man lived in the city, ¹ 

and he could have delivered ²  the city by his wisdom,

but no one listened ³  to that poor man.

9:16 So I concluded that wisdom is better than might, ⁴ 

but a poor man’s wisdom is despised; no one ever listens ⁵  to his advice. ⁶ 

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 ⁷  among fools.

9:18 Wisdom is better than weapons of war,

but one sinner can destroy much that is good.

Ecclesiastes 9:1

Everyone Will Die

9:1 So I reflected on all this, ⁸  attempting to clear ⁹  it all up.

I concluded that ¹⁰  the righteous and the wise, as well as their works, are in the hand of God;

whether a person will be loved or hated ¹¹  –

no one knows what lies ahead. ¹² 

Ecclesiastes 3:6-9

3:6 A time to search, and a time to give something up as lost; ¹³ 

a time to keep, and a time to throw away;

3:7 A time to rip, and a time to sew;

a time to keep silent, and a time to speak.

3:8 A time to love, and a time to hate;

a time for war, and a time for peace.

Man is Ignorant of God’s Timing

3:9 What benefit can a worker ¹⁴  gain from his toil? ¹⁵ 

Luke 16:8-9

16:8 The ¹⁶  master commended the dishonest ¹⁷  manager because he acted shrewdly. ¹⁸  For the people ¹⁹  of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their contemporaries ²⁰  than the people ²¹  of light. 16:9 And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by how you use worldly wealth, ²²  so that when it runs out you will be welcomed ²³  into the eternal homes. ²⁴ 

Luke 16:1

The Parable of the Clever Steward

16:1 Jesus ²⁵  also said to the disciples, “There was a rich man who was informed of accusations ²⁶  that his manager ²⁷  was wasting ²⁸  his assets.

Luke 6:17-19

The Sermon on the Plain

6:17 Then ²⁹  he came down with them and stood on a level place. ³⁰  And a large number ³¹  of his disciples had gathered ³²  along with ³³  a vast multitude from all over Judea, from ³⁴  Jerusalem, ³⁵  and from the seacoast of Tyre ³⁶  and Sidon. ³⁷  They came to hear him and to be healed ³⁸  of their diseases, 6:18 and those who suffered from ³⁹  unclean ⁴⁰  spirits were cured. 6:19 The ⁴¹  whole crowd was trying to touch him, because power ⁴²  was coming out from him and healing them all.

[9:15]  ¹ tn Heb “was found in it”; the referent (the city) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[9:15]  ² 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]  ³ tn Heb “remembered.”

[9:16]  ⁴ tn Or “power.”

[9:16]  ⁵ 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]  ⁶ tn Heb “his words are never listened to.”

[9:17]  ⁷ 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.

[9:1]  ⁸ tn Heb “I laid all this to my heart.”

[9:1]  ⁹ 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]  ¹⁰ tn The words “I concluded that” do not appear in the Hebrew text, but are supplied in the translation for clarity.

[9:1]  ¹¹ tn Heb “whether love or hatred.”

[9:1]  ¹² tn Heb “man does not know anything before them.”

[3:6]  ¹³ tn The term לְאַבֵּד (lÿ’abbed, Piel infinitive construct from אָבַד, ’avad, “to destroy”) means “to lose” (e.g., Jer 23:1) as the contrast with בָּקַשׁ (baqash, “to seek to find”) indicates (HALOT 3 s.v. I אבד; BDB 2 s.v. אבד 3). This is the declarative or delocutive-estimative sense of the Piel: “to view something as lost” (R. J. Williams, Hebrew Syntax, 28, §145; IBHS 403 §24.2g).

[3:9]  ¹⁴ tn The term הָעוֹשֶׂה (ha’oseh, article + Qal active participle ms from עָשַׂה, ’asah, “to do”) functions substantively (“the worker”); see BDB 794 s.v. עָשַׂה II.1. This is a figurative description of man (metonymy of association), and plays on the repetition of עָשַׂה (verb: “to do,” noun: “work”) throughout the passage. In the light of God’s orchestration of human affairs, man’s efforts cannot change anything. It refers to man in general with the article functioning in a generic sense (see IBHS 244-45 §13.5.1f; Joüon 2:511 §137.m).

[3:9]  ¹⁵ sn This rhetorical question is an example of negative affirmation, expecting a negative answer: “Man gains nothing from his toil!” (see E. W. Bullinger, Figures of Speech, 949-51). Any advantage that man might gain from his toil is nullified by his ignorance of divine providence.

[16:8]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “And the.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[16:8]  ¹⁷ sn Is the manager dishonest because of what he just did? Or is it a reference to what he had done earlier, described in v. 1? This is a difficult question, but it seems unlikely that the master, having fired the man for prior dishonesty, would now commend those same actions. It would also be unusual for Jesus to make that point of the story the example. Thus it is more likely the reference to dishonesty goes back to the earliest events, while the commendation is for the cleverness of the former manager reflected in vv. 5-7.

[16:8]  ¹⁸ sn Where this parable ends is debated: Does it conclude with v. 7, after v. 8a, after v. 8b, or after v. 9? Verse 8a looks as if it is still part of the story, with its clear reference to the manager, while 8b looks like Jesus’ application, since its remarks are more general. So it is most likely the parable stops after v. 8a.

[16:8]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “sons” (an idiom).

[16:8]  ²⁰ tn Grk “with their own generation.”

[16:8]  ²¹ tn Grk “sons.” Here the phrase “sons of light” is a reference to the righteous. The point is that those of the world often think ahead about consequences better than the righteous do.

[16:9]  ²² tn Grk “unrighteous mammon.” Mammon is the Aramaic term for wealth or possessions. The point is not that money is inherently evil, but that it is often misused so that it is a means of evil; see 1 Tim 6:6-10, 17-19. The call is to be generous and kind in its use. Zacchaeus becomes the example of this in Luke’s Gospel (19:1-10).

[16:9]  ²³ sn The passive refers to the welcome of heaven.

[16:9]  ²⁴ tn Grk “eternal tents” (as dwelling places).

[16:1]  ²⁵ tn Grk “He”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[16:1]  ²⁶ tn These are not formal legal charges, but reports from friends, acquaintances, etc.; Grk “A certain man was rich who had a manager, and this one was reported to him as wasting his property.”

[16:1]  ²⁷ sn His manager was the steward in charge of managing the house. He could have been a slave trained for the role.

[16:1]  ²⁸ tn Or “squandering.” This verb is graphic; it means to scatter (L&N 57.151).

[6:17]  ²⁹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[6:17]  ³⁰ tn Or “on a plateau.” This could refer to a message given in a flat locale or in a flat locale in the midst of a more mountainous region (Jer 21:13; Isa 13:2). It is quite possible that this sermon is a summary version of the better known Sermon on the Mount from Matt 5-7.

[6:17]  ³¹ tn Grk “large crowd.”

[6:17]  ³² tn There is no verb in Greek at this point, but since “a large crowd” (see preceding tn) is in the nominative case, one needs to be supplied.

[6:17]  ³³ tn Grk “and.”

[6:17]  ³⁴ tn Grk “and from,” but καί (kai) has not been translated since English normally uses a coordinating conjunction only between the last two elements in a series of three or more.

[6:17]  ³⁵ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[6:17]  ³⁶ map For location see Map1 A2; Map2 G2; Map4 A1; JP3 F3; JP4 F3.

[6:17]  ³⁷ sn These last two locations, Tyre and Sidon, represented an expansion outside of traditional Jewish territory. Jesus’ reputation continued to expand into new regions.

[6:17]  ³⁸ sn To hear him and to be healed. Jesus had a two-level ministry: The word and then wondrous acts of service that showed his message of God’s care were real.

[6:18]  ³⁹ tn Or “were oppressed by,” “were troubled with.” See L&N 22.17.

[6:18]  ⁴⁰ sn Unclean spirits refers to evil spirits. See Luke 4:33.

[6:19]  ⁴¹ tn Grk “And the.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[6:19]  ⁴² sn There was a recognition that there was great power at work through Jesus, the subject of a great debate in 11:14-23. Luke highlights Jesus’ healing ministry (5:17; 6:18; 7:7; 8:47; 9:11, 42; 14:4; 17:15; 18:42-43; 22:51; Acts 10:38).