NETBible | So I thought to myself, “The fate of the fool will happen even to me! 1 Then what did I gain by becoming so excessively 2 wise?” 3 So I lamented to myself, 4 “The benefits of wisdom 5 are ultimately 6 meaningless!” |
NIV © |
Then I thought in my heart, "The fate of the fool will overtake me also. What then do I gain by being wise?" I said in my heart, "This too is meaningless." |
NASB © |
Then I said to myself, "As is the fate of the fool, it will also befall me. Why then have I been extremely wise?" So I said to myself, "This too is vanity." |
NLT © |
Both of them die. Just as the fool will die, so will I. So of what value is all my wisdom? Then I said to myself, "This is all so meaningless!" |
MSG © |
When I realized that my fate's the same as the fool's, I had to ask myself, "So why bother being wise?" It's all smoke, nothing but smoke. |
BBE © |
Then said I in my heart: As it comes to the foolish man, so will it come to me; so why have I been wise overmuch? Then I said in my heart: This again is to no purpose. |
NRSV © |
Then I said to myself, "What happens to the fool will happen to me also; why then have I been so very wise?" And I said to myself that this also is vanity. |
NKJV © |
So I said in my heart, "As it happens to the fool, It also happens to me, And why was I then more wise?" Then I said in my heart, "This also is vanity." |
KJV | Then <0227> said <0559> (8804) I in my heart <03820>_, As it happeneth <04745> to the fool <03684>_, so it happeneth <07136> (8799) even to me <01571>_; and why was I then more <03148> wise <02449> (8804)_? Then I said <01696> (8765) in my heart <03820>_, that this also [is] vanity <01892>_. {happeneth even...: Heb. happeneth to me, even to me} |
NASB © |
Then I said <559> to myself <3820> , "As is the fate <4745> of the fool <3684> , it will also <1571> befall <7136> me. Why <4100> then <227> have I been <2449> extremely <3148> wise <2449> ?" So I said <1696> to myself <3820> , "This <2088> too <1571> is vanity ."<1892> |
LXXM | kai <2532> CONJ eipa {V-AAI-1S} egw <1473> P-NS en <1722> PREP kardia <2588> N-DSF mou <1473> P-GS wv <3739> CONJ sunanthma {N-NSN} tou <3588> T-GSM afronov <878> A-GSM kai <2532> CONJ ge <1065> PRT emoi <1473> P-DS sunanthsetai <4876> V-FMI-3S moi <1473> P-DS kai <2532> CONJ ina <2443> CONJ ti <5100> I-ASN esofisamhn <4679> V-AMI-1S egw <1473> P-NS tote <5119> ADV perisson <4053> A-ASN elalhsa <2980> V-AAI-1S en <1722> PREP kardia <2588> N-DSF mou <1473> P-GS dioti <1360> CONJ afrwn <878> A-NSM ek <1537> PREP perisseumatov <4051> N-GSN lalei <2980> V-PAI-3S oti <3754> CONJ kai <2532> CONJ ge <1065> PRT touto <3778> D-ASN mataiothv <3153> N-NSF |
NET [draft] ITL | So I thought <03820> to myself <0589> , “The fate <04745> of the fool <03684> will happen <07136> even <01571> to me! Then what <04100> did I <0589> gain by becoming so <02449> excessively <03148> wise <02449> ?” So I <0589> lamented <01696> to myself <03820> , “The benefits of wisdom <02088> are ultimately <01571> meaningless !”<01892> |
HEBREW | lbh <01892> hz <02088> Mgs <01571> yblb <03820> ytrbdw <01696> rtwy <03148> za <0227> yna <0589> ytmkx <02449> hmlw <04100> ynrqy <07136> yna <0589> Mg <01571> lyokh <03684> hrqmk <04745> yblb <03820> yna <0589> ytrmaw (2:15) <0559> |
NETBible | So I thought to myself, “The fate of the fool will happen even to me! 1 Then what did I gain by becoming so excessively 2 wise?” 3 So I lamented to myself, 4 “The benefits of wisdom 5 are ultimately 6 meaningless!” |
NET Notes |
1 tn The emphatic use of the 1st person common singular personal pronoun אֲנִי (’ani, “me”) with the emphatic particle of association גַּם (gam, “even, as well as”; HALOT 195–96 s.v. גַּם) appears to emphasize the 1st person common singular suffix on יִקְרֵנִי (yiqreni) “it will befall [or “happen to”] me” (Qal imperfect 3rd person masculine singular + 1st person common singular suffix from קָרָה, qarah, “to befall; to happen to”); see GKC 438 §135.e. Qoheleth laments not that the fate of the wise man is the same as that of the fool, but that even he himself – the wisest man of all – would fare no better in the end than the most foolish. 2 tn The adjective יוֹתֵר (yoter) means “too much; excessive,” e.g., 7:16 “excessively righteous” (HALOT 404 s.v. יוֹתֵר 2; BDB 452 s.v. יוֹתֵר). It is derived from the root יֶתֶר (yeter, “what is left over”); see HALOT 452 s.v. I יֶתֶר. It is related to the verbal root יתר (Niphal “to be left over”; Hiphil “to have left over”); see HALOT 451–52 s.v. I יתר. The adjective is related to יִתְרוֹן (yitron, “advantage; profit”) which is a key-term in this section, creating a word-play: The wise man has a relative “advantage” (יִתְרוֹן) over the fool (2:13-14a); however, there is no ultimate advantage because both share the same fate, i.e., death (2:14b-15a). Thus, Qoheleth’s acquisition of tremendous wisdom (1:16; 2:9) was “excessive” because it exceeded its relative advantage over folly: it could not deliver him from the same fate as the fool. He had striven to obtain wisdom, yet it held no ultimate advantage. 3 tn Heb “And why was I wise (to) excess?” The rhetorical question is an example of negative affirmation, expecting a negative answer: “I gained nothing!” (E. W. Bullinger, Figures of Speech, 949). 4 tn Heb “So I said in my heart.” 5 tn Heb “and also this,” referring to the relative advantage of wisdom over folly. 6 tn The word “ultimately” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity. |