Pengkhotbah 7:11

Wisdom Can Lengthen One’s Life

7:11 Wisdom, like ¹  an inheritance, is a good thing;

it benefits those who see the light of day. ² 

Pengkhotbah 7:19

Wisdom Needed Because No One is Truly Righteous

7:19 Wisdom gives a wise person more protection ³ 

than ten rulers in a city.

Pengkhotbah 9:15-18

9:15 However, a poor but wise man lived in the city, ⁴ 

and he could have delivered ⁵  the city by his wisdom,

but no one listened ⁶  to that poor man.

9:16 So I concluded that wisdom is better than might, ⁷ 

but a poor man’s wisdom is despised; no one ever listens ⁸  to his advice. ⁹ 

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 ¹⁰  among fools.

9:18 Wisdom is better than weapons of war,

but one sinner can destroy much that is good.

[7:11]  ¹ tn Or “Wisdom with an inheritance, is good”; or “Wisdom is as good as an inheritance.” This use of the preposition עִם (’im) may denote: (1) accompaniment: “together with,” or (2) comparison: “as good as; like; in comparison to” (HALOT 839–40 s.v. עִם; BDB 767–69 s.v. עִם). BDB 767 s.v. 1 suggests the accompaniment nuance “together with,” while HALOT 840 s.v. 2.c suggests the comparative sense “in comparison to.” The translations are also divided: “wisdom with an inheritance is good” (KJV, ASV margin, RSV, NASB, YLT); “wisdom, like an inheritance, is a good thing” (NIV); “wisdom is as good as an inheritance” (ASV, NRSV, MLB, NJPS, Moffatt); “wisdom is better than an inheritance” (NEB). Because v. 12 compares wisdom with money (i.e., an inheritance), v. 11 is probably making a comparison as well: “Wisdom, like an inheritance, is good” (7:11a) = “Wisdom provides protection, just as money provides protection” (7:12a). The “good thing” that wisdom – like an inheritance or money – provides is protection.

[7:11]  ² tn Heb “see the sun.”

[7:19]  ³ tn Heb “gives strength.”

[9:15]  ⁴ tn Heb “was found in it”; the referent (the city) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[9:15]  ⁵ 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]  ⁶ tn Heb “remembered.”

[9:16]  ⁷ tn Or “power.”

[9:16]  ⁸ 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]  ⁹ tn Heb “his words are never listened to.”

[9:17]  ¹⁰ 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.