Pengkhotbah 1:12

Futility of Secular Accomplishment

1:12 I, the Teacher, have been king over Israel in Jerusalem. ¹ 

Pengkhotbah 4:10

4:10 For if they fall, one will help his companion up,

but pity ²  the person who falls down and has no one to help him up.

Pengkhotbah 8:7

8:7 Surely no one knows the future, ³ 

and no one can tell another person what will happen. ⁴ 

Pengkhotbah 9:17

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 ⁵  among fools.

Pengkhotbah 10:12

Words and Works of Wise Men and Fools

10:12 The words of a wise person ⁶  win him ⁷  favor, ⁸ 

but the words ⁹  of a fool are self-destructive. ¹⁰ 

[1:12]  ¹ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[4:10]  ² tn Heb “woe to him.”

[8:7]  ³ tn Heb “what will be.”

[8:7]  ⁴ tn Heb “Who can tell him what will be?”

[9:17]  ⁵ 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.

[10:12]  ⁶ tn Heb “of a wise man’s mouth.”

[10:12]  ⁷ tn The phrase “win him” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but has been supplied in the translation for clarity.

[10:12]  ⁸ tn Or “are gracious.” The antithetical parallelism suggests that חֵן (khen) does not denote “gracious character” but “[gain] favor” (e.g., Gen 39:21; Exod 3:21; 11:3; 12:36; Prov 3:4, 34; 13:15; 22:1; 28:23; Eccl 9:11); cf. HALOT 332 s.v. חֵן 2; BDB 336 s.v. חֵן 2. The LXX, on the other hand, rendered חֶן with χάρις (caris, “gracious”). The English versions are divided: “are gracious” (KJV, YLT, ASV, NASB, NIV) and “win him favor” (NEB, RSV, NRSV, NAB, MLB, NJPS, Moffatt).

[10:12]  ⁹ tn Heb “lips.”

[10:12]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “consume him”; or “engulf him.” The verb I בלע (“to swallow”) creates a striking wordplay on the homonymic root II בלע (“to speak eloquently”; HALOT 134-35 s.v בלע). Rather than speaking eloquently (II בלע, “to speak eloquently”), the fool utters words that are self-destructive (I בלע, “to swallow, engulf”).