Pengkhotbah 7:23-29

Human Wisdom is Limited

7:23 I have examined all this by wisdom;

I said, “I am determined ¹  to comprehend this” ²  – but it was beyond my grasp. ³ 

7:24 Whatever has happened is beyond human ⁴  understanding; ⁵ 

it is far deeper than anyone can fathom. ⁶ 

True Righteousness and Wisdom are Virtually Nonexistent

7:25 I tried ⁷  to understand, examine, and comprehend ⁸ 

the role of ⁹  wisdom in the scheme of things, ¹⁰ 

and to understand the stupidity of wickedness ¹¹  and the insanity of folly. ¹² 

7:26 I discovered this: ¹³ 

More bitter than death is the kind of ¹⁴  woman ¹⁵  who is like a hunter’s snare; ¹⁶ 

her heart is like a hunter’s net and her hands are like prison chains.

The man who pleases God escapes her,

but the sinner is captured by her.

7:27 The Teacher says:

I discovered this while trying to discover the scheme of things, item by item.

7:28 What I have continually sought, I have not found;

I have found only ¹⁷  one upright ¹⁸  man among a thousand,

but I have not found one upright woman among all of them.

7:29 This alone have I discovered: God made humankind upright,

but they have sought many evil schemes.

[7:23]  ¹ tn The cohortative אֶחְכָּמָה (’ekhkamah, from חָכַם, khakham,“to be wise”) emphasizes the resolve (determination) of Qoheleth to become wise enough to understand the perplexities of life.

[7:23]  ² tn Or “I am determined to become wise”

[7:23]  ³ tn Or “but it eluded me”; Heb “but it was far from me.”

[7:24]  ⁴ tn The word “human” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[7:24]  ⁵ tn Heb “is far away.”

[7:24]  ⁶ tn Heb “It is deep, deep – who can find it?” The repetition of the word “deep” emphasizes the degree of incomprehensibility. See IBHS 233-34 §12.5a.

[7:25]  ⁷ tn Heb “I turned, I, even my heart.”

[7:25]  ⁸ tn Heb “to seek.”

[7:25]  ⁹ tn The phrase “the role of” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity and smoothness.

[7:25]  ¹⁰ tn The phrase חָכְמָה וְחֶשְׁבּוֹן (khokhmah vÿkheshbon, “wisdom and the scheme of things”) is a hendiadys (a figure of speech in which two nouns connote one idea): “wisdom in the scheme of things.” This is similar to the hendiadys עִצְּבוֹנֵךְ וְהֵרֹנֵךְ (’itsÿvonekh vÿheronekh, “pain and childbearing”) which connotes “pain in childbearing” (Gen 3:16).

[7:25]  ¹¹ tn Or “the evil of folly” The genitive construct phrase רֶשַׁע כֶּסֶל (resha’ kesel) may be taken as a genitive of attribution (“the wickedness of folly”) or as a genitive of attribute (“the folly of wickedness”). The English versions treat it in various ways: “wickedness of folly” (KJV); “wrong of folly” (YLT); “evil of folly” (NASB); “stupidity of wickedness” (NIV); “wickedness, stupidity” (NJPS); “wickedness is folly [or foolish]” (ASV, NAB, NRSV, MLB, Moffatt), and “it is folly to be wicked” (NEB).

[7:25]  ¹² tn Or “the folly of madness” The genitive construct phrase וְהַסִּכְלוּת הוֹלֵלוֹת (vÿhassikhlut holelot) may be taken as a genitive of attribution (“the stupidity of wickedness”) or a genitive of attribute (“the evil of folly”). The phrase is rendered variously: “foolishness and madness” (KJV); “foolishness of madness” (NASB); “madness of folly” (NIV); “madness and folly” (NJPS); “the foolishness which is madness” (NEB); and “foolishness [or folly] is madness” (ASV, NAB, NRSV, MLB, Moffatt).

[7:26]  ¹³ tn The word “this” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for smoothness.

[7:26]  ¹⁴ tn The phrase “kind of” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity (see the following note on the word “woman”).

[7:26]  ¹⁵ tn The article on הָאִשָּׁה (ha’ishah) functions in a particularizing sense (“the kind of woman”) rather than in a generic sense (i.e., “women”).

[7:26]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “is snares.” The plural form מְצוֹדִים (mÿtsodim, from the noun I מָצוֹד, matsod, “snare”) is used to connote either intensity, repeated or habitual action, or moral characteristic. For the function of the Hebrew plural, see IBHS 120-21 §7.4.2. The term II מָצוֹד “snare” is used in a concrete sense in reference to the hunter’s snare or net, but in a figurative sense of being ensnared by someone (Job 19:6; Prov 12:12; Eccl 7:26).

[7:28]  ¹⁷ tn The word “only” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for smoothness.

[7:28]  ¹⁸ tn The word “upright” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation twice, here and in the following line, for clarity.