Pengkhotbah 1:14

1:14 I reflected on everything that is accomplished by man ¹  on earth, ² 

and I concluded: Everything ³  he has accomplished ⁴  is futile ⁵  – like chasing the wind! ⁶ 

Pengkhotbah 4:6

4:6 Better is one handful with some rest

than two hands full of toil ⁷  and chasing the wind.

Pengkhotbah 6:9

6:9 It is better to be content with ⁸  what the eyes can see ⁹ 

than for one’s heart always to crave more. ¹⁰ 

This continual longing ¹¹  is futile – like ¹²  chasing the wind.

Pengkhotbah 2:11

2:11 Yet when I reflected on everything I had accomplished ¹³ 

and on all the effort that I had expended to accomplish it, ¹⁴ 

I concluded: ¹⁵  “All these ¹⁶  achievements and possessions ¹⁷  are ultimately ¹⁸  profitless ¹⁹  –

like chasing the wind!

There is nothing gained ²⁰  from them ²¹  on earth.” ²² 

Pengkhotbah 2:17

2:17 So I loathed ²³  life ²⁴  because what

happens ²⁵  on earth ²⁶  seems awful to me;

for all the benefits of wisdom ²⁷  are futile – like chasing the wind.

[1:14]  ¹ tn The phrase “by man” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity.

[1:14]  ² tn Heb “under the sun.”

[1:14]  ³ tn As mentioned in the note on “everything” in 1:2, the term הַכֹּל (hakkol, “everything”) is often limited in reference to the specific topic at hand in the context (e.g., BDB 482 s.v. כֹּל 2). The argument of 1:12-15, like 1:3-11, focuses on secular human achievement. This is clear from the repetition of the root עָשַׂה (’asah, “do, work, accomplish, achieve”) in 1:12-13.

[1:14]  ⁴ tn The phrase “he has accomplished” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity.

[1:14]  ⁵ tn This usage of הֶבֶל (hevel) denotes “futile, profitless, fruitless” (e.g., 2 Kgs 17:15; Ps 78:33; Prov 13:11; 21:6; Eccl 1:2, 14; 2:1, 14-15; 4:8; Jer 2:5; 10:3; Lam 4:17; see HALOT 236–37 s.v. I הֶבֶל; BDB 210–11 s.v. I הֶבֶל). The term is used with the simile “like striving after the wind” (רְעוּת רוּחַ, rÿ’ut ruakh) – a graphic picture of an expenditure of effort in vain because no one can catch the wind by chasing it (e.g., 1:14, 17; 2:11, 17, 26; 4:4, 6, 16; 6:9; 7:14). When used in this sense, the term is often used with the following synonyms: לְתֹהוּ (lÿtohu, “for nothing, in vain, for no reason”; Isa 49:4); רִיק (riq, “profitless; useless”; Isa 30:7; Eccl 6:11); לֹא הוֹעִיל (“worthless, profitless”; Is 30:6; 57:12; Jer 16:19); “what profit?” (מַה־יִּתְרוֹןֹ, mah-yyitron); and “no profit” (אֵין יִּתְרוֹן, en yyitron; e.g., 2:11; 3:19; 6:9). It is also used in antithesis to terms connoting value: טוֹב (tov, “good, benefit, advantage”) and יֹתְרוֹן (yotÿron, “profit, advantage, gain”). Despite everything that man has accomplished in history, it is ultimately futile because nothing on earth really changes.

[1:14]  ⁶ tn Heb “striving of wind.” The word “like” does not appear in the Hebrew text; it has been added in the translation to make the comparative notion clear.

[4:6]  ⁷ sn Qoheleth lists three approaches to labor: (1) the competitive workaholic in 4:4, (2) the impoverished sluggard in 4:5, and (3) the contented laborer in 4:6. The balanced approach rebukes the two extremes.

[6:9]  ⁸ tn The phrase “to be content with” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity.

[6:9]  ⁹ tn The expression מַרְאֵה עֵינַיִם (mar’eh ’enayim, “the seeing of the eyes”) is a metonymy of cause (i.e., seeing an object) for effect (i.e., being content with what the eyes can see); see E. W. Bullinger, Figures of Speech, 552-54.

[6:9]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “the roaming of the soul.” The expression מֵהֲלָךְ־נָפֶשׁ (mehalakh-nafesh, “the roaming of the soul”) is a metonymy for unfulfilled desires. The term “soul” (נֶפֶשׁ, nefesh) is used as a metonymy of association for man’s desires and appetites (BDB 660 s.v. נֶפֶשׁ 5.c; 6.a). This also involves the personification of the roving appetite as “roving” (מֵהֲלָךְ); see BDB 235 s.v. הָלַךְ II.3.f; 232 I.3.

[6:9]  ¹¹ tn The phrase “continual longing” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity.

[6:9]  ¹² tn The term “like” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity and smoothness.

[2:11]  ¹³ tn Heb “all my works that my hands had done.”

[2:11]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “and all the toil with which I had toiled in doing it.” The term עָמַל (’amal, “toil”) is repeated to emphasize the burden and weariness of the labor which Qoheleth exerted in his accomplishments.

[2:11]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “Behold!”

[2:11]  ¹⁶ tn The term הַכֹּל (hakkol, “everything” or “all”) must be qualified and limited in reference to the topic that is dealt with in 2:4-11. This is an example of synecdoche of general for the specific; the general term “all” is used only in reference to the topic at hand. This is clear from the repetition of כֹּל (kol, “everything”) and (“all these things”) in 2:11.

[2:11]  ¹⁷ tn The phrase “achievements and possessions” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in translation for clarity.

[2:11]  ¹⁸ tn The term “ultimately” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity.

[2:11]  ¹⁹ tn The parallelism with יִתְרוֹן (yitron), “profit; advantage; gain”) indicates that הֶבֶל (hevel) should be nuanced as “profitless, fruitless, futile” in this context. While labor offers some relative and temporal benefits, such as material acquisitions and the enjoyment of the work of one’s hands, there is no ultimate benefit to be gained from secular human achievement.

[2:11]  ²⁰ tn The noun יִתְרוֹן (yitron, “profit”) has a two-fold range of meanings: (1) “what comes of [something]; result” (Eccl 1:3; 2:11; 3:9; 5:8, 15; 7:12; 10:10) and (2) “profit; advantage” (Eccl 2:13; 10:11); see HALOT 452–53 s.v. יִתְרוֹי. It is derived from the noun יֶתֶר (yeter, “what is left behind; remainder”; HALOT 452 s.v. I יֶתֶר). The related verb יָתַר (yatar) denotes “to be left over; to survive” (Niphal) and “to have left over” (Hiphil); see HALOT 451–52 s.v. יתר. When used literally, יִתְרוֹן refers to what is left over after expenses (gain or profit); when used figuratively, it refers to what is advantageous or of benefit. Though some things have relative advantage over others (e.g., light over darkness, and wisdom over folly in 2:13), there is no ultimate profit in man’s labor due to death.

[2:11]  ²¹ tn The phrase “from them” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity.

[2:11]  ²² tn Heb “under the sun.”

[2:17]  ²³ tn Or “I hated.”

[2:17]  ²⁴ tn The term הַחַיִּים (hakhayyim, “life”) functions as a metonymy of association, that is, that which is associated with life, that is, the profitlessness and futility of human secular achievement.

[2:17]  ²⁵ tn Heb “the deed that is done.” The root עָשָׂה (’asah, “to do”) is repeated in הַמַּעֲשֶׂה שֶׁנַּעֲשָׂה (hamma’aseh shenna’asah, “the deed that is done”) for emphasis. Here, the term “deed” does not refer to human accomplishment, as in 2:1-11, but to the fact of death that destroys any relative advantage of wisdom over folly (2:14a-16). Qoheleth metaphorically describes death as a “deed” that is “done” to man.

[2:17]  ²⁶ tn Heb “under the sun.”

[2:17]  ²⁷ tn Heb “all,” referring here to the relative advantage of wisdom.