Pengkhotbah 2:19

2:19 Who knows if he will be a wise man or a fool?

Yet ¹  he will be master over all the fruit of ²  my labor ³ 

for which I worked so wisely ⁴  on earth! ⁵ 

This also is futile!

Pengkhotbah 9:11

Wisdom Cannot Protect against Seemingly Chance Events

9:11 Again, ⁶  I observed this on the earth: ⁷ 

the race is not always ⁸  won by the swiftest,

the battle is not always won by the strongest;

prosperity ⁹  does not always belong to those who are the wisest,

wealth does not always belong to those who are the most discerning,

nor does success ¹⁰  always come to those with the most knowledge –

for time and chance may overcome ¹¹  them all.

[2:19]  ¹ tn The vav on וְיִשְׁלַט (vÿyishlat, conjunction + Qal imperfect 3rd person masculine singular from שָׁלַט, shalat, “to be master”) is adversative (“yet”).

[2:19]  ² tn The phrase “the fruit of” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity (see the following note on the word “labor”).

[2:19]  ³ tn Heb “my labor.” As in 2:18, the term עֲמָלִי (’amali, “my labor”) is a metonymy of cause (i.e., my labor) for effect (i.e., fruit of my labor). The metonymy is recognized by several translations: “he will control all the wealth that I gained” (NJPS); “he will have control over all the fruits of my labor” (NAB); “he will have mastery over all the fruits of my labor” (NEB); “he will have control over all the fruit of my labor” (NASB); “he will be master over all my possessions” (MLB).

[2:19]  ⁴ tn An internal cognate accusative construction (accusative and verb from same root) is used for emphasis: שֶׁעָמַלְתִּי עֲמָלִי (’amali she’amalti, “my toil for which I had toiled”); see IBHS 167 §10.2.1g. The two verbs שֶׁעָמַלְתִּי וְשֶׁחָכַמְתִּי (she’amalti vÿshekhakhamti, “for which I had labored and for which I had acted wisely”) form a verbal hendiadys (two separate verbs used in association to communicate one idea): “for I had labored so wisely.” The second verb is used adverbially to modify the first verb, which functions in its full verbal sense.

[2:19]  ⁵ tn Heb “under the sun.”

[9:11]  ⁶ tn Heb “I returned and.” In the Hebrew idiom, “to return and do” means “to do again.”

[9:11]  ⁷ tn Heb “under the sun.”

[9:11]  ⁸ tn The term “always” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation (five times in this verse) for clarity.

[9:11]  ⁹ tn Heb “bread.”

[9:11]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “favor.”

[9:11]  ¹¹ tn Heb “happen to.”