Ecclesiastes 4:16

Unnumbered are the multitudes of all those who preceded them;ithose who preceded them And so never heard of the gifted youth. and later generations will not acclaim him either.jlater generations will not acclaim him either For despite his wisdom, he too will be forgotten; cf. 2.16. For thatkthat Namely, the advantage of wisdom over folly. too is futile and pursuit of wind.

Ecclesiastes 1:3

What real value is there for humankindIn all the gainsbgains So Rashbam. Heb. ʻamal usually has this sense in Ecclesiastes; cf. Ps. 105.44. they make beneath the sun?

Ecclesiastes 6:4

Though it comes into futility and departs into darkness, and its very name is covered with darkness,

Ecclesiastes 8:12

the fact that sinners may do evil a hundred times and their [punishment] still be delayed. For although I am aware that “It will be well with those who revere God since they show reverence,

Ecclesiastes 10:4

If the wrath of a lord flares up against you, don’t give up your post;cpost Emendation yields “hope.” for when wrath abates, grave offenses are pardoned.dwhen wrath abates, grave offenses are pardoned Lit. “abatement (2 Chron. 36.16) remits grave offenses.” For hinniaḥ “to remit,” cf. Abodah Zarah 13a; cf. hanaḥah “remission of taxes,” Esth. 2.18.

Ecclesiastes 6:8

What advantage then have the wise over the foolish, what advantage have paupers who know how to get on in life?cyet the gullet is not sated. What advantage then have the wise over the foolish, what advantage have paupers who know how to get on in life? Meaning of Heb. uncertain; emendation yields “And if the gullet is not sated, 8what advantage have the wise over fools, those who know how to get on in life over paupers?”

Ecclesiastes 3:21

Who knows if the lifebreath of humans does rise upward and if the breath of animals does sink down into the earth?

Ecclesiastes 9:14

There was a little city, with few menmmen I.e., potential defenders. in it; and to it came a great king, who invested it and built mighty siege works against it.

Ecclesiastes 9:5

since the living know they will die. But the dead know nothing; they have no more recompense,hrecompense Emendation yields “hope.” for even the memory of them has died.

Ecclesiastes 1:1

The words of KohelethaKoheleth Probably “the Assembler,” namely of hearers or of sayings; cf. 12.9–11. son of David, king in Jerusalem.

Ecclesiastes 1:2

Utter futility!—said Koheleth—Utter futility! All is futile!

Ecclesiastes 2:23

All their days their thoughts are grief and heartache, and even at night their mind has no respite. That too is futile!

Ecclesiastes 4:13

Better a poor but wise youth than an old but foolish king who no longer has the sense to heed warnings.

Ecclesiastes 12:9

A further word: Because Koheleth was a sage, he continued to instruct the people. He listened to and tested the soundnessmsoundness A noun, like dibber (Jer. 5.13), which occurs in such postbiblical phrases as shanim ke-thiq(qe)nan “normal years” (lit. “years according to their propriety”). of many maxims.

Ecclesiastes 12:1

So appreciate your vigoraSo appreciate your vigor Cf. postbiblical bori; in contrast to others “Remember your Creator.” in the days of your youth, before those days of sorrow come and those years arrive of which you will say, “I have no pleasure in them”;

Ecclesiastes 12:14

that God will call every creature to account for everything unknown,severything unknown Emendation yields “all their conduct.” be it good or bad.The sum of the matter, when all is said and done: Revere God and observe the commandments! For this applies to all humankind.

Ecclesiastes 4:3

and happier than either are those who have not yet come into being and have never witnessed the miseries that go on under the sun.

Ecclesiastes 2:24

There is nothing worthwhile for mortals but to eat and drink and afford themselves enjoyment with their means. And even that, I noted, comes from God.

Ecclesiastes 7:22

for well you rememberowell you remember Lit. “your heart knows”; the same idiom occurs again in 8.5. the many times that you yourself have reviled others.

Ecclesiastes 8:5

One who obeys orders will not suffer from the dangerous situation.Someone wise, however, will bear in mindfbear in mind The same idiom as in 7.22. that there is a time of doom.gtime of doom Lit. “time and doom”; cf. the synonymous “time of misfortune,” lit. “time and misfortune,” 9.11.

Ecclesiastes 2:15

So I reflected: “The fate of the fool is also destined for me; to what advantage, then, have I been wise?” And I came to the conclusion that that too was futile,

Ecclesiastes 1:12

I, Koheleth, was king in Jerusalem over Israel.

Ecclesiastes 9:17

pThese verses constitute a group of loosely connected aphorisms. Words spoken softly by wise men are heeded sooner than those shouted by a lord in folly.qsooner than those shouted by a lord in folly Lit. “than the scream of a lord in [the manner of] the fools.”

Ecclesiastes 3:12

Thus I realized that the only worthwhile thing there is for them is to enjoy themselves and do what is gooddwhat is good I.e., what the author has already concluded (2.24) is good. in their lifetime;

Ecclesiastes 9:9

Enjoy happiness with a woman you love all the fleeting days of life that have been granted to you under the sun—all your fleeting days. For that alone is what you can get out of life and out of the means you acquire under the sun.

Ecclesiastes 4:4

I have also noted that all labor and skillful enterprise come from people’s envy of one another—another futility and pursuit of wind!

Ecclesiastes 7:26

Now, I find more bitter than death the woman who is all traps, whose hands are fetters, and whose heartqI find more bitter than death the woman who…whose hands…whose heart Or “I find woman more bitter than death; she…her hands…her heart.” Force of Heb. uncertain. is snares. He who is pleasing to God escapes her, and he who is displeasing is caught by her.

Ecclesiastes 4:5

[True,]Fools fold their hands togetherbfold their hands together I.e., do not work; cf. Prov. 6.10; 24.33. And have to eat their own flesh.

Ecclesiastes 5:7

If you see in a province oppression of the poor and suppression of right and justice, don’t wonder at the fact; for one high official is protected by a higher one, and both of them by still higher ones.

Ecclesiastes 3:19

For in respect of the fate of humans and the fate of animals, they have one and the same fate: as the one dies so dies the other, and both have the same lifebreath; humans have no superiority over animals, since both amount to nothing.

Ecclesiastes 5:4

It is better not to vow at all than to vow and not fulfill.

Ecclesiastes 9:3

That is the sad thing about all that goes on under the sun: that the same fate is in store for all. (Not only that, but people’s hearts are full of sadness, and their minds of madness, while they live; and then—to the dead!)

Ecclesiastes 1:17

And so I set my mind to appraise wisdom and to appraise madness and folly. And I learned—that this too was pursuit of wind:

Ecclesiastes 10:13

Their talk begins as silliness and ends as disastrous madness.

Ecclesiastes 1:11

The earlier ones are not remembered; so too those that will occur later will no more be remembered thanewill no more be remembered than Lit. “will not be remembered like…” For ʻim meaning “like,” cf. 2.16; 7.11; Job 9.26. those that will occur at the very end.

Ecclesiastes 12:12

A further word: Against them,qAgainst them Emendation yields “Slow, there!” Cf. Arabic mah and mah mah; so also mah (meh) in Prov. 31.2. my son, be warned!The making of many books is without limitAnd much studyrstudy Meaning of Heb. uncertain. is a wearying of the flesh.

Ecclesiastes 7:13

iThese verses continue the thought of v. 10. Consider God’s doing! Who can straighten what has been twisted?

Ecclesiastes 10:9

One who quarries stones will be hurt by them; one who splits wood will be harmed byebe hurt by them; one who splits wood will be harmed by Emendation yields “profit … shall make use of.” it.

Ecclesiastes 5:9

A lover of money is never satisfied with money, nor a lover of wealth, with income. That too is futile.

Ecclesiastes 2:19

and who knows whether he will be wise or foolish?—and he will control all the wealth that I gained by toil and wisdom under the sun. That too is futile.

Ecclesiastes 11:5

Just as you do not know how the lifebreath passes intobinto So many mss. and Targum; Tiberian Masoretic mss. read “like.” the limbs within the womb of the pregnant woman, so you cannot foresee the actions of God, who causes all things to happen.

Ecclesiastes 2:8

I further amassed silver and gold and treasures of kings and provinces; and I got myself male and female singers, as well as the luxuries of commoners—coffersacoffers The Heb. shiddah occurs only here in the Bible; in the Mishnah it designates a kind of chest. and coffers of them.

Ecclesiastes 9:6

Their loves, their hates, their jealousies have long since perished; and they have no more share till the end of time in all that goes on under the sun.

Ecclesiastes 5:3

When you make a vow to God, do not delay to fulfill it. For [God] has no pleasure in fools; what you vow, fulfill.

Ecclesiastes 1:4

One generation goes, another comes,But the earth remains the same forever.

Ecclesiastes 2:2

Of revelry I said, “It’s mad!”Of merriment, “What good is that?”

Ecclesiastes 10:14

Yet fools talk and talk!gThe thought of this sentence is resumed at v. 20. Humans cannot know what will happen; who can tell them what the future holds?

Ecclesiastes 2:12

cSentences transposed for clarity. For what will the man be like who will succeed the one who is rulingdthe one who is ruling Change of vocalization yields “me, and who is to rule”; cf. vv. 18–19. over what was built up long ago?My thoughts also turned to appraising wisdom and madness and folly.

Ecclesiastes 3:7

A time for ripping and a time for sewing,A time for silence and a time for speaking;

Ecclesiastes 10:12

Sages’ talk brings them favor, but fools’ lips are their undoing.