Discovery BoxEcclesiastes 4:12 
Context4:12 Although an assailant may overpower 1 one person,
two can withstand him.
Moreover, a three-stranded cord is not quickly broken.
Ecclesiastes 6:10
Context6:10 Whatever has happened was foreordained, 2
and what happens to a person 3 was also foreknown.
It is useless for him to argue with God about his fate
because God is more powerful than he is. 4
1 tn The verbal root תקף means “to overpower; to prevail over” e.g., Job 14:20; 15:24; Eccl 4:12; 6:10 (HALOT 1786 s.v. תקף).
2 tn Heb “already its name was called.”
3 tn Or “and what a person (Heb “man”) is was foreknown.”
4 tn Heb “he cannot contend with the one who is more powerful than him.” The referent of the “the one who is more powerful than he is” (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity. The words “with God about his fate” have been added for clarity as well.
