Discovery BoxEcclesiastes 2:17 
Context2:17 So I loathed 1 life 2 because what
happens 3 on earth 4 seems awful to me;
for all the benefits of wisdom 5 are futile – like chasing the wind.
Ecclesiastes 3:22
Context3:22 So I perceived there is nothing better than for people 6 to enjoy their work, 7
because that is their 8 reward;
for who can show them what the future holds? 9
Ecclesiastes 5:20
Context5:20 For he does not think 10 much about the fleeting 11 days of his life
because God keeps him preoccupied 12 with the joy he derives from his activity. 13
Ecclesiastes 8:13
Context8:13 But it will not go well with the wicked,
nor will they 14 prolong their 15 days like a shadow, 16
because they 17 do not stand in fear 18 before God.
Ecclesiastes 9:7
Context9:7 Go, eat your food 19 with joy,
and drink your wine with a happy heart,
because God has already approved your works.
Ecclesiastes 12:13
Context12:13 Having heard everything, I have reached this conclusion: 20
Fear God and keep his commandments,
because this is the whole duty 21 of man.
1 tn Or “I hated.”
2 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.
3 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.
4 tn Heb “under the sun.”
5 tn Heb “all,” referring here to the relative advantage of wisdom.
6 tn Heb “man.”
7 tn Heb “his works.”
8 tn Heb “his.”
9 tn Heb “what will be after him” (cf. KJV, NASB, NIV) or “afterward” (cf. NJPS).
10 tn The verb זָכַר (zakhar, “to remember”) may be nuanced “to call to mind; to think about,” that is, “to reflect upon” (e.g., Isa 47:7; Lam 1:9; Job 21:6; 36:24; 40:32; Eccl 11:8); cf. BDB 270 s.v. זָכַר 5; HALOT 270 s.v. I זכר 2.
11 tn The word “fleeting” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity.
12 tn The term מַעֲנֵה (ma’aneh, Hiphil participle ms from II עָנָה, ’anah, “to be occupied”) refers to activity that keeps a person physically busy and mentally preoccupied, e.g., Eccl 1:13; 3:10; 5:19 (HALOT 854; BDB 775 s.v. עָנָה II). The related noun עִנְיַן (’inyan,“business; occupation; task”) refers to activity that keeps man busy and occupies his time, e.g., Eccl 1:13; 2:26; 3:10 (HALOT 857; BDB 775 s.v. עִנְיָן). The participle form is used to emphasize durative, uninterrupted, continual action.
13 tn Heb “with the joy of his heart.” The words “he derives from his activity” do not appear in the Hebrew, but they are added to clarify the Teacher’s point in light of what he says right before this.
14 tn Heb “he.”
15 tn The word “their” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for smoothness.
16 tn The phrase “like a shadow” (כַּצֵּל, katsel) modifies the verb (“prolong”) rather than the noun (“days”). Several English versions misconstrue the line: “he will not prolong his days, [which are] like a shadow” (KJV, ASV); “the man who does not fear God is like a shadow” (NEB); and “he will not prolong his shadowy days” (NAB). It should be rendered “he will not prolong his days like a shadow” (RSV, NRSV, NASB, MLB, NIV). Unlike a shadow that lengthens at sunset, the wicked do not normally live long.
17 tn Heb “he.”
18 tn Heb “they do not fear.”
19 tn Heb “your bread.”
20 tn Heb “The end of the matter, everything having been heard.”
21 tn Heb “This is all men”; or “This is the whole of man.” The phrase זֶה כָּל־הָאָדָם (zeh kol-ha’adam, “this is all men”) features rhetorical elision of a key word. The ambiguity over the elided word has led to no less than five basic approaches: (1) “this is the whole duty of man” (KJV, ASV, RSV, NAB, NIV); (2) “this is the duty of all men” (MLB, ASV margin, RSV margin); (3) “this applies to all men” (NASB, NJPS); (4) “this is the whole duty of all men” (NRSV, Moffatt); and (5) “there is no more to man than this” (NEB). The four-fold repetition of כֹּל (kol, “all”) in 12:13-14 suggests that Qoheleth is emphasizing the “bottom line,” that is, the basic duty of man is simply to fear and obey God: After “all” (כֹּל) has been heard in the book, his conclusion is that the “whole” (כֹּל) duty of man is to obey God because God will bring “all” (כֹּל) acts into judgment, including “all” (כֹּל) that is hidden, whether good or bad. See D. Barthélemy, ed., Preliminary and Interim Report on the Hebrew Old Testament Text Project, 3:596.
