Ecclesiastes 9:1

So I reflected on all this, ¹  attempting to clear ²  it all up. I concluded that ³  the righteous and the wise, as well as their works, are in the hand of God; whether a person will be loved or hated ⁴  – no one knows what lies ahead. ⁵ 

De 33:3; 1Sa 2:9; 2Sa 15:25,26; Job 5:8; Ps 10:14; Ps 31:5; Ps 37:5,6; Ps 73:3,11-13; Pr 16:3; Ec 1:17; Ec 7:15; Ec 7:25; Ec 8:14; Ec 8:16; Ec 12:9,10; Isa 26:12; Isa 49:1-4; Jer 1:18,19; Mal 3:15-18; Joh 10:27-30; 1Co 3:5-15; 2Ti 1:12; 1Pe 1:5

¹ tn Heb “I laid all this to my heart.”

² tn The term וְלָבוּר (velavur, conjunction + Qal infinitive construct from בּוּר, bur, “to make clear”) denotes “to examine; to make clear; to clear up; to explain” (HALOT 116 s.v. בור; BDB 101 s.v. בּוּר). The term is related to Arabic baraw “to examine” (G. R. Driver, “Supposed Arabisms in the Old Testament,” JBL 55 [1936]: 108). This verb is related to the Hebrew noun בֹּר (bor, “cleanness”) and adjective בַּר (bar, “clean”). The term is used in the OT only in Ecclesiastes (1:13; 2:3; 7:25; 9:1). This use of the infinitive has a connotative sense (“attempting to”), and functions in a complementary sense, relative to the main verb.

³ tn The words “I concluded that” do not appear in the Hebrew text, but are supplied in the translation for clarity.

⁴ tn Heb “whether love or hatred.”

⁵ tn Heb “man does not know anything before them.”