Ecclesiastes 9:11

Again, ¹  I observed this on the earth: ²  the race is not always ³  won by the swiftest, the battle is not always won by the strongest; prosperity ⁴  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 ⁵  always come to those with the most knowledge – for time and chance may overcome ⁶  them all.

1Sa 2:3-10; 1Sa 17:50; 2Sa 2:18-23; 2Sa 17:14,23; Job 5:11-14; Job 34:29; Ps 33:16,17; Ps 73:6,7; Ps 147:10,11; Pr 21:30,31; Ec 2:12; Ec 2:14,15; Ec 3:14,17; Ec 4:1,4; Ec 7:13; Jer 9:23; Jer 46:6; La 3:37,38; Da 4:35; Am 2:14-16; Mal 3:18; Eph 1:11

¹ tn Heb “I returned and.” In the Hebrew idiom, “to return and do” means “to do again.”

² tn Heb “under the sun.”

³ tn The term “always” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation (five times in this verse) for clarity.

⁴ tn Heb “bread.”

⁵ tn Heb “favor.”

⁶ tn Heb “happen to.”