Pengkhotbah 2:14

2:14 The wise man can see where he is going, ¹  but the fool walks in darkness.

Yet I also realized that the same fate ²  happens to them both. ³ 

Pengkhotbah 4:15

4:15 I considered all the living who walk on earth, ⁴ 

as well as the successor ⁵  who would arise ⁶  in his place.

Pengkhotbah 10:3

10:3 Even when a fool walks along the road he lacks sense, ⁷ 

and shows ⁸  everyone what a fool he is. ⁹ 

[2:14]  ¹ tn Heb “has his eyes in his head.” The term עַיִן (’ayin, “eye”) is used figuratively in reference to mental and spiritual faculties (BDB 744 s.v. עַיִן 3.a). The term “eye” is a metonymy of cause (eye) for effect (sight and perception).

[2:14]  ² sn The common fate to which Qoheleth refers is death.

[2:14]  ³ tn The term כֻּלָּם (kullam, “all of them”) denotes “both of them.” This is an example of synecdoche of general (“all of them”) for the specific (“both of them,” that is, both the wise man and the fool).

[4:15]  ⁴ tn Heb “under the sun.”

[4:15]  ⁵ tn Heb “the second youth.” It is not clear whether “the second” (הַשֵּׁנִי, hasheni) refers to the young man who succeeds the old king or a second youthful successor.

[4:15]  ⁶ tn The verb עָמַד (’amad, “to stand”) may denote “to arise; to appear; to come on the scene” (e.g., Ps 106:30; Dan 8:22, 23; 11:2-4; 12:1; Ezra 2:63; Neh 7:65); cf. BDB 764 s.v. עָמַד 6.a; HALOT 840 s.v. עמד 1.a.

[10:3]  ⁷ tn Heb “he lacks his heart.”

[10:3]  ⁸ tn Heb “he tells everyone.”

[10:3]  ⁹ sn A fool’s lack of wisdom is obvious to everyone, even when he is engaged in the simple, ordinary actions of life.