And the jugk is smashed at the cistern.l
7And the dust returns to the ground
As it was,
And the lifebreath returns to God
Who bestowed it.
8Utter futility—said Koheleth—
All is futile!
9A further word: Because Koheleth was a sage, he continued to instruct the people. He listened to and tested the soundnessm of many maxims. 10Koheleth sought to discover useful sayings and recordedn genuinely truthful sayings. 11The sayings of the wise are like goads, like nails fixed o-in prodding sticks.-o p-They were given by one Shepherd.-p
12A further word: q-Against them,-q my son, be warned!
The making of many books is without limit
And much studyr is a wearying of the flesh.
13The sum of the matter, when all is said and done: Revere God and observe His commandments! For this applies to all mankind: 14that God will call every creature to account for s-everything unknown,-s be it good or bad.
The sum of the matter, when all is said and done: Revere God and observe His commandments! For this applies to all mankind.
a Probably “the Assembler,” i.e., of hearers or of saying; cf. 12.9–11.
b So Rashbam. Heb. ‘amal usually has this sense in Ecclesiastes; cf. Ps. 105.44.
c So Targum; cf. Bereshith Rabbah on Gen. 1.17.
d According to popular belief, through tunnels; so Targum and Rashi.
e-e Lit. “will not be remembered like …” For ‘im meaning “like,” cf. 2.16; 7.11; Job 9.26.
f Lit. “tending,” from root ra‘ah, “to shepherd.”
a The Heb. shiddah occurs only here in the Bible; in the Mishnah it designates a kind of chest.
b Septuagint and a few Heb. manuscripts have “(in exchange) for”; cf. 2.24; 3.13, 22; 5.17.
c The order of the two sentences in this verse is reversed in the translation for clarity.
d-d Change of vocalization yields “me, and who is to rule”; cf. vv. 18–19.
e See note on 1.11.
f Some mss. and ancient versions read mimmennu, “by His doing.”
g-g Lit. “wisdom and knowledge and enjoyment.”
a I.e., all human experiences are preordained by God; see v. 11.
b-b Lit. “giving birth.”
c-c Emendation yields “wrecking … repairing”; cf. 1 Kings 18.30.
d I.e., He preoccupies man with the attempt to discover the times of future events; cf. 8.17.
e I.e., what the author has already concluded (2.24) is good.
f Meaning of parts of verse uncertain.
g-g Shift of a diacritical point yields “He has set.”
h Contrast Ps. 8.5–6.
a Cf. 3.16.
b I.e., does not work; cf. Prov. 6.10; 24.33.
c-c Lit. “am I amassing … myself.”
d 4.9–5.8 consists of a series of observations, each of which is introduced by some slight association with what precedes. The theme of 4.4–8 is not resumed until 5.9.
e-e Emendation yields “hope for”; cf. 2.20.
f Taking rash as a verb; cf. Ps. 34.11.
g-g I.e., “the contemporaries of.”
h And so never heard of the gifted youth.
i For despite his wisdom, he too will be forgotten; cf. 2.16.
j I.e., the advantage of wisdom over folly.
k-k Lit. “Guard your foot when it [or, you] would go.”
a Heb. leb, lit. “heart,” sometimes designates the organ of speech; cf. Isa. 33.18; 59.13; Ps. 19.15; 49.4; Job 8.10.
b Some ancient versions read “God.”
c-c Moved up from v. 6 for clarity.
d Meaning of verse uncertain. Emendation yields “Much brooding results in dreams; and much talk in futilities”; cf. v. 2.
e I.e., the high official profits from the labor of others; but meaning of verse uncertain.
f Some ancient versions have “slave’s.”
g-g Moved up from v. 15 for clarity.
h-h Septuagint reads “are [spent] in darkness and mourning.”
i The thought of which is depressing; see v. 16.
a Stillbirths were cast into pits or hidden in the ground in no recognizable graves; cf. v. 4 end.
b Cf. Prov. 16.26.
c-c Meaning of Heb. uncertain; emendation yields “And if the gullet is not sated, 8what advantage has the wise man over the fool, he who knows how to get on in life over the pauper?”
d Meaning of first half of verse uncertain.
e Lit. “according to the shadow that”; cf. Qumran Aramaic betel and Syriac mettol; and see 8.13.
a The author now offers a number of practical maxims, which, however, he concludes (vv. 23–24) are of limited value.
b Until a man dies, there is always danger that he may forfeit his good name.
c For empty revelry precludes real happiness; cf. 2.2.
d Emendation yields “praise” (shbh).
e This section, to end of verse 7, is apparently a continuation of the thought in vv. 11–12 and 19.
f Emendation yields “riches.”
g Lit. “caution”; cf. postbiblical mathun, “cautious.”
h Emendation yields “For the possessor of wisdom becomes a possessor of money.”
i Vv. 13–14 continue the thought of v. 10.
j So Rashi; cf. the same thought in Job 1.22; 2.10.
k Cf. postbiblical yasa yede.
l-l Emendation yields “the riches of the magnates”; cf. Prov. 18.11.
m Apparently continuing the thought of v. 16.
n Refers back to 6.12.
o The same idiom occurs again in 8.5.
a-a Some ancient versions read “Who here is wise.”
b Lit. “face”; cf. 1 Sam. 1.18; Job 9.27.
c-c Moved up from v. 3 for English word order.
d The answer to the inquiry about the implications of the proverb in v. 1 is given in the form of another proverb, of which only the first half is relevant and is enlarged upon.
e-e Or “Give ground before him; do not resist.”
f The same idiom as in 7.22.
g Lit. “time and doom”; cf. the synonymous “time of misfortune,” lit. “time and misfortune,” 9.11.
h Still another term for death; cf. “the time of calamity” for “the hour of death,” 9.12.
i From leaving the body when the time comes; see 12.7; cf. Ps. 104.29; 146.4.
j Emendation yields “riches.”
k-k Meaning uncertain; emendation yields “approaching [to minister]. They would come and profane the Holy Site.”
l See note on 6.12.
a Meaning of verb uncertain; construction as in Hos. 12.3; Ezra 3.12.
b-b Emendation yields “Even love, even hate, no man can know in advance. All 2are insignificant.”
c I.e., those who observe the laws of ritual purity.
d Cf. 4.17.
e I.e., to God; cf. 2.26; 7.26.
f Cf. 8.2.
g-g Lit. “joined to all.”
h Emendation yields “hope.”
i Cf. 2.24–25; 3.13; 5.18.
j Euphemism for death.
k I.e., the insignificant duration of life renders all successes illusory; cf. 4.15–16.
l-l Others “who saved.”
m Verses 9.17–10.19 constitute a group of loosely connected aphorisms.
n-n Lit. “than the scream of a lord in [the manner of] the fools.”
o-o Emendation yields “everything precious.”
a Meaning of Heb. uncertain.
b I.e., a wise man’s mind brings him good luck; a fool’s brings him bad luck.
c Emendation yields “hope.”
d-d Lit. “abatement (2 Chron. 36.16) remits grave offenses.” For hinniah, “to remit,” cf. Abodah Zarah 13a; cf. hanahah, “remission of taxes,” Esth. 2.18.
e-e Emendation yields “profit … shall make use of.”
f Meaning of verse uncertain.
g The thought of this sentence is resumed at v. 20.
h This verse continues the thought of v. 3.
i I.e., the ministers of v. 16.
j Others “thoughts”; meaning of Heb. uncertain.
a-a Emendation yields, “if a thunderbolt (lit. arrow, cf., e.g., 2 Sam. 22.15) falls … where the thunderbolt falls, only there will it strike.”
b So many mss. and Targum; most mss. read “like.”
a Cf. postbiblical bori; others “Remember thy Creator.”
b I.e., the arms.
c I.e., the legs.
d I.e., the teeth.
e I.e., the eyes.
f I.e., the ears.
g-g Exact meaning of Heb. uncertain.
h Cf. 2 Sam. 19.36.
i-i Emendation yields “The squill (postbiblical Heb. hasab) resume its burden,” i.e., its blossomstalk and its leaves.
j These plants, after seeming dead for part of the year, revive, unlike man; cf. Job 14.7–10.
k So in Punic; others “wheel.”
l Poetic figure for the end of life.
m A noun, like dibber (Jer. 5.13), which occurs in such postbiblical phrases as shanim kethiq(qe)nan, “normal years” (lit. “years according to their propriety”).
n Wekhathub is equivalent to wekhathob, an infinitive employed as in Esth. 9.16 and elsewhere.
o-o Meaning of Heb. uncertain. Others “are those that are composed in collections.”
p-p Meaning of Heb. uncertain. Emendation yields “They are accounted as a sharp ax goad” (post-biblical mardea’).
q-q Emendation yields “Slow, there!” Cf. Arabic mah and mah mah; so also mah (meh) in Prov. 31.2.
r Meaning of Heb. uncertain.
s-s Emendation yields “all their conduct.”
Esther
1 It happened in the days of Ahasuerus—that Ahasuerus who reigned over a hundred and twenty-seven provinces from India to Ethiopia. 2In those days, when King Ahasuerus occupied the royal throne in the fortressa Shushan, 3in the third year of his reign, he gave a banquet for all the officials and courtiers—the administration of Persia and Media, the nobles and the governors of the provinces in his service. 4For no fewer than a hundred and eighty days he displayed the vast riches of his kingdom and the splendid glory of his majesty. 5At the end of this period, the king gave a banquet for seven days in the court of the king’s palace garden for all the people who lived in the fortress Shushan, high and low alike. 6b[There were hangings of] white cotton and blue wool, caught up by cords of fine linen and purple wool to silver rods and alabaster columns; and there were couches of gold and silver on a pavement of marble, alabaster, mother-of-pearl, and mosaics. 7Royal wine was served in abundance, as befits a king, in golden beakers, beakers of varied design. 8And the rule for the drinking was, “No restrictions!” For the king had given orders to every palace steward to comply with each man’s wishes. 9In addition, Queen Vashti gave a banquet for women, in the royal palace of King Ahasuerus.
10On the seventh day, when the king was merry with wine, he ordered Mehuman, Bizzetha, Harbona, Bigtha, Abagtha, Zethar, and Carcas, the seven eunuchs in attendance on King Ahasuerus, 11to bring Queen Vashti before the king wearing a royal diadem, to display her beauty to the peoples and the officials; for she was a beautiful woman. 12But Queen Vashti refused
