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Ecclesiastes 6:9
New English Translation
Ecclesiastes 6:9
New English Translation
9 It is better to be content with[a] what the eyes can see[b]
than for one’s heart always to crave more.[c]
This continual longing[d] is futile—like[e] chasing the wind.
Footnotes
- Ecclesiastes 6:9 tn The phrase “to be content with” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity.
- Ecclesiastes 6:9 tn The expression מַרְאֵה עֵינַיִם (marʾeh ʿenayim, “the seeing of the eyes”) is a metonymy of cause (i.e., seeing an object) for effect (i.e., being content with what the eyes can see); see E. W. Bullinger, Figures of Speech, 552-54.
- Ecclesiastes 6:9 tn Heb “the roaming of the soul.” The expression מֵהֲלָךְ־נָפֶשׁ (mehalakh nafesh, “the roaming of the soul”) is a metonymy for unfulfilled desires. The term “soul” (נֶפֶשׁ, nefesh) is used as a metonymy of association for man’s desires and appetites (BDB 660 s.v. נֶפֶשׁ 5.c; 6.a). This also involves the personification of the roving appetite as “roving” (מֵהֲלָךְ); see BDB 235 s.v. הָלַךְ II.3.f; 232 I.3.
- Ecclesiastes 6:9 tn The phrase “continual longing” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity.
- Ecclesiastes 6:9 tn The term “like” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity and smoothness.
New English Translation (NET)
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