Ecclesiastes 10:8-9
New English Translation
Wisdom is Needed to Avert Dangers in Everyday Life
8 One who digs a pit may[a] fall into it,
and one who breaks through a wall may be bitten by a snake.[b]
9 One who quarries stones may be injured by them;
one who splits logs may be endangered by them.
Footnotes
- Ecclesiastes 10:8 tn The four imperfect verbs in vv. 8-9 may be nuanced as indicatives (“will…”) or in a modal sense denoting possibility (“may…”). The LXX rendered them with indicatives, as do many English translations (KJV, RSV, NRSV, ASV, MLB, YLT, NJPS). However, it is better to take them in a modal sense (NEB, NAB, NASB, NIV, NCV, CEV, NLT). One who digs a pit does not necessarily fall into it, but he may under the right conditions.
- Ecclesiastes 10:8 tn Heb “a serpent will bite him.” The clause “he who breaks through a wall” (וּפֹרֵץ גָּדֵר, uforets gader) is a nominative absolute—the casus pendens is picked up by the resumptive pronoun in the following clause “a serpent will bite him” (יִשְּׁכֶנּוּ נָחָשׁ, yishekhennu nakhash). This construction is used for rhetorical emphasis (see IBHS 76-77 §4.7c).
Ecclesiastes 10:8-9
King James Version
8 He that diggeth a pit shall fall into it; and whoso breaketh an hedge, a serpent shall bite him.
9 Whoso removeth stones shall be hurt therewith; and he that cleaveth wood shall be endangered thereby.
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Ecclesiastes 10:8-9
New King James Version
8 (A)He who digs a pit will fall into it,
And whoever breaks through a wall will be bitten by a serpent.
9 He who quarries stones may be hurt by them,
And he who splits wood may be endangered by it.
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Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
