Ecclesiastes 6:12

tn Heb “For who knows what is good for a man in life?” The rhetorical question (“For who knows …?”) is a negative affirmation, expecting a negative answer: “For no one knows …!” (see E. W. Bullinger, Figures of Speech, 949–51). The translation renders this rhetorical device as a positive affirmation.

tn The vav prefixed to וְיַעֲשֵׂם (véya’asem, conjunction + Qal imperfect 3rd person masculine singular from עָשַׂה, ’asah, “to do” + 3rd person masculine plural suffix) functions in an explanatory or epexegetical sense (“For …”).

tn The 3rd person masculine plural suffix on the verb וְיַעֲשֵׂם (véya’asem, conjunction + Qal imperfect 3rd person masculine singular from ָָעשַׂה, ’asah, “to do” + 3rd person masculine plural suffix) refers to מִסְפַּר יְמֵי־חַיֵּי הֶבְלוֹ (mispar yéme-khayye hevlo, “the few days of his fleeting life”). The suffix may be taken as an objective genitive: “he spends them [i.e., the days of his life] like a shadow” (HALOT 891 s.v. I ָָעשַׂה 8) or as a subjective genitive: “they [i.e., the days of his life] pass like a shadow” (BDB 795 s.v. ָָעשַׂה II.11).

tn Heb “Who can tell the man what shall be after him under the sun?” The rhetorical question (“For who can tell him …?”) is a negative affirmation, expecting a negative answer: “For no one can tell him …!” (see E. W. Bullinger, Figures of Speech, 949–51). The translation renders this rhetorical device as a positive affirmation.