Ecclesiastes 7:25

Footnotes

1. 79 Heb “I turned, I, even my heart.”
2. 80 Heb “to seek.”
3. 81 The phrase “the role of” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity and smoothness.
4. 82 The phrase חָכְמָה וְחֶשְׁבּוֹן (khokhmah vékheshbon, “wisdom and the scheme of things”) is a hendiadys (a figure of speech in which two nouns connote one idea): “wisdom in the scheme of things.” This is similar to the hendiadys עִצְּבוֹנֵךְ וְהֵרֹנֵךְ (’itsévonekh véheronekh, “pain and childbearing”) which connotes “pain in childbearing” (Gen 3:16).
5. 83 Or “the evil of folly” The genitive construct phrase רֶשַׁע כֶּסֶל (resha’ kesel) may be taken as a genitive of attribution (“the wickedness of folly”) or as a genitive of attribute (“the folly of wickedness”). The English versions treat it in various ways: “wickedness of folly” (); “wrong of folly” (); “evil of folly” (); “stupidity of wickedness” (); “wickedness, stupidity” (); “wickedness is folly [or foolish]” (, , , , ), and “it is folly to be wicked” ().
6. 84 Or “the folly of madness” The genitive construct phrase וְהַסִּכְלוּת הוֹלֵלוֹת (véhassikhlut holelot) may be taken as a genitive of attribution (“the stupidity of wickedness”) or a genitive of attribute (“the evil of folly”). The phrase is rendered variously: “foolishness and madness” (); “foolishness of madness” (); “madness of folly” (); “madness and folly” (); “the foolishness which is madness” (); and “foolishness [or folly] is madness” (, , , , ).