The initial For does not mark a motive clause; it is the emphatic “Indeed,” or “So then.” The verse presents the reader with two rhetorical questions, both relating to the material presented in verses 1-7. The questions are designed to force the reader to think about the subject; they do not ask for information. Death is universal. So whether it comes early as to the stillborn or miscarried child, or later as to the person who manages to live for two thousand years, Qoheleth asks whether the wise person has any advantages that the fool does not have.

What advantage…?: here Qoheleth uses the form yother, a participle. Revised Standard Version renders it as advantage. It comes from the same root as the term yithron, “lasting benefit.” Our question then is whether these two forms have the same meaning. We notice that the form of the question is basically identical to that of the key question used elsewhere, so we can legitimately argue that there is little or no difference between the two forms from the same root. However, when we consider the context in which this question is now being asked, “lasting benefit” does not get sufficiently close to its meaning. The context is that of satisfaction, so we suggest “lasting satisfaction” as a translation.

Has the wise man over the fool is literally “to the wise man more than to the fool.” In 2.13-16 Qoheleth argues that wisdom is always an advantage, that it is as different from folly as light is from darkness. Despite this fact both the wise man and the fool die.

Rhetorical questions frequently expect a negative answer. The question here means that there is no “advantage” to the wise man that the fool cannot also claim. If we understand the context correctly, then the “advantage” Qoheleth is considering is in the area of the satisfaction from material things. Qoheleth’s point is that, whether a person is wise or foolish, satisfying natural appetites is impossible because they regularly need “feeding.” Our “mouths” or physical appetites are satisfied only for the moment, and before long we are again “hungry.” This is a fact of life that holds true for everyone, whether they are wise or foolish. The only difference between the wise and the foolish is how they deal with these basic appetites, but Qoheleth does not go into that matter here.

Translation suggestions for this question are:

• What lasting satisfaction does the wise person have that the fool does not have?

Or in statement form:

• Lasting advantage is not available either to the wise or to the fool.

And what…?: parallel to the previous question is one asking about possible advantage for the poor.

What does the poor man have: the interrogative what is an abbreviation for the previous “what advantage,” and so we can use that longer form if the parallelism is not obvious. The parallel carries further so that we can say that the wise man in the first question is likened to the poor man in this one. Qoheleth often links poverty and wisdom (see 4.13; 9.15).

Who knows how to conduct himself is in Hebrew “knowing [how] to walk.” In 2.14 the verb “walk” was used to describe a person’s lifestyle, so we can understand why Revised Standard Version here uses conduct himself. Good News Translation “how to face life” (similar to New English Bible) may be misunderstood to refer to an attitude to life rather than the actual life a person lives. We can improve on this translation by saying “how to live his life.” This phrase describes “the poor man” and as such is best introduced by a phrase like “even one who knows….”

Before the living uses the preposition “alongside” or “opposite,” meaning “in the company of.” The problem with Revised Standard Version the living is that the Hebrew term can mean “life” as well. Almost certainly we are dealing with an idiom in which conduct himself before the living means living in the community, or being an active member of society. Thus “knowing to walk” means being aware of and living in an appropriate and socially acceptable manner. To help a person live in this way was the goal of all wisdom instruction. Thus “living wisely” is the meaning intended. The living can only mean “everyone” or “all people.”

Some translation examples are:

• And what lasting satisfaction is there for a poor person, even one who knows how to live in harmony with others?

• What is the lasting satisfaction for a poor person who knows how to behave properly?

• What kind of lasting advantage is there for someone who is poor but who lives as he should in this world?

If we use a statement rather than a question form, we can suggest:

• Nor is there any lasting satisfaction available to the poor person, even one who knows how to live acceptably.

Quoted with permission from Ogden, Graham S. and Zogbo, Lynell. A Handbook on the Book of Ecclesiates. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1997. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .