The Meaning of Ecclesiastes 9:14 Explained

Ecclesiastes 9:14

KJV: There was a little city, and few men within it; and there came a great king against it, and besieged it, and built great bulwarks against it:

YLT: A little city, and few men in it, and a great king hath come unto it, and hath surrounded it, and hath built against it great bulwarks;

Darby: There was a little city, and few men within it; and there came a great king against it, and encompassed it, and built great bulwarks against it:

ASV: There was a little city, and few men within it; and there came a great king against it, and besieged it, and built great bulwarks against it.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

[There was] a little  city,  and few  men  within it; and there came  a great  king  against it, and besieged  it, and built  great  bulwarks  against it: 

What does Ecclesiastes 9:14 Mean?

Chapter Summary: Ecclesiastes 9

1  like things happen to good and bad
4  there is a necessity of death unto men
7  Comfort is all their portion in this life
11  God's providence rules over all
13  wisdom is better than strength

What do the individual words in Ecclesiastes 9:14 mean?

[There was] a city little and with men in it few and came against it a king great and besieged it and built around it snares great
עִ֣יר קְטַנָּ֔ה וַאֲנָשִׁ֥ים בָּ֖הּ מְעָ֑ט וּבָֽא־ אֵלֶ֜יהָ מֶ֤לֶךְ גָּדוֹל֙ וְסָבַ֣ב אֹתָ֔הּ וּבָנָ֥ה עָלֶ֖יהָ מְצוֹדִ֥ים גְּדֹלִֽים

עִ֣יר  [There  was]  a  city 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular
Root: עִיר 
Sense: excitement, anguish.
קְטַנָּ֔ה  little 
Parse: Adjective, feminine singular
Root: קָטָן 
Sense: young, small, insignificant, unimportant.
וַאֲנָשִׁ֥ים  and  with  men 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, masculine plural
Root: אֱנׄושׁ 
Sense: man, mortal man, person, mankind.
בָּ֖הּ  in  it 
Parse: Preposition, third person feminine singular
מְעָ֑ט  few 
Parse: Adjective, masculine singular
Root: מְעַט  
Sense: littleness, few, a little, fewness.
וּבָֽא־  and  came 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Conjunctive perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: בֹּוא 
Sense: to go in, enter, come, go, come in.
אֵלֶ֜יהָ  against  it 
Parse: Preposition, third person feminine singular
Root: אֶל  
Sense: to, toward, unto (of motion).
מֶ֤לֶךְ  a  king 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: מֶלֶךְ 
Sense: king.
גָּדוֹל֙  great 
Parse: Adjective, masculine singular
Root: גָּבֹול 
Sense: great.
וְסָבַ֣ב  and  besieged 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Conjunctive perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: סָבַב  
Sense: to turn, turn about or around or aside or back or towards, go about or arou nd, surround, encircle, change direction.
וּבָנָ֥ה  and  built 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Conjunctive perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: בָּנָה  
Sense: to build, rebuild, establish, cause to continue.
עָלֶ֖יהָ  around  it 
Parse: Preposition, third person feminine singular
Root: עַל 
Sense: upon, on the ground of, according to, on account of, on behalf of, concerning, beside, in addition to, together with, beyond, above, over, by, on to, towards, to, against.
מְצוֹדִ֥ים  snares 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural
Root: מָצֹוד 
Sense: siege-works, bulwark.
גְּדֹלִֽים  great 
Parse: Adjective, masculine plural
Root: גָּבֹול 
Sense: great.

What are the major concepts related to Ecclesiastes 9:14?

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