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21 Since they have incited me with a “no-god,”
    and provoked me with their empty idols,
I will incite them with a “no-people”;[a]
    with a foolish nation I will provoke them.(A)

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Footnotes

  1. 32:21 “No-god”…“no-people”: worship of the gods of the nations brings destruction at the hands of a foreign invader. A false god cannot sustain or protect (cf. Jer 14:22); and though the nations seem “foolish” (see their characterization in such passages as Ps 114:1; Is 28:11; 33:19), they will prove to be anything but nonentities when the Lord stirs them up against Israel (Is 9:10–12). For the “no-” or “not-” construction, see Hos 1:6, 9; 2:1, 25.

II. Qoheleth’s Conclusions

10 Whatever is, was long ago given its name, and human nature is known; mortals cannot contend in judgment with One who is stronger.[a]

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Footnotes

  1. 6:10–11 One who is stronger is, of course, God. The more vanity: contending with God is futile.