Pengkhotbah 3:15-17

3:15 Whatever exists now has already been, and whatever will be has already been;

for God will seek to do again ¹  what has occurred ²  in the past. ³ 

The Problem of Injustice and Oppression

3:16 I saw something else on earth: ⁴ 

In the place of justice, there was wickedness,

and in the place of fairness, ⁵  there was wickedness.

3:17 I thought to myself, “God will judge both the righteous and the wicked;

for there is an appropriate time for every activity,

and there is a time of judgment ⁶  for every deed.

Pengkhotbah 8:12-13

8:12 Even though a sinner might commit a hundred crimes ⁷  and still live a long time, ⁸ 

yet I know that it will go well with God-fearing people ⁹  – for they stand in fear ¹⁰  before him.

8:13 But it will not go well with the wicked,

nor will they ¹¹  prolong their ¹²  days like a shadow, ¹³ 

because they ¹⁴  do not stand in fear ¹⁵  before God.

Pengkhotbah 12:14

12:14 For God will evaluate every deed, ¹⁶ 

including every secret thing, whether good or evil.

[3:15]  ¹ tn The phrase “to do again” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity.

[3:15]  ² tn Heb “God will seek that which is driven away.” The meaning of יְבַקֵּשׁ אֶת־נִרְדָּף (yÿvaqqesh ’et-nirdaf) is difficult to determine: יְבַקֵּשׁ (yÿvaqqesh) is Piel imperfect 3rd person masculine singular from בָּקַשׁ (baqash, “to seek”) and נִרְדָּף (nirdaf) is a Niphal participle 3rd person masculine singular from רָדַף (radaf, “to drive away”). There are several options: (1) God watches over the persecuted: יְבַקֵּשׁ (“seeks”) functions as a metonymy of cause for effect (i.e., to protect), and אֶת־נִרְדָּף (“what is driven away”) refers to “those who are persecuted.” But this does not fit the context. (2) God will call the past to account: יְבַקֵּשׁ functions as a metonymy of cause for effect (i.e., to hold accountable), and אֶת־נִרְדָּף is a metonymy of attribute (i.e., the past). This approach is adopted by several English translations: “God requires that which is past” (KJV), “God will call the past to account” (NIV) and “God summons each event back in its turn” (NEB). (3) God finds what has been lost: יְבַקֵּשׁ functions as a metonymy of cause for effect (i.e., to find), and אֶת־נִרְדָּף refers to what has been lost: “God restores what would otherwise be displaced” (NAB). (4) God repeats what has already occurred: יְבַקֵּשׁ functions as a metonymy of effect (i.e., to repeat), and אֶת־נִרְדָּף is a metonymy (i.e., that which has occurred). This fits the context and provides a tight parallel with the preceding line: “That which is has already been, and that which will be has already been” (3:15a) parallels “God seeks [to repeat] that which has occurred [in the past].” This is the most popular approach among English versions: “God restores that which has past” (Douay), “God seeks again that which is passed away” (ASV), “God seeks what has passed by” (NASB), “God seeks what has been driven away” (RSV), “God seeks out what has passed by” (MLB), “God seeks out what has gone by” (NRSV), and “God is ever bringing back what disappears” (Moffatt).

[3:15]  ³ tn The phrase “in the past” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity.

[3:16]  ⁴ tn Heb “under the sun.”

[3:16]  ⁵ tn Or “righteousness.”

[3:17]  ⁶ tn The phrase “a time of judgment” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity.

[8:12]  ⁷ tn Heb “does evil one hundred [times].”

[8:12]  ⁸ tn Heb “and prolongs his [life].”

[8:12]  ⁹ tn Heb “those who fear God.”

[8:12]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “they fear.”

[8:13]  ¹¹ tn Heb “he.”

[8:13]  ¹² tn The word “their” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for smoothness.

[8:13]  ¹³ tn The phrase “like a shadow” (כַּצֵּל, katsel) modifies the verb (“prolong”) rather than the noun (“days”). Several English versions misconstrue the line: “he will not prolong his days, [which are] like a shadow” (KJV, ASV); “the man who does not fear God is like a shadow” (NEB); and “he will not prolong his shadowy days” (NAB). It should be rendered “he will not prolong his days like a shadow” (RSV, NRSV, NASB, MLB, NIV). Unlike a shadow that lengthens at sunset, the wicked do not normally live long.

[8:13]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “he.”

[8:13]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “they do not fear.”

[12:14]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “will bring every deed into judgment.”