Mazmur 22:6-7

22:6 But I ¹  am a worm, ²  not a man; ³ 

people insult me and despise me. ⁴ 

22:7 All who see me taunt ⁵  me;

they mock me ⁶  and shake their heads. ⁷ 

Mazmur 22:17

22:17 I can count ⁸  all my bones;

my enemies ⁹  are gloating over me in triumph. ¹⁰ 

Mazmur 31:11-13

31:11 Because of all my enemies, people disdain me; ¹¹ 

my neighbors are appalled by my suffering ¹²  –

those who know me are horrified by my condition; ¹³ 

those who see me in the street run away from me.

31:12 I am forgotten, like a dead man no one thinks about; ¹⁴ 

I am regarded as worthless, like a broken jar. ¹⁵ 

31:13 For I hear what so many are saying, ¹⁶ 

the terrifying news that comes from every direction. ¹⁷ 

When they plot together against me,

they figure out how they can take my life.

Mazmur 35:15-21

35:15 But when I stumbled, they rejoiced and gathered together;

they gathered together to ambush me. ¹⁸ 

They tore at me without stopping to rest. ¹⁹ 

35:16 When I tripped, they taunted me relentlessly, ²⁰ 

and tried to bite me. ²¹ 

35:17 O Lord, how long are you going to just stand there and watch this? ²² 

Rescue ²³  me ²⁴  from their destructive attacks;

guard my life ²⁵  from the young lions!

35:18 Then I will give you thanks in the great assembly; ²⁶ 

I will praise you before a large crowd of people! ²⁷ 

35:19 Do not let those who are my enemies for no reason ²⁸  gloat ²⁹  over me!

Do not let those who hate me without cause carry out their wicked schemes! ³⁰ 

35:20 For they do not try to make peace with others, ³¹ 

but plan ways to deceive those who are unsuspecting. ³² 

35:21 They are ready to devour me; ³³ 

they say, “Aha! Aha! We’ve got you!” ³⁴ 

Mazmur 69:7-12

69:7 For I suffer ³⁵  humiliation for your sake ³⁶ 

and am thoroughly disgraced. ³⁷ 

69:8 My own brothers treat me like a stranger;

they act as if I were a foreigner. ³⁸ 

69:9 Certainly ³⁹  zeal for ⁴⁰  your house ⁴¹  consumes me;

I endure the insults of those who insult you. ⁴² 

69:10 I weep and refrain from eating food, ⁴³ 

which causes others to insult me. ⁴⁴ 

69:11 I wear sackcloth

and they ridicule me. ⁴⁵ 

69:12 Those who sit at the city gate gossip about me;

drunkards mock me in their songs. ⁴⁶ 

Mazmur 69:20

69:20 Their insults are painful ⁴⁷  and make me lose heart; ⁴⁸ 

I look ⁴⁹  for sympathy, but receive none, ⁵⁰ 

for comforters, but find none.

Mazmur 109:2

109:2 For they say cruel and deceptive things to me;

they lie to me. ⁵¹ 

Mazmur 109:25

109:25 I am disdained by them. ⁵² 

When they see me, they shake their heads. ⁵³ 

Ratapan 1:12

ל (Lamed)

1:12 Is it nothing to you, ⁵⁴  all you who pass by on the road? ⁵⁵ 

Look and see!

Is there any pain like mine?

The Lord ⁵⁶  has afflicted me, ⁵⁷ 

he ⁵⁸  has inflicted it on me

when ⁵⁹  he burned with anger. ⁶⁰ 

Ratapan 2:15-17

ס (Samek)

2:15 All who passed by on the road

clapped their hands to mock you. ⁶¹ 

They sneered and shook their heads

at Daughter Jerusalem.

“Ha! Is this the city they called ⁶² 

‘The perfection of beauty, ⁶³ 

the source of joy of the whole earth!’?” ⁶⁴ 

פ (Pe)

2:16 All your enemies

gloated over you. ⁶⁵ 

They sneered and gnashed their teeth;

they said, “We have destroyed ⁶⁶  her!

Ha! We have waited a long time for this day.

We have lived to see it!” ⁶⁷ 

ע (Ayin)

2:17 The Lord has done what he planned;

he has fulfilled ⁶⁸  his promise ⁶⁹ 

that he threatened ⁷⁰  long ago: ⁷¹ 

He has overthrown you without mercy ⁷² 

and has enabled the enemy to gloat over you;

he has exalted your adversaries’ power. ⁷³ 

Markus 15:29-30

15:29 Those who passed by defamed him, shaking their heads and saying, “Aha! You who can destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, 15:30 save yourself and come down from the cross!” ⁷⁴ 

Lukas 23:35-39

23:35 The people also stood there watching, but the rulers ridiculed ⁷⁵  him, saying, “He saved others. Let him save ⁷⁶  himself if ⁷⁷  he is the Christ ⁷⁸  of God, his chosen one!” 23:36 The soldiers also mocked him, coming up and offering him sour wine, ⁷⁹  23:37 and saying, “If ⁸⁰  you are the king of the Jews, save yourself!” 23:38 There was also an inscription ⁸¹  over him, “This is the king of the Jews.”

23:39 One of the criminals who was hanging there railed at him, saying, “Aren’t ⁸²  you the Christ? ⁸³  Save yourself and us!”

Lukas 23:1

Jesus Brought Before Pilate

23:1 Then ⁸⁴  the whole group of them rose up and brought Jesus ⁸⁵  before Pilate. ⁸⁶ 

Pengkhotbah 2:22-24

Painful Days and Restless Nights

2:22 What does a man acquire from all his labor

and from the anxiety that accompanies his toil on earth? ⁸⁷ 

2:23 For all day long ⁸⁸  his work produces pain and frustration, ⁸⁹ 

and even at night his mind cannot relax! ⁹⁰ 

This also is futile!

Enjoy Work and its Benefits

2:24 There is nothing better for ⁹¹  people ⁹²  than ⁹³  to eat and drink,

and to find enjoyment ⁹⁴  in their ⁹⁵  work.

I also perceived that this ability to find enjoyment ⁹⁶  comes from God. ⁹⁷ 

[22:6]  ¹ tn The grammatical construction (conjunction + pronoun) highlights the contrast between the psalmist’s experience and that of his ancestors. When he considers God’s past reliability, it only heightens his despair and confusion, for God’s present silence stands in stark contrast to his past saving acts.

[22:6]  ² tn The metaphor expresses the psalmist’s self-perception, which is based on how others treat him (see the following line).

[22:6]  ³ tn Or “not a human being.” The psalmist perceives himself as less than human.

[22:6]  ⁴ tn Heb “a reproach of man and despised by people.”

[22:7]  ⁵ tn Or “scoff at, deride, mock.”

[22:7]  ⁶ tn Heb “they separate with a lip.” Apparently this refers to their verbal taunting.

[22:7]  ⁷ sn Shake their heads. Apparently this refers to a taunting gesture. See also Job 16:4; Ps 109:25; Lam 2:15.

[22:17]  ⁸ tn The imperfect verbal forms in vv. 17-18 draw attention to the progressive nature of the action.

[22:17]  ⁹ tn Heb “they.” The masculine form indicates the enemies are in view. The referent (the psalmist’s enemies) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[22:17]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “they gaze, they look upon me.”

[31:11]  ¹¹ tn Heb “because of all my enemies I am a reproach.”

[31:11]  ¹² tc Heb “and to my neighbors, exceedingly.” If the MT is retained, then these words probably go with what precedes. However the syntactical awkwardness of the text suggests it is textually corrupt. P. C. Craigie (Psalms 1-50 [WBC], 258) suggests that the initial mem (מ) on מְאֹד (me’od, “exceedingly”) be understood as an enclitic mem (ם) which was originally suffixed to the preceding form and then later misinterpreted. The resulting form אֵד (’ed) can then be taken as a defectively written form of אֵיד (’ed, “calamity”). If one follows this emendation, then the text reads literally, “and to my neighbors [I am one who experiences] calamity.” The noun פַחַד (fakhad, “[object of] horror”) occurs in the next line; אֵיד and פַחַד appear in parallelism elsewhere (see Prov 1:26-27).

[31:11]  ¹³ tn Heb “and [an object of ] horror to those known by me.”

[31:12]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “I am forgotten, like a dead man, from [the] heart.” The “heart” is here viewed as the center of one’s thoughts.

[31:12]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “I am like a broken jar.” One throws away a broken jar without a second thought because it is considered worthless and useless.

[31:13]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “the report of many.”

[31:13]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “the terror from all around.”

[35:15]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “they gathered together against me, stricken [ones], and I did not know.” The Hebrew form נֵכִים (nekhim, “stricken ones” ?) is problematic. Some suggest an emendation to נָכְרִים[כְ] (kÿnokhÿrim, “foreigners”) or “like foreigners,” which would fit with what follows, “[like] foreigners that I do not recognize.” Perhaps the form should be read as a Qal active participle, נֹכִים (nokhim, “ones who strike”) from the verbal root נָכָה (nakhah, “to strike”). The Qal of this verb is unattested in biblical Hebrew, but the peal (basic) stem appears in Old Aramaic (J. Fitzmyer, The Aramaic Inscriptions of Sefire [BibOr], 114; DNWSI 1:730.) In this case one might translate, “attackers gathered together against me though I was not aware of it” (cf. NASB “smiters”; NEB, NRSV “ruffians”; NIV “attackers”).

[35:15]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “they tore and did not keep quiet.” By using the verb “tear,” the psalmist likens his enemies to a wild animal (see Hos 13:8). In v. 17 he compares them to hungry young lions.

[35:16]  ²⁰ tc The MT reads “as profane [ones] of mockers of food,” which is nonsensical. The present translation assumes (1) an emendation of בְּחַנְפֵי (bÿkhanfey, “as profane men”) to בְּחַנְפִי (bekhanfiy, “when I tripped”; preposition + Qal infinitive construct from II חָנַף [“limp”] + first common singular pronominal suffix) and (2) an emendation of לַעֲגֵי מָעוֹג (la’agey ma’og, “mockers of food”) to עָגוּ[ם]לַעְגָּ (la’gam ’agu, “[with] taunting they taunted”; masculine plural noun with enclitic mem + Qal perfect third common plural from לַּעַג [la’ag, “taunt”]).

[35:16]  ²¹ tn Heb “gnashing at me with their teeth.” The infinitive absolute adds a complementary action – they gnashed with their teeth as they taunted.

[35:17]  ²² tn Heb “O Lord, how long will you see?”

[35:17]  ²³ tn Heb “bring back, restore.”

[35:17]  ²⁴ tn Or “my life.”

[35:17]  ²⁵ tn Heb “my only one.” The psalmist may mean that his life is precious, or that he feels isolated and alone (see Ps 22:20). The verb “guard” is supplied in the translation, because the verb “rescue” is understood by ellipsis (see the previous line).

[35:18]  ²⁶ sn The great assembly is also mentioned in Ps 22:25.

[35:18]  ²⁷ tn Heb “among numerous people.”

[35:19]  ²⁸ tn Heb “[with] a lie.” The Hebrew noun שֶׁקֶר (sheqer, “lie”) is used here as an adverb, “falsely, wrongfully” (see Ps 38:19).

[35:19]  ²⁹ tn Heb “rejoice.”

[35:19]  ³⁰ tn Heb “[do not let] those who hate me without cause pinch [i.e., wink] an eye.” The negative particle is understood in the second line by ellipsis (see the preceding line). In the Book of Proverbs “winking an eye” is associated with deceit and trickery (see 6:13; 10:10; 16:30).

[35:20]  ³¹ tn Heb “for they do not speak peace.”

[35:20]  ³² tn Heb “but against the quiet ones of the land words of deceit they plan.” The imperfect verbal forms in v. 20 highlight their characteristic behavior.

[35:21]  ³³ tn Heb “and they cause their mouth to be wide against me.” The prefixed verbal form with vav (ו) consecutive here carries on the generalizing mood of the previous verse. For other examples of this use of the prefixed verbal form with vav consecutive, see GKC 329 §111.t.

[35:21]  ³⁴ tn Heb “our eye sees.” Apparently this is an idiom meaning to “look in triumph” or “gloat over” (see Ps 54:7).

[69:7]  ³⁵ tn Heb “carry, bear.”

[69:7]  ³⁶ tn Heb “on account of you.”

[69:7]  ³⁷ tn Heb “and shame covers my face.”

[69:8]  ³⁸ tn Heb “and I am estranged to my brothers, and a foreigner to the sons of my mother.”

[69:9]  ³⁹ tn Or “for.” This verse explains that the psalmist’s suffering is due to his allegiance to God.

[69:9]  ⁴⁰ tn Or “devotion to.”

[69:9]  ⁴¹ sn God’s house, the temple, here represents by metonymy God himself.

[69:9]  ⁴² tn Heb “the insults of those who insult you fall upon me.”

[69:9]  sn Jn 2:17 applies the first half of this verse to Jesus’ ministry in the context of John’s account of Jesus cleansing the temple.

[69:10]  ⁴³ sn Fasting was a practice of mourners. By refraining from normal activities such as eating food, the mourner demonstrated the sincerity of his sorrow.

[69:10]  ⁴⁴ tn Heb “and it becomes insults to me.”

[69:11]  ⁴⁵ tn Heb “and I am an object of ridicule to them.”

[69:12]  ⁴⁶ tn Heb “the mocking songs of the drinkers of beer.”

[69:20]  ⁴⁷ tn Heb “break my heart.” The “heart” is viewed here as the origin of the psalmist’s emotions.

[69:20]  ⁴⁸ tn The verb form appears to be a Qal preterite from an otherwise unattested root נוּשׁ (nush), which some consider an alternate form of אָנַשׁ (’anash, “be weak; be sick”; see BDB 60 s.v. I אָנַשׁ). Perhaps the form should be emended to a Niphal, וָאֵאָנְשָׁה (va’e’onshah, “and I am sick”). The Niphal of אָנַשׁ occurs in 2 Sam 12:15, where it is used to describe David’s sick child.

[69:20]  ⁴⁹ tn Heb “wait.”

[69:20]  ⁵⁰ tn Heb “and I wait for sympathy, but there is none.” The form נוּד (nud) is an infinitive functioning as a verbal noun:, “sympathizing.” Some suggest emending the form to a participle נָד (nad, “one who shows sympathy”). The verb נוּד (nud) also has the nuance “show sympathy” in Job 2:11; 42:11 and Isa 51:19.

[109:2]  ⁵¹ tn Heb “for a mouth of evil and a mouth of deceit against me they open, they speak with me [with] a tongue of falsehood.”

[109:25]  ⁵² tn Heb “as for me, I am a reproach to them.”

[109:25]  ⁵³ sn They shake their heads. Apparently shaking the head was a taunting gesture. See also Job 16:4; Ps 22:7; Lam 2:15.

[1:12]  ⁵⁴ tc The Heb לוֹא אֲלֵיכֶם (lo’ ’alekhem, “not to you”) is awkward and often considered corrupt but there is no textual evidence yet adduced to certify a more original reading.

[1:12]  ⁵⁵ tn The line as it stands is imbalanced, such that the reference to the passersby may belong here or as a vocative with the following verb translated “look.”

[1:12]  ⁵⁶ tn Heb “He.” The personal pronoun “he” and the personal name “the Lord,” both appearing in this verse, are transposed in the translation for the sake of readability. In the Hebrew text, “He” appears in the A-line and “the Lord” appears in the B-line – good Hebrew poetic style, but awkward English style.

[1:12]  ⁵⁷ tn Heb “which was afflicted on me.” The Polal of עָלַל (’alal) gives the passive voice of the Polel. The Polel of the verb עָלַל (’alal) occurs ten times in the Bible, appearing in agricultural passages for gleaning or some other harvest activity and also in military passages. Jer 6:9 plays on this by comparing an attack to gleaning. The relationship between the meaning in the two types of contexts is unclear, but the very neutral rendering “to treat” in some dictionaries and translations misses the nuance appropriate to the military setting. Indeed it is not at all feasible in a passage like Judges 20:45 where “they treated them on the highway” would make no sense but “they mowed them down on the highway” would fit the context. Accordingly the verb is sometimes rendered “treat” or “deal severely,” as HALOT 834 s.v. poel.3 suggests for Lam 3:51, although simply suggesting “to deal with” in Lam 1:22 and 2:20. A more injurious nuance is given to the translation here and in 1:22; 2:20 and 3:51.

[1:12]  ⁵⁸ sn The delay in naming the Lord as cause is dramatic. The natural assumption upon hearing the passive verb in the previous line, “it was dealt severely,” might well be the pillaging army, but instead the Lord is named as the tormentor.

[1:12]  ⁵⁹ tn Heb “in the day of.” The construction בְּיוֹם (bÿyom, “in the day of”) is a common Hebrew idiom, meaning “when” or “on the occasion of” (e.g., Gen 2:4; Lev 7:35; Num 3:1; Deut 4:15; 2 Sam 22:1; Pss 18:1; 138:3; Zech 8:9).

[1:12]  ⁶⁰ tn Heb “on the day of burning anger.”

[2:15]  ⁶¹ tn Heb “clap their hands at you.” Clapping hands at someone was an expression of malicious glee, derision and mockery (Num 24:10; Job 27:23; Lam 2:15).

[2:15]  ⁶² tn Heb “of which they said.”

[2:15]  ⁶³ tn Heb “perfection of beauty.” The noun יֹפִי (yofi, “beauty”) functions as a genitive of respect in relation to the preceding construct noun: Jerusalem was perfect in respect to its physical beauty.

[2:15]  ⁶⁴ tn Heb “the joy of all the earth.” This is similar to statements found in Pss 48:2 and 50:2.

[2:16]  ⁶⁵ tn Heb “they have opened wide their mouth against you.”

[2:16]  ⁶⁶ tn Heb “We have swallowed!”

[2:16]  ⁶⁷ tn Heb “We have attained, we have seen!” The verbs מָצָאנוּ רָאִינוּ (matsa’nu ra’inu) form a verbal hendiadys in which the first retains its full verbal sense and the second functions as an object complement. It forms a Hebrew idiom that means something like, “We have lived to see it!” The three asyndetic 1st person common plural statements in 2:16 (“We waited, we destroyed, we saw!”) are spoken in an impassioned, staccato style reflecting the delight of the conquerors.

[2:17]  ⁶⁸ tn The verb בָּצַע (batsa’) has a broad range of meanings: (1) “to cut off, break off,” (2) “to injure” a person, (3) “to gain by violence,” (4) “to finish, complete” and (5) “to accomplish, fulfill” a promise.

[2:17]  ⁶⁹ tn Heb “His word.” When used in collocation with the verb בָּצַע (batsa’, “to fulfill,” see previous tn), the accusative noun אִמְרָה (’imrah) means “promise.”

[2:17]  ⁷⁰ tn Heb “commanded” or “decreed.” If a reference to prophetic oracles is understood, then “decreed” is preferable. If understood as a reference to the warnings in the covenant, then “threatened” is a preferable rendering.

[2:17]  ⁷¹ tn Heb “from days of old.”

[2:17]  ⁷² tn Heb “He has overthrown and has not shown mercy.” The two verbs חָרַס וְלֹא חָמָל (kharas vÿlo’ khamal) form a verbal hendiadys in which the first retains its verbal sense and the second functions adverbially: “He has overthrown you without mercy.” וְלֹא חָמָל (vÿlo’ khamal) alludes to 2:2.

[2:17]  ⁷³ tn Heb “He has exalted the horn of your adversaries.” The term “horn” (קֶרֶן, qeren) normally refers to the horn of a bull, one of the most powerful animals in ancient Israel. This term is often used figuratively as a symbol of strength, usually in reference to the military might of an army (Deut 33:17; 1 Sam 2:1, 10; 2 Sam 22:3; Pss 18:3; 75:11; 89:18, 25; 92:11; 112:9; 1 Chr 25:5; Jer 48:25; Lam 2:3; Ezek 29:21), just as warriors are sometimes figuratively described as “bulls.” To lift up the horn often means to boast and to lift up someone else’s horn is to give victory or cause to boast.

[15:30]  ⁷⁴ sn There is rich irony in the statement of those who were passing by, “Save yourself and come down from the cross!” In summary, they wanted Jesus to come down from the cross and save his physical life, but it was indeed his staying on the cross and giving his physical life that led to the fact that they could experience a resurrection from death to life. There is a similar kind of irony in the statement made by the chief priests and experts in the law in 15:31.

[23:35]  ⁷⁵ tn A figurative extension of the literal meaning “to turn one’s nose up at someone”; here “ridicule, sneer at, show contempt for” (L&N 33.409).

[23:35]  ⁷⁶ sn The irony in the statement Let him save himself is that salvation did come, but later, not while on the cross.

[23:35]  ⁷⁷ tn This is a first class condition in the Greek text.

[23:35]  ⁷⁸ tn Or “Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”

[23:35]  sn See the note on Christ in 2:11.

[23:36]  ⁷⁹ sn Sour wine was cheap wine, called in Latin posca, and referred to a cheap vinegar wine diluted heavily with water. It was the drink of slaves and soldiers, and the soldiers who had performed the crucifixion, who had some on hand, now used it to taunt Jesus further.

[23:37]  ⁸⁰ tn This is also a first class condition in the Greek text.

[23:38]  ⁸¹ sn Mention of the inscription is an important detail, because the inscription would normally give the reason for the execution. It shows that Jesus was executed for claiming to be a king. It was also probably written with irony from the executioners’ point of view.

[23:39]  ⁸² tc Most mss (A C³ W Θ Ψ Ë^1,13 33 Ï lat) read εἰ σὺ εἶ (ei su ei, “If you are”) here, while οὐχὶ σὺ εἶ (ouci su ei, “Are you not”) is found in overall better and earlier witnesses (Ì⁷⁵ א B C* L 070 1241 pc it). The “if” clause reading creates a parallel with the earlier taunts (vv. 35, 37), and thus is most likely a motivated reading.

[23:39]  sn The question in Greek expects a positive reply and is also phrased with irony.

[23:39]  ⁸³ tn Or “Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”

[23:39]  sn See the note on Christ in 2:11.

[23:1]  ⁸⁴ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[23:1]  ⁸⁵ tn Grk “him”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[23:1]  ⁸⁶ sn Pilate was the Roman prefect (procurator) in charge of collecting taxes and keeping the peace. His immediate superior was the Roman governor (proconsul) of Syria, although the exact nature of this administrative relationship is unknown. Pilate’s relations with the Jews had been rocky (v. 12). Here he is especially sensitive to them.

[2:22]  ⁸⁷ tn Heb “under the sun.” The rhetorical question is an example of negative affirmation, expecting a negative answer: “Man acquires nothing” (see E. W. Bullinger, Figures of Speech, 949-51).

[2:23]  ⁸⁸ tn Heb “all his days.”

[2:23]  ⁸⁹ tn The syntax of this verse has been interpreted in two different ways: (1) The phrase “all his days” (כָל־יָמָיו, khol-yamayv) is the subject of a verbless clause, and the noun “pain” (מַכְאֹבִים, makh’ovim) is a predicate nominative or a predicate of apposition (see R. J. Williams, Hebrew Syntax, 15-16, §71). Likewise, the noun “his work” (עִנְיָנוֹ, ’inyano) is the subject of a second verbless clause, and the vexation” (כַעַס, kha’as) is a predicate nominative: “All his days are pain, and his work is vexation.” (2) The noun “his work” (עִנְיָנוֹ) is the subject of both nouns, “pain and vexation” (וָכַעַס מַכְאֹבִים, makh’ovim vakha’as), which are predicate nominatives, while the phrase “all his days” (כָל־יָמָיו) is an adverbial accusative functioning temporally: “All day long, his work is pain and vexation.” The latter option is supported by the parallelism between “even at night” and “all day long.” This verse draws out an ironic contrast/comparison between his physical toil/labor during the day and his emotional anxiety at night. Even at night, he has no break!

[2:23]  ⁹⁰ tn Heb “his heart (i.e., mind) does not rest.”

[2:24]  ⁹¹ tn The preposition בְּ (bet) on בָּאָדָם (ba’adam) has been taken in two ways: (1) locative with טוֹב (tov, “good”) in reference to man’s moral nature: “There is nothing [inherently] good in man.” (2) advantage with טוֹב (“good”) in reference to the enjoyment theme of 2:24-26: “There is nothing better for a man than…” (this assumes a comparative מִן, min, on מִשֶׁיֹּאכַל, misheyyo’khal); see text critical note on the word “than” below). The latter is preferred for two reasons: (1) The preposition בְּ is used with a similar idiom in 3:12 in collocation with the particle phrase אִם…כִּי (ki…’im, “except”): “There is nothing better…than to rejoice/be happy” (NASB, NIV). (2) The theme of 2:1-26 focuses on the futility of human toil, concluding that the only real reward that man has in his labor is to find enjoyment in it (e.g., 2:10, 24-26). The section says nothing about man’s inherent sinful nature.

[2:24]  ⁹² tn Heb “man.”

[2:24]  ⁹³ tc The MT reads שֶׁיֹּאכַל (sheyyo’khal, “that he should eat”; Qal imperfect 3rd person masculine singular from אָכַל, ’akhal, “to eat,” with relative pronoun שֶׁ, she, “that”). However, the variant textual tradition of מִשֶּׁיֹּאכַל (misheyyo’khal, “than he should eat” (comparative preposition מִן, min, “than” + Qal imperfect 3rd person masculine singular from אָכַל “to eat”) is reflected in the LXX, Coptic, Syriac, Aramaic Targum, Old Latin, and Jerome. The textual error, an example of haplography, arose from a single writing of מ (mem) from בָּאָדָם מִשֶּׁיֹּאכַל (ba’adam misheyyo’khal). The same idiom appears in the expanded form אִם…כִּי followed by טוֹב…אֵין (’en tov … ki ’im, “there is nothing better for man than …”) in Eccl 3:12; 8:15.

[2:24]  ⁹⁴ tn Heb “to cause his soul to see good.” The idiom רָאָה טוֹב (ra’ah tov, “to see good”) is a metonymy of association, meaning “to find enjoyment” (e.g., 3:13; 5:17; 6:6). In 3:12-13 and 5:17-18 it is in collocation and/or parallelism with בְּ (bet) + שָׂמַח (samakh, “to rejoice in,” or “to find satisfaction or pleasure in” something). Here, it is used in collocation with חוּשׁ (khush, “to enjoy”). The term נַפְשׁוֹ (nafsho, “his soul”) is a metonymy of part (i.e., soul) for the whole (i.e., whole person), e.g., Num 23:10; Judg 16:30; Pss 16:10; 35:13; 103:1 (see E. W. Bullinger, Figures of Speech, 640-41).

[2:24]  ⁹⁵ tn Heb “his.”

[2:24]  ⁹⁶ tn The phrase “ability to find enjoyment” is not in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity.

[2:24]  ⁹⁷ tn Heb “is from the hand of God.”

[2:24]  sn The phrase “from the hand of God” is an anthropomorphism (depicting God, who is an invisible spirit, in the form of man with hands) or anthropopatheia (depicting God performing human-like actions). The “hand of God” is a figure often used to portray God’s sovereign providence and benevolence (see E. W. Bullinger, Figures of Speech, 878). The phrase “the hand of God” is often used to connote the favor or grace of God (2 Chr 30:12; Ezra 7:9; 8:18; Neh 2:8, 18; see BDB 390 s.v. יָד 1.e.2).