1 Samuel 19:6

19:6 Saul accepted Jonathan’s advice ¹  and took an oath, “As surely as the Lord lives, he will not be put to death.”

Hosea 6:4

Transitory Faithfulness and Imminent Judgment

6:4 What am I going to do with you, O Ephraim?

What am I going to do with you, O Judah?

For ²  your faithfulness is as fleeting as the morning mist; ³ 

it disappears as quickly as dawn’s dew! ⁴ 

Matius 12:43-45

The Return of the Unclean Spirit

12:43 “When ⁵  an unclean spirit ⁶  goes out of a person, ⁷  it passes through waterless places ⁸  looking for rest but ⁹  does not find it. 12:44 Then it says, ‘I will return to the home I left.’ ¹⁰  When it returns, ¹¹  it finds the house ¹²  empty, swept clean, and put in order. ¹³  12:45 Then it goes and brings with it seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they go in and live there, so ¹⁴  the last state of that person is worse than the first. It will be that way for this evil generation as well!”

Lukas 11:24-26

Response to Jesus’ Work

11:24 “When an unclean spirit ¹⁵  goes out of a person, ¹⁶  it passes through waterless places ¹⁷  looking for rest but ¹⁸  not finding any. Then ¹⁹  it says, ‘I will return to the home I left.’ ²⁰  11:25 When it returns, ²¹  it finds the house ²²  swept clean and put in order. ²³  11:26 Then it goes and brings seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they go in and live there, so ²⁴  the last state of that person ²⁵  is worse than the first.” ²⁶ 

Lukas 11:2

11:2 So he said to them, “When you pray, ²⁷  say:

Father, ²⁸  may your name be honored; ²⁹ 

may your kingdom come. ³⁰ 

Pengkhotbah 2:20-22

2:20 So I began to despair ³¹  about all the fruit of ³²  my labor ³³ 

for which I worked so hard ³⁴  on earth. ³⁵ 

2:21 For a man may do his work with wisdom, knowledge, and skill;

however, he must hand over ³⁶  the fruit of his labor ³⁷  as an inheritance ³⁸ 

to someone else who did not work for it.

This also is futile, and an awful injustice! ³⁹ 

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? ⁴⁰ 

[19:6]  ¹ tn Heb “and Saul listened to the voice of Jonathan.”

[6:4]  ² tn The vav prefixed to וְחַסְדְּכֶם (vÿkhasdÿkhem, “your faithfulness”) functions in an explanatory sense (“For”).

[6:4]  ³ tn Heb “your faithfulness [so NCV; NASB “your loyalty”; NIV, NRSV, NLT “your love”] is like a morning cloud” (וְחַסְדְּכֶם כַּעֲנַן־בֹּקֶר, vÿkhasdÿkhem ka’anan-boqer).

[6:4]  sn The Hebrew poets and prophets frequently refer to the morning clouds as a simile for transitoriness (e.g., Job 7:9; Isa 44:22; Hos 6:4; 13:3; BDB 778 s.v. עָנָן 1.c). For discussion of this phenomena in Palestine, see Chaplin, PEQ (1883): 19.

[6:4]  ⁴ tn Heb “the dew departing early” (BDB 1014 s.v. שָׁכַם); cf. NRSV “the dew that goes away early.” The Hiphil participle מַשְׁכִּים (mashkim) means “to depart early” (Gen 19:27; Josh 8:14; Judg 19:9). The idiom means “early morning” (1 Sam 17:16).

[12:43]  ⁵ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[12:43]  ⁶ sn Unclean spirit refers to an evil spirit.

[12:43]  ⁷ tn Grk “man.” This is a generic use of ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpo"), referring to both males and females. This same use occurs in v. 45.

[12:43]  ⁸ sn The background for the reference to waterless places is not entirely clear, though some Jewish texts suggest spirits must have a place to dwell, but not with water (Luke 8:29-31; Tob 8:3). Some suggest that the image of the desert or deserted cities as the places demons dwell is where this idea started (Isa 13:21; 34:14).

[12:43]  ⁹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.

[12:44]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “I will return to my house from which I came.”

[12:44]  ¹¹ tn Grk “comes.”

[12:44]  ¹² tn The words “the house” are not in Greek but are implied.

[12:44]  ¹³ sn The image of the house empty, swept clean, and put in order refers to the life of the person from whom the demon departed. The key to the example appears to be that no one else has been invited in to dwell. If an exorcism occurs and there is no response to God, then the way is free for the demon to return. Some see the reference to exorcism as more symbolic; thus the story’s only point is about responding to Jesus. This is possible and certainly is an application of the passage.

[12:45]  ¹⁴ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the concluding point of the story.

[11:24]  ¹⁵ sn This is a reference to an evil spirit. See Luke 4:33.

[11:24]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “man.” This is a generic use of ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpo"), referring to both males and females.

[11:24]  ¹⁷ sn The background for the reference to waterless places is not entirely clear, though some Jewish texts suggest spirits must have a place to dwell, but not with water (Luke 8:29-31; Tob 8:3). Some suggest that the image of the desert or deserted cities as the places demons dwell is where this idea started (Isa 13:21; 34:14).

[11:24]  ¹⁸ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.

[11:24]  ¹⁹ tc ‡ Most mss, including a few early and important ones (Ì⁴⁵ א* A C D W Ψ Ë^1,13 Ï lat), lack τότε (tote, “then”). Other mss, including some early and important ones (Ì⁷⁵ א² B L Θ Ξ 070 33 579 892 1241 pc co), have the adverb. Although the external evidence better supports the longer reading, the internal evidence is on the side of the shorter, for conjunctions and adverbs were frequently added by copyists to remove asyndeton and to add clarification. The shorter reading is thus preferred. The translation, however, adds “Then” because of English stylistic requirements. NA²⁷ has τότε in brackets indicating doubts as to its authenticity.

[11:24]  ²⁰ tn Grk “I will return to my house from which I came.”

[11:25]  ²¹ tn Grk “comes.”

[11:25]  ²² tn The words “the house” are not in Greek but are implied.

[11:25]  ²³ sn The image of the house swept clean and put in order refers to the life of the person from whom the demon departed. The key to the example appears to be that no one else has been invited in to dwell. If an exorcism occurs and there is no response to God, then the way is free for the demon to return. Some see the reference to exorcism as more symbolic; thus the story’s only point is about responding to Jesus. This is possible and certainly is an application of the passage.

[11:26]  ²⁴ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the concluding point of the story.

[11:26]  ²⁵ tn Grk “man.” This is a generic use of ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpo"), referring to both males and females.

[11:26]  ²⁶ sn The point of the story is that to fail to respond is to risk a worse fate than when one started.

[11:2]  ²⁷ sn When you pray. What follows, although traditionally known as the Lord’s prayer, is really the disciples’ prayer. It represents how they are to approach God, by acknowledging his uniqueness and their need for his provision and protection.

[11:2]  ²⁸ tc Most mss, including later majority (A C D W Θ Ψ 070 ˹³ 33^vid Ï it), add ἡμῶν ὁ ἐν τοῖς οὐρανοῖς (Jhmwn Jo en toi" oujranoi", “our [Father] in heaven”) here. This makes the prayer begin like the version in Matt 6:9. The shorter version is read by Ì⁷⁵ א B (L: + ἡμῶν) 1 700 pc as well as some versions and fathers. Given this more weighty external evidence, combined with the scribal tendency to harmonize Gospel parallels, the shorter reading is preferred.

[11:2]  sn God is addressed in terms of intimacy (Father). The original Semitic term here was probably Abba. The term is a little unusual in a personal prayer, especially as it lacks qualification. It is not the exact equivalent of “Daddy” (as is sometimes popularly suggested), but it does suggest a close, familial relationship.

[11:2]  ²⁹ tn Grk “hallowed be your name.”

[11:2]  ³⁰ tc Most mss (א A C D W Θ Ψ 070 ˹³ 33^vid Ï it) read at the end of the verse “may your will be done on earth as [it is] in heaven,” making this version parallel to Matt 6:10. The shorter reading is found, however, in weighty mss (Ì⁷⁵ B L pc), and cannot be easily explained as arising from the longer reading.

[11:2]  sn Your kingdom come represents the hope for the full manifestation of God’s promised rule.

[2:20]  ³¹ tn Heb “I turned aside to allow my heart despair.” The term לִבִּי (libbi, “my heart”) is a synecdoche of part (i.e., heart) for the whole (i.e., whole person); see E. W. Bullinger, Figures of Speech, 648.

[2:20]  ³² tn The phrase “the fruit of” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity (see the following note on the word “labor”).

[2:20]  ³³ tn Heb “all my toil.” As in 2:18-19, the term עֲמָלִי (’amali, “my labor”) is a metonymy of cause (i.e., my labor) for effect (i.e., the fruit of my labor). The metonymy is recognized by several translations: “all the fruits of my labor” (NAB); “all the fruit of my labor” (NASB); “all the gains I had made” (NJPS).

[2:20]  ³⁴ tn Here the author uses an internal cognate accusative construction (accusative noun and verb from the same root) for emphasis: שֶׁעָמַלְתִּי הֶעָמָל (he’amal she’amalti, “the toil for which I had toiled”); see IBHS 167 §10.2.1g.

[2:20]  ³⁵ tn Heb “under the sun.”

[2:21]  ³⁶ tn Heb “he must give.” The 3rd person masculine singular suffix on יִתְּנֶנּוּ (yittÿnennu, Qal imperfect 3rd person masculine singular from נָתַן, natan, “to give” + 3rd person masculine singular suffix) refers back to עֲמָלוֹ (’amalo, “his labor”) which is treated in this line as a metonymy of cause for effect, that is, “he must give it” = “he must give his labor” = “he must give the fruit of his labor.”

[2:21]  sn As in 2:18-19, Qoheleth laments the injustice that a person who works diligently in wisdom must one day hand over the fruit of his labor (i.e., his fortune and the care of his achievements) to his successor. There is no guarantee that one’s heir will be wise and be a good steward of this wealth, or be foolish and squander it – in which case, the former man’s entire life’s work would be in vain.

[2:21]  ³⁷ tn Heb “it”; the referent (“the fruit of his labor”) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[2:21]  ³⁸ tn Or “he must turn over an inheritance”; or “he must turn it over, namely, an inheritance.” There are two approaches to the syntax of חֶלְקוֹ (khelqo, “his inheritance”): (1) The 3rd person masculine singular suffix is a subjective genitive: “his inheritance” = the inheritance which he must give to his heir. The referent of the 3rd person masculine singular suffix is Qoheleth in 2:21a who worked hard to amass the fortune. The noun חֵלֶק (kheleq, “inheritance”) functions as an adverbial accusative of state (GKC 372 §118.a) or a predicate accusative (R. J. Williams, Hebrew Syntax, 12-13, §57): “He must give it [i.e., his fortune] as an inheritance.” (2) The 3rd person masculine singular suffix is an objective genitive: “his inheritance” = the inheritance which the heir will receive from Qoheleth. The referent of the 3rd person masculine singular suffix is the heir in 2:21b. The noun חֵלֶק (“inheritance”) functions as the accusative direct object in apposition (R. J. Williams, Hebrew Syntax, 15-16, §71) to the 3rd person masculine singular suffix on יִתְּנֶנּוּ (yittÿnennu, “he must give it”; Qal imperfect 3rd person masculine singular from נָתַן, natan, + 3rd person masculine singular suffix): “He must give it, namely, his inheritance, to one who did not work for it.”

[2:21]  ³⁹ tn The noun רָעָה (ra’ah, “evil”) probably means “misfortune” (HALOT 1263 s.v. רָעָה 4) or “injustice; wrong” (HALOT 1262 s.v. רָעָה 2.b). The phrase רָעָה רַבָּה (ra’ah rabbah) connotes “grave injustice” or “great misfortune” (e.g., Eccl 2:17; 5:12, 15; 6:1; 10:5). It is expressed well as: “This too is…a great misfortune” (NAB, NIV, MLB) and “utterly wrong!” (NEB).

[2:21]  sn Verses 18-21 are arranged into two sub-units (2:18-19 and 2:20-21). Each contains a parallel structure: (1) Introductory lament: “I hated all my toil” and “I began to despair about all my toil.” (2) Reason for the lament: “I must turn over the fruit of my labor to the hands of my successor” and “he must hand over the fruit of his work as an inheritance.” (3) Description of successor: “who knows whether he will be a wise man or a fool?” and “he did not work for it.” (4) Concluding statement: “This also is fruitless!” and “This also is profitless and an awful injustice!”

[2:22]  ⁴⁰ 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).