2 Raja-raja 4:29

4:29 Elisha ¹  told Gehazi, “Tuck your robes into your belt, take my staff, ²  and go! Don’t stop to exchange greetings with anyone! ³  Place my staff on the child’s face.”

2 Raja-raja 4:1

Elisha Helps a Widow and Her Sons

4:1 Now a wife of one of the prophets ⁴  appealed ⁵  to Elisha for help, saying, “Your servant, my husband is dead. You know that your servant was a loyal follower of the Lord. ⁶  Now the creditor is coming to take away my two boys to be his servants.”

Kisah Para Rasul 18:1

Paul at Corinth

18:1 After this ⁷  Paul ⁸  departed from ⁹  Athens ¹⁰  and went to Corinth. ¹¹ 

Yeremia 1:17

1:17 “But you, Jeremiah, ¹²  get yourself ready! ¹³  Go and tell these people everything I instruct you to say. Do not be terrified of them, or I will give you good reason to be terrified of them. ¹⁴ 

Lukas 12:35-37

Call to Faithful Stewardship

12:35 “Get dressed for service ¹⁵  and keep your lamps burning; ¹⁶  12:36 be like people ¹⁷  waiting for their master to come back from the wedding celebration, ¹⁸  so that when he comes and knocks they can immediately open the door for him. 12:37 Blessed are those slaves ¹⁹  whom their master finds alert ²⁰  when he returns! I tell you the truth, ²¹  he will dress himself to serve, ²²  have them take their place at the table, ²³  and will come ²⁴  and wait on them! ²⁵ 

Lukas 12:1

Fear God, Not People

12:1 Meanwhile, ²⁶  when many thousands of the crowd had gathered so that they were trampling on one another, Jesus ²⁷  began to speak first to his disciples, “Be on your guard against ²⁸  the yeast of the Pharisees, ²⁹  which is hypocrisy. ³⁰ 

Pengkhotbah 1:13

1:13 I decided ³¹  to carefully ³²  and thoroughly examine ³³ 

all that has been accomplished on earth. ³⁴ 

I concluded: ³⁵  God has given people ³⁶  a burdensome task ³⁷ 

that keeps them ³⁸  occupied. ³⁹ 

[4:29]  ¹ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Elisha) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[4:29]  ² tn Heb “take my staff in your hand.”

[4:29]  ³ tn Heb “If you meet a man, do not greet him with a blessing; if a man greets you with a blessing, do not answer.”

[4:1]  ⁴ tn Heb “a wife from among the wives of the sons of the prophets.”

[4:1]  ⁵ tn Or “cried out.”

[4:1]  ⁶ tn Heb “your servant feared the Lord.” “Fear” refers here to obedience and allegiance, the products of healthy respect for the Lord’s authority.

[18:1]  ⁷ tn Grk “After these things.”

[18:1]  ⁸ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Paul) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[18:1]  ⁹ tn Or “Paul left.”

[18:1]  ¹⁰ map For location see JP1 C2; JP2 C2; JP3 C2; JP4 C2.

[18:1]  ¹¹ sn Corinth was the capital city of the senatorial province of Achaia and the seat of the Roman proconsul. It was located 55 mi (88 km) west of Athens. Corinth was a major rival to Athens and was the largest city in Greece at the time.

[18:1]  map For location see JP1 C2; JP2 C2; JP3 C2; JP4 C2.

[1:17]  ¹² tn The name “Jeremiah” is not in the text. The use of the personal pronoun followed by the proper name is an attempt to reflect the correlative emphasis between Jeremiah’s responsibility noted here and the Lord’s promise noted in the next verse. The emphasis in the Hebrew text is marked by the presence of the subject pronouns at the beginning of each of the two verses.

[1:17]  ¹³ tn Heb “gird up your loins.” For the literal use of this idiom to refer to preparation for action see 2 Kgs 4:29; 9:1. For the idiomatic use to refer to spiritual and emotional preparation as here, see Job 38:3, 40:7, and 1 Pet 1:13 in the NT.

[1:17]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “I will make you terrified in front of them.” There is a play on words here involving two different forms of the same Hebrew verb and two different but related prepositional phrases, “from before/of,” a preposition introducing the object of a verb of fearing, and “before, in front of,” a preposition introducing a spatial location.

[12:35]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “Let your loins be girded,” an idiom referring to the practice of tucking the ends of the long cloak (outer garment) into the belt to shorten it in preparation for activities like running, etc.

[12:35]  ¹⁶ sn Keep your lamps burning means to be ready at all times.

[12:36]  ¹⁷ tn That is, like slaves (who are mentioned later, vv. 37-38), although the term ἀνθρώποις (anqrwpoi") is used here. Since in this context it appears generic rather than gender-specific, the translation “people” is employed.

[12:36]  ¹⁸ sn An ancient wedding celebration could last for days (Tob 11:18).

[12:37]  ¹⁹ tn See the note on the word “slave” in 7:2.

[12:37]  ²⁰ tn Or “watching”; Grk “awake,” but in context this is not just being awake but alert and looking out.

[12:37]  ²¹ tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amhn), I say to you.”

[12:37]  ²² tn See v. 35 (same verb).

[12:37]  ²³ tn Grk “have them recline at table,” as 1st century middle eastern meals were not eaten while sitting at a table, but while reclining on one’s side on the floor with the head closest to the low table and the feet farthest away.

[12:37]  ²⁴ tn The participle παρελθών (parelqwn) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[12:37]  ²⁵ sn He…will come and wait on them is a reversal of expectation, but shows that what Jesus asks for he is willing to do as well; see John 13:5 and 15:18-27, although those instances merely foreshadow what is in view here.

[12:1]  ²⁶ tn The phrase ἐν οἷς (en Jois) can be translated “meanwhile.”

[12:1]  ²⁷ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[12:1]  ²⁸ tn According to L&N 27.59, “to pay attention to, to keep on the lookout for, to be alert for, to be on your guard against.” This is another Lukan present imperative calling for constant vigilance.

[12:1]  ²⁹ sn See the note on Pharisees in 5:17.

[12:1]  ³⁰ sn The pursuit of popularity can lead to hypocrisy, if one is not careful.

[1:13]  ³¹ tn Heb “I gave my heart” or “I set my mind.” The term לִבִּי (libbi, “my heart”) is an example of synecdoche of part (heart) for the whole (myself). Qoheleth uses this figurative expression frequently in the book. On the other hand, in Hebrew mentality, the term “heart” is frequently associated with one’s thoughts and reasoning; thus, this might be a metonymy of association (heart = thoughts). The equivalent English idiom would be “I applied my mind.”

[1:13]  ³² tn Heb “with wisdom,” that is, with careful reflection in light of principles observed by the sages.

[1:13]  ³³ tn Heb “to seek and to search out” (לִדְרוֹשׁ וְלָתוּר, lidrosh vÿlatur). This is an example of a verbal hendiadys (the use of two synonymous verbs to state a common idea in an emphatic manner). The terms are used because they are closely related synonyms; therefore, the similarities in meaning should be emphasized rather than the distinctions in meaning. The verb דָּרַשׁ (darash) means “to inquire about; to investigate; to search out; to study” (HALOT 233 s.v. דרשׁ; BDB 205 s.v. דָּרַשׁ). This verb is used literally of the physical activity of investigating a matter by examining the physical evidence and interviewing eye-witnesses (e.g., Judg 6:29; Deut 13:15; 17:4, 9; 19:18), and figuratively (hypocatastasis) of mentally investigating abstract concepts (e.g., Eccl 1:13; Isa 1:17; 16:5; Pss 111:2; 119:45). Similarly, the verb תּוּר (tur) means “to seek out, discover” (HALOT 1708 s.v. תּוּר 1.c; BDB 1064 תּוּר 2). The verb תּוּר is used literally of the physical action of exploring physical territory (Num 13:16-17; 14:6, 34-36; Job 39:8), and figuratively (hypocatastasis) of mentally exploring things (Eccl 1:13; 7:25; 9:1).

[1:13]  ³⁴ tn Heb “under heaven.”

[1:13]  sn Qoheleth states that he made a thorough investigation of everything that had been accomplished on earth. His position as king gave him access to records and contacts with people that would have been unavailable to others.

[1:13]  ³⁵ tn This phrase does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is added in the translation for clarity.

[1:13]  ³⁶ tn Heb “the sons of men/mankind.”

[1:13]  ³⁷ tn The phrase עִנְיַן רָע (’inyan ra’, “rotten business, grievous task”) is used only in Ecclesiastes (1:13; 2:23, 26; 3:10; 4:8; 5:2, 13; 8:16). It is parallel with הֶבֶל (hevel) “futile” in 4:8, and describes a “grave misfortune” in 5:13. The noun עִנְיַן (’inyan, “business”) refers to something that keeps a person occupied or busy: “business; affair; task; occupation” (HALOT 857 s.v. עִנְיָן; BDB 775 s.v. עִנְיָן). The related verb עָנַה (’anah) means “to be occupied, to be busy with” (with the preposition בְּ, bet), e.g., Eccl 1:13; 3:10; 5:19 (HALOT 854 s.v. III עָנָה; BDB 775 s.v. II עָנָה). The noun is from the Aramaic loanword עִנְיָנָא (’inyana’, “concern, care”). The verb is related to the Aramaic verb “to try hard,” the Arabic verb “to be busily occupied; to worry to be a matter of concern,” and the Old South Arabic root “to be troubled; to strive with” (HALOT 854 s.v. III עָנָה). The phrase עִנְיַן רָע is treated creatively by English translations: “sore travail” (KJV, ASV), “sad travail” (YLT), “painful occupation” (Douay), “sorry business” (NEB), “sorry task” (Moffatt), “thankless task” (NAB), “grievous task” (NASB), “trying task” (MLB), “unhappy business” (RSV, NRSV, NJPS), and “heavy burden” (NIV).

[1:13]  ³⁸ tn The syntax of this line in Hebrew is intentionally redundant, e.g. (literally), “It is a grievous task [or “unpleasant business”] that God has given to the sons of man to be occupied with it.” The referent of the third masculine singular suffix on לַעֲנוֹת בּוֹ (la’anot bo, “to be occupied with it”) is עִנְיַן רָע (’inyan ra’, “a grievous task, a rotten business”).

[1:13]  ³⁹ tn Or “that keeps them occupied” or “that busies them.” The verb II עָנַה (’anah, “to be occupied with”) is related to the noun עִנְיַן (’inyan, “business, task, occupation”) which also occurs in this verse. The verb עָנַה means “to be occupied, to be busy with” (with the preposition בְּ, bet), e.g., Eccl 1:13; 3:10; 5:19 (HALOT 854 s.v. III עָנָה; BDB 775 s.v. עָנָה). The Hebrew verb is related to the Aramaic verb “to try hard,” the Arabic verb “to be busily occupied; to worry; to be a matter of concern,” and the Old South Arabic root “to be troubled; to strive with” (HALOT 854).