Ulangan 14:2

14:2 For you are a people holy ¹  to the Lord your God. He ²  has chosen you to be his people, prized ³  above all others on the face of the earth.

Daniel 8:24

8:24 His power will be great, but it will not be by his strength alone. He will cause terrible destruction. ⁴  He will be successful in what he undertakes. ⁵  He will destroy powerful people and the people of the holy ones. ⁶ 

Daniel 12:7

12:7 Then I heard the man clothed in linen who was over the waters of the river as he raised both his right and left hands to the sky ⁷  and made an oath by the one who lives forever: “It is for a time, times, and half a time. Then, when the power of the one who shatters ⁸  the holy people has been exhausted, all these things will be finished.”

Daniel 12:1

12:1 “At that time Michael,

the great prince who watches over your people, ⁹ 

will arise. ¹⁰ 

There will be a time of distress

unlike any other from the nation’s beginning ¹¹ 

up to that time.

But at that time your own people,

all those whose names are ¹²  found written in the book,

will escape.

Pengkhotbah 1:16

Futility of Secular Wisdom

1:16 I thought to myself, ¹³ 

“I have become much wiser ¹⁴  than any of my predecessors who ruled ¹⁵  over Jerusalem; ¹⁶ 

I ¹⁷  have acquired much wisdom and knowledge.” ¹⁸ 

[14:2]  ¹ tn Or “set apart.”

[14:2]  ² tn Heb “The Lord.” The pronoun has been used in the translation for stylistic reasons to avoid redundancy.

[14:2]  ³ tn Or “treasured.” The Hebrew term סְגֻלָּה (sÿgullah) describes Israel as God’s choice people, those whom he elected and who are most precious to him (cf. Exod 19:4-6; Deut 14:2; 26:18; 1 Chr 29:3; Ps 135:4; Eccl 2:8 Mal 3:17). See E. Carpenter, NIDOTTE 3:224.

[14:2]  sn The Hebrew term translated “select” (and the whole verse) is reminiscent of the classic covenant text (Exod 19:4-6) which describes Israel’s entry into covenant relationship with the Lord. Israel must resist paganism and its trappings precisely because she is a holy people elected by the Lord from among the nations to be his instrument of world redemption (cf. Deut 7:6; 26:18; Ps 135:4; Mal 3:17; Titus 2:14; 1 Pet 2:9).

[8:24]  ⁴ tn Heb “extraordinarily he will destroy.”

[8:24]  ⁵ tn Heb “he will succeed and act.”

[8:24]  ⁶ tn See the corresponding Aramaic expression in 7:27. If the “holy ones” are angels, then this probably refers to the angels as protectors of God’s people. One could translate, “people belonging to (i.e., protected by) the holy ones.” If the “holy ones” are God’s people, then this is an appositional construction, “the people who are the holy ones.” One could translate simply “holy people.” For examples of a plural appositional genitive after “people,” see 11:15, 32. Because either interpretation is possible, the translation has deliberately preserved the ambiguity of the Hebrew grammar here.

[12:7]  ⁷ tn Or “to the heavens.” The Hebrew term שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) may be translated “heavens” or “sky” depending on the context.

[12:7]  ⁸ tc The present translation reads יַד־נֹפֵץ (yad-nofets, “hand of one who shatters”) rather than the MT נַפֵּץ־יַד (nappets-yad, “to shatter the hand”).

[12:1]  ⁹ tn Heb “stands over the sons of your people.”

[12:1]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “will stand up.”

[12:1]  ¹¹ tn Or “from the beginning of a nation.”

[12:1]  ¹² tn The words “whose names are” are added in the translation for stylistic reasons and for clarification.

[1:16]  ¹³ tn Heb “I spoke, I, with my heart.”

[1:16]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “I, look, I have made great and increased wisdom.” The expression הִגְדַּלְתִּי וְהוֹסַפְתִּי (higdalti vÿhosafti) is a verbal hendiadys; it means that Qoheleth had become the wisest man in the history of Jerusalem.

[1:16]  ¹⁵ tn The phrase “who ruled” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity.

[1:16]  ¹⁶ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[1:16]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “my heart” (לִבִּי, libbi). The term “heart” is a metonymy of part for the whole (“my heart” = myself).

[1:16]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “My heart has seen much wisdom and knowledge.”