Yudas 1:9

1:9 But even ¹  when Michael the archangel ²  was arguing with the devil and debating with him ³  concerning Moses’ body, he did not dare to bring a slanderous judgment, but said, “May the Lord rebuke you!”

Amsal 2:2-6

2:2 by making ⁴  your ear ⁵  attentive to wisdom,

and ⁶  by turning ⁷  your heart ⁸  to understanding,

2:3 indeed, if ⁹  you call out for ¹⁰  discernment ¹¹  –

raise your voice ¹²  for understanding –

2:4 if ¹³  you seek ¹⁴  it like silver, ¹⁵ 

and search for it ¹⁶  like hidden treasure,

2:5 then you will understand ¹⁷  how to fear the Lord, ¹⁸ 

and you will discover ¹⁹  knowledge ²⁰  about God. ²¹ 

2:6 For ²²  the Lord gives ²³  wisdom,

and from his mouth ²⁴  comes ²⁵  knowledge and understanding.

Amsal 10:4

10:4 The one who is lazy ²⁶  becomes poor, ²⁷ 

but the one who works diligently ²⁸  becomes wealthy. ²⁹ 

Amsal 13:4

13:4 The appetite ³⁰  of the sluggard ³¹  craves ³²  but gets nothing,

but the desire of the diligent will be abundantly satisfied. ³³ 

Amsal 15:19

15:19 The way of the sluggard is like a hedge of thorns, ³⁴ 

but the path of the upright is like ³⁵  a highway. ³⁶ 

Pengkhotbah 9:10

9:10 Whatever you find to do with your hands, ³⁷ 

do it with all your might,

because there is neither work nor planning nor knowledge nor wisdom in the grave, ³⁸ 

the place where you will eventually go. ³⁹ 

Zefanya 3:16

3:16 On that day they will say ⁴⁰  to Jerusalem,

“Don’t be afraid, Zion!

Your hands must not be paralyzed from panic! ⁴¹ 

Matius 20:6

20:6 And about five o’clock that afternoon ⁴²  he went out and found others standing around, and said to them, ‘Why are you standing here all day without work?’

Yohanes 6:27

6:27 Do not work for the food that disappears, ⁴³  but for the food that remains to eternal life – the food ⁴⁴  which the Son of Man will give to you. For God the Father has put his seal of approval on him.” ⁴⁵ 

Filipi 3:13-14

3:13 Brothers and sisters, ⁴⁶  I do not consider myself to have attained this. Instead I am single-minded: ⁴⁷  Forgetting the things that are behind and reaching out for the things that are ahead, 3:14 with this goal in mind, ⁴⁸  I strive toward the prize of the upward call of God ⁴⁹  in Christ Jesus.

Filipi 3:2

3:2 Beware of the dogs, ⁵⁰  beware of the evil workers, beware of those who mutilate the flesh! ⁵¹ 

Pengkhotbah 1:10-11

1:10 Is there anything about which someone can say, “Look at this! It is new!”? ⁵² 

It was already ⁵³  done long ago, ⁵⁴  before our time. ⁵⁵ 

1:11 No one remembers the former events, ⁵⁶ 

nor will anyone remember ⁵⁷  the events that are yet to happen; ⁵⁸ 

they will not be remembered by the future generations. ⁵⁹ 

[1:9]  ¹ tn The word “even” is not in Greek; it is implied by the height of the contrast.

[1:9]  ² sn According to Jewish intertestamental literature (such as 1 En. 20), Michael was one of seven archangels.

[1:9]  ³ tn The sentence structure is a bit different in Greek. Literally it reads: “But Michael the archangel, when arguing with the devil and disputing.”

[2:2]  ⁴ tn The Hiphil infinitive construct לְהַקְשִׁיב (lÿhaqshiv, “by making attentive”) functions as an epexegetical explanation of how one will receive the instruction.

[2:2]  ⁵ sn The word “ear” is a metonymy of cause; the word is used as the instrument of hearing. But in parallelism with “heart” it indicates one aspect of the mental process of hearing and understanding. A “hearing ear” describes an obedient or responsive person (BDB 24 s.v. אֹזֶן 2).

[2:2]  ⁶ tn The conjunction “and” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for the sake of smoothness.

[2:2]  ⁷ tn The Hiphil imperfect (“by turning”) continues the nuance introduced by the infinitive construct in the first colon (GKC 352 §114.r). The verb נָטָה (natah) normally means “to stretch out” and only occasionally “to turn” or “to incline” one’s heart to something, as is the case here.

[2:2]  ⁸ tn Or “mind” (the center of the will, the choice).

[2:3]  ⁹ tn Both particles retain their individual meanings, otherwise the verse would begin with a strong adversative and be a contrast to what has been said.

[2:3]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “summon.”

[2:3]  ¹¹ sn The noun recalls the second purpose of the book (1:2). It is also cognate to the last word of 2:2, forming a transition. The two objects of the prepositions in this verse are actually personifications, as if they could be summoned.

[2:3]  ¹² tn Heb “give your voice”; the expression is idiomatic for raising or lifting the voice to make a sound that carries further (e.g., Jer 2:15). This deliberate expression indicates that something significant is being uttered. J. H. Greenstone says, “If it [understanding] does not come at your first call, raise your voice to a higher pitch, put forth greater efforts” (Proverbs, 17).

[2:4]  ¹³ tn The conditional particle now reiterates the initial conditional clause of this introductory section (1-4); the apodosis will follow in v. 5.

[2:4]  ¹⁴ tn The verb בָּקַשׁ (baqash) means “to search for; to seek; to investigate” (BDB 134 s.v.). This calls for the same diligence one would have in looking for silver.

[2:4]  ¹⁵ sn The two similes affirm that the value placed on the object will influence the eagerness and diligence in the pursuit and development of wisdom (e.g., Job 28:9-11). The point is not only that the object sought is valuable, but that the effort will be demanding but rewarding.

[2:4]  ¹⁶ sn The verb חָפַשׂ (khafas) means “to dig; to search” (BDB 344 s.v.; cf. NCV “hunt for it”). The Arabic cognate means “to dig for water.” It is used literally of Joseph searching his brothers’ sacks (Gen 44:12) and figuratively for searching the soul (Ps 64:7). This is a more emphatic word than the one used in the first colon and again emphasizes that acquiring wisdom will be demanding.

[2:5]  ¹⁷ tn The verb בִּין (bin, “to perceive; to understand; to discern”) refers to ability to grasp, discern or be sensitive to what it means to fear the Lord.

[2:5]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “the fear of the Lord.” The noun is an objective genitive; the Lord is to be the object of fear and reverence.

[2:5]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “find” (so KJV, NAB, NIV, NRSV).

[2:5]  ²⁰ tn The term דַּעַת (da’at, “knowledge”) goes beyond cognition; it is often used metonymically (cause) for obedience (effect); see, e.g., Prov 3:6, “in all your ways acknowledge him,” and BDB 395 s.v. This means that the disciple will follow God’s moral code; for to know God is to react ethically and spiritually to his will (e.g., J. H. Greenstone, Proverbs, 18).

[2:5]  ²¹ tn Heb “knowledge of God.” The noun is an objective genitive.

[2:6]  ²² tn This is a causal clause. The reason one must fear and know the Lord is that he is the source of true, effectual wisdom.

[2:6]  ²³ tn The verb is an imperfect tense which probably functions as a habitual imperfect describing a universal truth in the past, present and future.

[2:6]  ²⁴ sn This expression is an anthropomorphism; it indicates that the Lord is the immediate source or author of the wisdom. It is worth noting that in the incarnation many of these “anthropomorphisms” become literal in the person of the Logos, the Word, Jesus, who reveals the Father.

[2:6]  ²⁵ tn The verb “comes” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for the sake of clarity and smoothness.

[10:4]  ²⁶ tn Heb “a palm of slackness.” The genitive noun רְמִיָּה (remiyyah, “slackness”) functions as an attributive adjective: “a slack palm” (BDB 941 s.v.). The term כַף (khaf, “palm”) is a synecdoche of part (= palm) for the whole person (= one who works with his hands). The hand is emphasized because it is the instrument of physical labor. The “slack hand” is contrasted with the “diligent hand.” A slack hand refers to a lazy worker or careless work that such hands produce. See N. C. Habel, “Wisdom, Wealth, and Poverty Paradigms in the Book of Proverbs,” BiBh 14 (1988): 28-49.

[10:4]  ²⁷ tc The MT reads רָאשׁ (ra’sh, “poor”) which is the plene spelling of רָשׁ (rash, “poor [person]”; HALOT 1229-30 s.v. רֵישׁ). Both Tg. Prov 10:4 and LXX reflect an alternate vocalization רִישׁ (rish, “poverty”) which is from the same root, and essentially means the same thing.

[10:4]  tn Heb “causes poverty.” The expression is literally, “the palm of slackness causes poverty.”

[10:4]  ²⁸ tn Heb “but the hand of the diligent” (so KJV, NAB, NASB, NRSV). The genitive noun חָרוּצִים (kharutsim, “diligence”) functions as an attributive adjective: “a diligent hand.” The noun חָרוּצִים (kharutsim) uses the plural form because the plural is often used for abstract moral qualities. The term יָד (yad, “hand”) is a synecdoche of part (= “hand”) for the whole person (= “the one who works with his hands”). The hand is emphasized because it is the instrument of physical labor.

[10:4]  ²⁹ tn Heb “makes rich” (so NASB, NRSV). The Hiphil verb is used in a causative sense; literally, “the hand of the diligent makes rich.”

[13:4]  ³⁰ tn The noun נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh, traditionally “soul”) has a broad range of meanings, and here denotes “appetite” (e.g., Ps 17:9; Prov 23:3; Eccl 2:24; Isa 5:14; Hab 2:5; BDB 660 s.v. 5.c) or (2) “desire” (e.g., Deut 12:20; Prov 19:8; 21:10; BDB 660 s.v. 6.a).

[13:4]  ³¹ sn The contrast is between the “soul (= appetite) of the sluggard” (נַפְשׁוֹ עָצֵל, nafsho ’atsel) and the “soul (= desire) of the diligent” (נֶפֶשׁ חָרֻצִים, nefesh kharutsim) – what they each long for.

[13:4]  ³² tn The Hitpael verb means “to lust after; to crave.” A related verb is used in the Decalogue’s prohibition against coveting (Exod 20:17; Deut 5:21).

[13:4]  ³³ tn Heb “will be made fat” (cf. KJV, NASB); NRSV “is richly supplied.”

[15:19]  ³⁴ tn Heb “like an overgrowth”; NRSV “overgrown with thorns”; cf. CEV “like walking in a thorn patch.” The point of the simile is that the path of life taken by the lazy person has many obstacles that are painful – it is like trying to break through a hedge of thorns. The LXX has “strewn with thorns.”

[15:19]  ³⁵ tn The comparative “like” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is implied by the metaphor; it is supplied for the sake of clarity.

[15:19]  ³⁶ sn The contrast to the “thorny way” is the highway, the Hebrew word signifying a well built-up road (סָלַל, salal, “to heap up”). The upright have no reason to swerve, duck, or detour, but may expect “clear sailing.” Other passages pair these two concepts, e.g., Prov 6:10; 10:26; 28:19.

[9:10]  ³⁷ tn Heb “Whatever your hand finds to do.”

[9:10]  ³⁸ tn Heb “Sheol.”

[9:10]  ³⁹ tn Or “where you are about to go.”

[3:16]  ⁴⁰ tn Heb “it will be said.” The passive construction has been translated as active for stylistic reasons.

[3:16]  ⁴¹ tn Heb “your hands must not go limp.”

[20:6]  ⁴² tn Grk “about the eleventh hour.”

[6:27]  ⁴³ tn Or “perishes” (this might refer to spoiling, but is more focused on the temporary nature of this kind of food).

[6:27]  sn Do not work for the food that disappears. Note the wordplay on “work” here. This does not imply “working” for salvation, since the “work” is later explained (in John 6:29) as “to believe in the one whom he (the Father) sent.”

[6:27]  ⁴⁴ tn The referent (the food) has been specified for clarity by repeating the word “food” from the previous clause.

[6:27]  ⁴⁵ tn Grk “on this one.”

[3:13]  ⁴⁶ tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:12.

[3:13]  ⁴⁷ tn Grk “But this one thing (I do).”

[3:14]  ⁴⁸ tn Grk “according to the goal.”

[3:14]  ⁴⁹ tn Grk “prize, namely, the heavenly calling of God.”

[3:2]  ⁵⁰ sn Dogs is a figurative reference to false teachers whom Paul regards as just as filthy as dogs.

[3:2]  ⁵¹ tn Grk “beware of the mutilation.”

[1:10]  ⁵² tn Alternately, “[Even when] there is something of which someone might claim…” The terms יֵשׁ דָּבָר שֶׁיֹּאמַר (yesh davar sheyyo’mar) may be an interrogative clause without an introductory interrogative particle (GKC 473 §150.a). In questions, יֵשׁ often implies doubt about the existence of something (BDB 441 s.v. יֵשׁ 2.b). The LXX rendered it as a question, as do most English versions: “Is there anything of which it can be said…?” (KJV, ASV, RSV, MLB, NEB, NASB, NIV, NRSV). On the other hand, יֵשׁ is used elsewhere in the Book of Ecclesiastes as a predication of existence (“There is…”) to assert the existence of something (2:13, 21; 4:8, 9; 5:13[12]; 6:1, 11; 7:15; 8:6, 14; 9:4; 10:5). HALOT 443 s.v. יֵשׁ 2 renders יֵשׁ דָּבָר as “There is something….” This view is taken by several translations: “Even the thing of which we say…” (NAB), “Men may say of something …” (Moffatt), and “Sometimes there is a phenomena of which they say…” (NJPS).

[1:10]  ⁵³ tn The perfect tense verb הָיָה (hayah) refers to a past perfect situation: It describes an action that is viewed as a remote past event from the perspective of the past. This past perfect situation is brought out by the temporal adverb כְּבָר (kÿvar, “already”; HALOT 459 s.v. I כְּבָר; BDB 460 s.v. I כְּבָר; cf. 1:10; 2:12, 16; 3:15; 4:2; 6:10; 9:6-7). The expression כְּבָר + הָיָה connotes a past perfect nuance: “it has already been” (Eccl 1:10; see BDB 460 s.v.).

[1:10]  ⁵⁴ sn This does not deny man’s creativity or inventiveness, only the ultimate newness of his accomplishments. For example, there is no essential difference between the first voyage to the moon and the discovery of America (different point of arrival, different vehicles of travel, but the same essential action and results).

[1:10]  ⁵⁵ tn Heb “in the ages long ago before us.”

[1:11]  ⁵⁶ tn Heb “There is no remembrance of former things.” The term רִאשֹׁנִים (ri’shonim, “former things”) is the masculine plural form of the adjective רִאשׁוֹן (ri’shon,“former, first, chief”; BDB 911 s.v. רִאשׁוֹן). When used in a temporal sense, the singular denotes “former” in time (BDB 911 s.v. 1.a) or “first” in time (BDB 911 s.v. 2.a). The plural form is only used to denote “former” in time: “former persons,” i.e., ancestors, men of old (e.g., Lev 26:45; Deut 19:14; Job 18:20; Isa 61:4; Ps 79:8; Sirach 4:16) or “former things,” i.e., past events (e.g., Isa 41:22; 42:9; 43:9, 18; 46:9; 48:3). See BDB 911 s.v. 1.a, which suggests that this usage refers to “former persons.” This approach is adopted by several translations: “men of old” (NEB, NAB, NIV, Moffatt), “people of long ago” (NRSV), “earlier ones” (NJPS), and “former generations” (ASV). On the other hand, this Hebrew phrase may be nuanced “former things” or “earlier things” (HALOT 1168 s.v. ן(וֹ)רִאשֹׁ). This is adopted by some translations: “former things” (KJV, RSV) and “earlier things” (NASB). Although future generations are mentioned in 1:11, what they will not remember is the past events. The context of 1:3-11 focuses on human achievement, that is, former things.

[1:11]  ⁵⁷ tn The term “remember” is not in the Hebrew text, but has been supplied in the translation for clarity.

[1:11]  ⁵⁸ tn Heb “and also of the last things which will be.” The term אַחֲרֹנִים (’akharonim, “the future things”) is the masculine plural form of the adjective אַחֲרוֹן (’akharon) which means “coming after” (BDB 30 s.v. אַחֲרוֹן) or “at the back” (HALOT 36 s.v. אַחֲרוֹן). When used in a temporal sense, it may mean (1) “later one; (2) “in the future”; (3) “last”; or (4) “at the last” or “in the end” (HALOT 36 s.v. 2). The plural form may be used in reference to (1) future generations, e.g., Deut 29:21; Pss 48:14; 78:4, 6; 102:19; Job 18:20; Eccl 4:16, or (2) future events, e.g., Neh 8:18 (BDB 30 s.v.). BDB 30 s.v. b suggests that this usage refers to “future generations,” while HALOT 36 s.v. 2.c suggests future events. As mentioned in the previous note, it probably refers to future events rather than future generations.

[1:11]  sn The Hebrew terms translated former events and future events create a merism (two polar extremes encompass everything in between). This encompasses all secular achievements in human history past to future things yet to be done.

[1:11]  ⁵⁹ tn Heb “There will not be any remembrance of them among those who come after.”

[1:11]  sn According to Qoheleth, nothing new really happens under the sun (1:9). Apparent observations of what appears to be revolutionary are due to a lack of remembrance by subsequent generations of what happened long before their time in past generations (1:10-11a). And what will happen in future generations will not be remembered by the subsequent generations to arise after them (1:11b).