Pengkhotbah 3:13

3:13 and also that everyone should eat and drink, and find enjoyment in all his toil,

for these things ¹  are a gift from God.

Pengkhotbah 4:6

4:6 Better is one handful with some rest

than two hands full of toil ²  and chasing the wind.

Pengkhotbah 4:9

Labor is Beneficial When Its Rewards Are Shared

4:9 Two people are better than one,

because they can reap ³  more benefit ⁴  from their labor.

Pengkhotbah 4:13

Labor Motivated by Prestige-Seeking

4:13 A poor but wise youth is better than an old and foolish king

who no longer knows how to receive advice.

Pengkhotbah 6:9

6:9 It is better to be content with ⁵  what the eyes can see ⁶ 

than for one’s heart always to crave more. ⁷ 

This continual longing ⁸  is futile – like ⁹  chasing the wind.

Pengkhotbah 7:20

7:20 For ¹⁰  there is not one truly ¹¹  righteous person on the earth

who continually does good and never sins.

[3:13]  ¹ tn Heb “for it.” The referent of the 3rd person feminine singular independent person pronoun (“it”) is probably the preceding statement: “to eat, drink, and find satisfaction.” This would be an example of an anacoluthon (GKC 505-6 §167.b). Thus the present translation uses “these things” to indicate the reference back to the preceding.

[4:6]  ² sn Qoheleth lists three approaches to labor: (1) the competitive workaholic in 4:4, (2) the impoverished sluggard in 4:5, and (3) the contented laborer in 4:6. The balanced approach rebukes the two extremes.

[4:9]  ³ tn Heb “they have.”

[4:9]  ⁴ tn Heb “a good reward.”

[6:9]  ⁵ tn The phrase “to be content with” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity.

[6:9]  ⁶ tn The expression מַרְאֵה עֵינַיִם (mar’eh ’enayim, “the seeing of the eyes”) is a metonymy of cause (i.e., seeing an object) for effect (i.e., being content with what the eyes can see); see E. W. Bullinger, Figures of Speech, 552-54.

[6:9]  ⁷ tn Heb “the roaming of the soul.” The expression מֵהֲלָךְ־נָפֶשׁ (mehalakh-nafesh, “the roaming of the soul”) is a metonymy for unfulfilled desires. The term “soul” (נֶפֶשׁ, nefesh) is used as a metonymy of association for man’s desires and appetites (BDB 660 s.v. נֶפֶשׁ 5.c; 6.a). This also involves the personification of the roving appetite as “roving” (מֵהֲלָךְ); see BDB 235 s.v. הָלַךְ II.3.f; 232 I.3.

[6:9]  ⁸ tn The phrase “continual longing” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity.

[6:9]  ⁹ tn The term “like” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity and smoothness.

[7:20]  ¹⁰ tn The introductory particle כִּי (ki) is rendered variously: “for” (KJV); “indeed” (NASB); not translated (NIV); “for” (NJPS). The particle functions in an explanatory sense, explaining the need for wisdom in v. 19. Righteousness alone cannot always protect a person from calamity (7:15-16); therefore, something additional, such as wisdom, is needed. The need for wisdom as protection from calamity is particularly evident in the light of the fact that no one is truly righteous (7:19-20).

[7:20]  ¹¹ tn The term “truly” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity. Qoheleth does not deny the existence of some people who are relatively righteous.