Pengkhotbah 3:17

3:17 I thought to myself, “God will judge both the righteous and the wicked;

for there is an appropriate time for every activity,

and there is a time of judgment ¹  for every deed.

Pengkhotbah 7:2

7:2 It is better to go to a funeral ² 

than a feast. ³ 

For death ⁴  is the destiny ⁵  of every person, ⁶ 

and the living should ⁷  take this ⁸  to heart.

Pengkhotbah 10:20

10:20 Do not curse a king even in your thoughts,

and do not curse the rich ⁹  while in your bedroom; ¹⁰ 

for a bird ¹¹  might report what you are thinking, ¹² 

or some winged creature ¹³  might repeat your ¹⁴  words. ¹⁵ 

[3:17]  ¹ tn The phrase “a time of judgment” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity.

[7:2]  ² tn Heb “house of mourning.” The phrase refers to a funeral where the deceased is mourned.

[7:2]  ³ tn Heb “house of drinking”; or “house of feasting.” The Hebrew noun מִשְׁתֶּה (mishteh) can denote (1) “feast; banquet,” occasion for drinking-bouts (1 Sam 25:36; Isa 5:12; Jer 51:39; Job 1:5; Esth 2:18; 5:14; 8:17; 9:19) or (2) “drink” (exilic/postexilic – Ezra 3:7; Dan 1:5, 8, 16); see HALOT 653 s.v. מִשְׁתֶּה 4; BDB 1059 s.v. שָׁתַה.

[7:2]  sn Qoheleth recommended that people soberly reflect on the brevity of life and the reality of death (It is better to go to a house of mourning) than to waste one’s life in the foolish pursuit of pleasure (than to go to a house of banqueting). Sober reflection on the brevity of life and reality of death has more moral benefit than frivolous levity.

[7:2]  ⁴ tn Heb “it”; the referent (“death”) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[7:2]  ⁵ tn Heb “the end.” The noun סוֹף (sof) literally means “end; conclusion” (HALOT 747 s.v. סוֹף 1; BDB 693 s.v. סוֹף). It is used in this context in reference to death, as the preceding phrase “house of mourning” (i.e., funeral) suggests.

[7:2]  ⁶ tn Heb “all men” or “every man.”

[7:2]  ⁷ tn The imperfect tense verb יִתֵּן, yitten (from נָתָן, natan, “to give”) functions in a modal sense, denoting obligation, that is, the subject’s obligatory or necessary conduct: “should” or “ought to” (see R. J. Williams, Hebrew Syntax, 31-32, §172; IBHS 508-9 §31.4g).

[7:2]  ⁸ tn The word “this” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for smoothness.

[10:20]  ⁹ tn Perhaps the referent is people who are in authority because of their wealth.

[10:20]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “in chambers of your bedroom.”

[10:20]  ¹¹ tn Heb “a bird of the air.”

[10:20]  ¹² tn Heb “might carry the voice.” The article is used here with the force of a possessive pronoun.

[10:20]  ¹³ tn The Hebrew phrase בַּעַל הַכְּנָפַיִם (ba’al hakkÿnafayim, “possessor of wings”) is an idiom for a winged creature, that is, a bird (e.g., Prov 1:17; see HALOT 143 s.v. בַּעַל A.6; BDB 127 s.v. בַּעַל 5.a). The term בַּעַל (“master; possessor”) is the construct governing the attributive genitive הַכְּנָפַיִם (“wings”); see IBHS 149-51 §9.5.3b.

[10:20]  ¹⁴ tn The term “your” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for smoothness.

[10:20]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “tell the matter.”