Pengkhotbah 5:15

5:15 Just as he came forth from his mother's womb, naked will he return as he came,

and he will take nothing in his hand that he may carry away from his toil.

Pengkhotbah 12:14

12:14 For God will evaluate every deed, ¹ 

including every secret thing, whether good or evil.

Pengkhotbah 10:20

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

and do not curse the rich ²  while in your bedroom; ³ 

for a bird ⁴  might report what you are thinking, ⁵ 

or some winged creature ⁶  might repeat your ⁷  words. ⁸ 

Pengkhotbah 2:23

2:23 For all day long ⁹  his work produces pain and frustration, ¹⁰ 

and even at night his mind cannot relax! ¹¹ 

This also is futile!

Pengkhotbah 10:12

Words and Works of Wise Men and Fools

10:12 The words of a wise person ¹²  win him ¹³  favor, ¹⁴ 

but the words ¹⁵  of a fool are self-destructive. ¹⁶ 

Pengkhotbah 12:2

12:2 before the sun and the light ¹⁷  of the moon and the stars grow dark,

and the clouds disappear ¹⁸  after the rain;

Pengkhotbah 3:22

3:22 So I perceived there is nothing better than for people ¹⁹  to enjoy their work, ²⁰ 

because that is their ²¹  reward;

for who can show them what the future holds? ²² 

Pengkhotbah 11:9

Enjoy Life to the Fullest under the Fear of God

11:9 Rejoice, young man, while you are young, ²³ 

and let your heart cheer you in the days of your youth.

Follow the impulses ²⁴  of your heart and the desires ²⁵  of your eyes,

but know that God will judge your motives and actions. ²⁶ 

Pengkhotbah 5:6

5:6 Do not let your mouth cause you ²⁷  to sin,

and do not tell the priest, ²⁸  “It was a mistake!” ²⁹ 

Why make God angry at you ³⁰ 

so that he would destroy the work of your hands?”

[12:14]  ¹ tn Heb “will bring every deed into judgment.”

[10:20]  ² tn Perhaps the referent is people who are in authority because of their wealth.

[10:20]  ³ tn Heb “in chambers of your bedroom.”

[10:20]  ⁴ tn Heb “a bird of the air.”

[10:20]  ⁵ tn Heb “might carry the voice.” The article is used here with the force of a possessive pronoun.

[10:20]  ⁶ 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]  ⁷ tn The term “your” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for smoothness.

[10:20]  ⁸ tn Heb “tell the matter.”

[2:23]  ⁹ tn Heb “all his days.”

[2:23]  ¹⁰ tn The syntax of this verse has been interpreted in two different ways: (1) The phrase “all his days” (כָל־יָמָיו, khol-yamayv) is the subject of a verbless clause, and the noun “pain” (מַכְאֹבִים, makh’ovim) is a predicate nominative or a predicate of apposition (see R. J. Williams, Hebrew Syntax, 15-16, §71). Likewise, the noun “his work” (עִנְיָנוֹ, ’inyano) is the subject of a second verbless clause, and the vexation” (כַעַס, kha’as) is a predicate nominative: “All his days are pain, and his work is vexation.” (2) The noun “his work” (עִנְיָנוֹ) is the subject of both nouns, “pain and vexation” (וָכַעַס מַכְאֹבִים, makh’ovim vakha’as), which are predicate nominatives, while the phrase “all his days” (כָל־יָמָיו) is an adverbial accusative functioning temporally: “All day long, his work is pain and vexation.” The latter option is supported by the parallelism between “even at night” and “all day long.” This verse draws out an ironic contrast/comparison between his physical toil/labor during the day and his emotional anxiety at night. Even at night, he has no break!

[2:23]  ¹¹ tn Heb “his heart (i.e., mind) does not rest.”

[10:12]  ¹² tn Heb “of a wise man’s mouth.”

[10:12]  ¹³ tn The phrase “win him” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but has been supplied in the translation for clarity.

[10:12]  ¹⁴ tn Or “are gracious.” The antithetical parallelism suggests that חֵן (khen) does not denote “gracious character” but “[gain] favor” (e.g., Gen 39:21; Exod 3:21; 11:3; 12:36; Prov 3:4, 34; 13:15; 22:1; 28:23; Eccl 9:11); cf. HALOT 332 s.v. חֵן 2; BDB 336 s.v. חֵן 2. The LXX, on the other hand, rendered חֶן with χάρις (caris, “gracious”). The English versions are divided: “are gracious” (KJV, YLT, ASV, NASB, NIV) and “win him favor” (NEB, RSV, NRSV, NAB, MLB, NJPS, Moffatt).

[10:12]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “lips.”

[10:12]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “consume him”; or “engulf him.” The verb I בלע (“to swallow”) creates a striking wordplay on the homonymic root II בלע (“to speak eloquently”; HALOT 134-35 s.v בלע). Rather than speaking eloquently (II בלע, “to speak eloquently”), the fool utters words that are self-destructive (I בלע, “to swallow, engulf”).

[12:2]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “the light and the moon and the stars.” The phrase “the light and the moon” is a hendiadys (two separate terms denoting one idea) or perhaps even a hendiatris (three separate terms denoting one idea) for “the light of the moon and stars” (e.g., Gen 1:14).

[12:2]  ¹⁸ tn The verb שׁוּב (shuv, “to return”) here denotes “to desist” (HALOT 1430 s.v. שׁוּב 3). It pictures the disappearance of the clouds as a result of the precipitation of their contents.

[3:22]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “man.”

[3:22]  ²⁰ tn Heb “his works.”

[3:22]  ²¹ tn Heb “his.”

[3:22]  ²² tn Heb “what will be after him” (cf. KJV, NASB, NIV) or “afterward” (cf. NJPS).

[11:9]  ²³ tn Heb “in your youth”; or “in your childhood.”

[11:9]  ²⁴ tn Heb “walk in the ways of your heart.”

[11:9]  ²⁵ tn Heb “the sight.”

[11:9]  ²⁶ tn Heb “and know that concerning all these God will bring you into judgment.” The point is not that following one’s impulses and desires is inherently bad and will bring condemnation from God. Rather the point seems to be: As you follow your impulses and desires, realize that all you think and do will eventually be evaluated by God. So one must seek joy within the boundaries of God’s moral standards.

[5:6]  ²⁷ tn Heb “your flesh.” The term בָּשָׂר (basar, “flesh”) is a synecdoche of part (i.e., flesh) for the whole (i.e., whole person), e.g., Gen 2:21; 6:12; Ps 56:4[5]; 65:2[3]; 145:21; Isa 40:5, 6; see HALOT 164 s.v. בָּשָׂר; E. W. Bullinger, Figures of Speech, 642.

[5:6]  ²⁸ tc The MT reads הַמַּלְאָךְ (hammal’akh, “messenger”), while the LXX reads τοῦ θεοῦ (tou qeou, “God”) which reflects an alternate textual tradition of הָאֱלֹהִים (ha’elohim, “God”). The textual problem was caused by orthographic confusion between similarly spelled words. The LXX might have been trying to make sense of a difficult expression. The MT is preferred as the original. All the major translations follow the MT except for Moffatt (“God”).

[5:6]  tn Heb “the messenger.” The term מַלְאָךְ (mal’akh, “messenger”) refers to a temple priest (e.g., Mal 2:7; cf. HALOT 585 s.v. מַלְאָךְ 2.b; BDB 521 s.v. מַלְאָךְ 1.c). The priests recorded what Israelite worshipers vowed (Lev 27:14-15). When an Israelite delayed in fulfilling a vow, a priest would remind him to pay what he had vowed. Although the traditional rabbinic view is that Qoheleth refers to an angelic superintendent over the temple, Rashi suggested that it is a temple-official. Translations reflect both views: “his representative” (NAB), “the temple messenger” (NIV), “the messenger” (RSV, NRSV, NASB, MLB, NJPS), “the angel” (KJV, ASV, Douay) and “the angel of God” (NEB).

[5:6]  ²⁹ tn The Hebrew noun שְׁגָגָה (shÿgagah) denotes “error; mistake” and refers to a sin of inadvertence or unintentional sin (e.g., Lev 4:2, 22, 27; 5:18; 22:14; Num 15:24-29; 35:11, 15; Josh 20:3, 9; Eccl 5:5; 10:5); see HALOT 1412 s.v. שְׁגָגָה; BDB 993 s.v. שְׁגָגָה. In this case, it refers to a rash vow thoughtlessly made, which the foolish worshiper claims was a mistake (e.g., Prov 20:25).

[5:6]  ³⁰ tn Heb “at your voice.” This is an example of metonymy (i.e., your voice) of association (i.e., you).