Pengkhotbah 5:19

5:19 To every man whom God has given wealth, and possessions,

he has also given him the ability ¹ 

to eat from them, to receive his reward and to find enjoyment in his toil;

these things ²  are the gift of God.

Pengkhotbah 6:3

6:3 Even if a man fathers a hundred children and lives many years –

even if he lives a long, long time, ³  but cannot enjoy his prosperity –

even if he were to live forever ⁴  –

I would say, “A stillborn child ⁵  is better off than he is!” ⁶ 

Pengkhotbah 7:14

7:14 In times of prosperity ⁷  be joyful,

but in times of adversity ⁸  consider this:

God has made one as well as the other, ⁹ 

so that no one can discover what the future holds. ¹⁰ 

Pengkhotbah 8:15

Enjoy Life In Spite of Its Injustices

8:15 So I recommend the enjoyment of life, ¹¹ 

for there is nothing better on earth ¹²  for a person to do ¹³  except ¹⁴  to eat, drink, and enjoy ¹⁵  life. ¹⁶ 

So ¹⁷  joy ¹⁸  will accompany him in his toil

during the days of his life which God gives him on earth. ¹⁹ 

[5:19]  ¹ tn The syntax of this verse is difficult. The best approach is to view הִשְׁלִיטוֹ (hishlito, “he has given him the ability”) as governing the three following infinitives: לֶאֱכֹל (le’ekhol, “to eat”), וְלָשֵׂאת (vÿlase’t, “and to lift” = “to accept [or receive]”), and וְלִשְׂמֹחַ (vÿlismoakh, “and to rejoice”). This statement parallels 2:24-26 which states that no one can find enjoyment in life unless God gives him the ability to do so.

[5:19]  ² tn Heb “this.” The feminine singular demonstrative pronoun זֹה (zoh, “this”) refers back to all that preceded it in the verse (e.g., GKC 440-41 §135.p), that is, the ability to enjoy the fruit of one’s labor is the gift of God (e.g., Eccl 2:24-26). The phrase “these things” is used in the translation for clarity.

[6:3]  ³ tn Heb “the days of his years are many.”

[6:3]  ⁴ tn Heb “he has no burial.” The phrase וְגַם־קְבוּרָה לֹא־הָיְתָה (vÿgam-qÿvurah lo’-haytah, “he even has no burial”) is traditionally treated as part of a description of the man’s sorry final state, that is, he is deprived of even a proper burial (KJV, NEB, RSV, NRSV, ASV, NASB, NIV, NJPS, MLB, Moffatt). However, the preceding parallel lines suggest that this a hyperbolic protasis: “If he were to live one hundred years…even if he were never buried [i.e., were to live forever]….” A similar idea occurs elsewhere (e.g., Pss 49:9; 89:48). See D. R. Glenn, “Ecclesiastes,” BKCOT, 990.

[6:3]  ⁵ tn The noun נֶפֶל (nefel) denotes “miscarriage” and by metonymy of effect, “stillborn child” (e.g., Ps 58:9; Job 3:16; Eccl 6:3); cf. HALOT 711. The noun is related to the verb נָפַל (nafal, “to fall,” but occasionally “to be born”; see Isa 26:18); cf. HALOT 710 s.v. נפל 5.

[6:3]  ⁶ sn The point of 6:3-6 is that the futility of unenjoyed wealth is worse than the tragedy of being stillborn.

[7:14]  ⁷ tn Heb “the day of good.”

[7:14]  ⁸ tn Heb “the day of evil.”

[7:14]  ⁹ tn Less probable renderings of this line are “God hath made the one side by side with the other” (ASV) and “God has set the one alongside the other” (NEB).

[7:14]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “anything after him.” This line is misinterpreted by several versions: “that man may not find against him any just complaint” (Douay); “consequently, man may find no fault with Him” (NJPS); “so that man cannot find fault with him in anything” (NAB).

[8:15]  ¹¹ tn Heb “the enjoyment.” The phrase “of life” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity.

[8:15]  ¹² tn Heb “under the sun.”

[8:15]  ¹³ tn The phrase “to do” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for smoothness.

[8:15]  ¹⁴ tn The construction אִם…כִּי (ki…’im) is used as a particle of exception to limit the preceding clause (“except; nothing but”). See, e.g., Gen 28:17; 39:9; Lev 21:2; Num 14:30; Deut 10:12; 1 Sam 30:22; 2 Kgs 4:2; 5:15; 2 Chr 21:17; Esth 2:15; 5:12; Eccl 3:12; Isa 42:19; Dan 10:21; Mic 6:8 (cf. HALOT 471 s.v. אִם כִּי B.2; BDB 474 s.v. אִם כִּי 2.a).

[8:15]  ¹⁵ sn Except to eat, drink, and enjoy life. Qoheleth is not commending a self-indulgent lifestyle of Epicurean hedonism. Nor is he lamenting the absolute futility of life and the lack of eternal retribution. He is submitting to the reality that in a sin-cursed world there is much of human existence marked by relative futility. Since the righteous man cannot assume that he will automatically experience temporal prosperity and blessings on this earth, he should – at the very least – enjoy each day to its fullest as a gift from God. D. R. Glenn (“Ecclesiastes,” BKCOT, 997) notes, “Each day’s joys should be received as gifts from God’s hands and be savored as God permits (3:13; 5:19).”

[8:15]  ¹⁶ tn The term “life” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity and smoothness.

[8:15]  ¹⁷ tn The vav introduces a logical conclusion.

[8:15]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “it”; the referent (enjoyment of life) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[8:15]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “under the sun.”