Amsal 10:25

10:25 When the storm ¹  passes through, the wicked are swept away, ² 

but the righteous are an everlasting foundation. ³ 

Mazmur 16:8

16:8 I constantly trust in the Lord; ⁴ 

because he is at my right hand, I will not be upended.

Mazmur 37:22

37:22 Surely ⁵  those favored by the Lord ⁶  will possess the land,

but those rejected ⁷  by him will be wiped out. ⁸ 

Mazmur 37:28-29

37:28 For the Lord promotes ⁹  justice,

and never abandons ¹⁰  his faithful followers.

They are permanently secure, ¹¹ 

but the children ¹²  of evil men are wiped out. ¹³ 

37:29 The godly will possess the land

and will dwell in it permanently.

Mazmur 112:6

112:6 For he will never be upended;

others will always remember one who is just. ¹⁴ 

Mazmur 125:1

Psalm 125 ¹⁵ 

A song of ascents. ¹⁶ 

125:1 Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion;

it cannot be upended and will endure forever.

Roma 8:35-39

8:35 Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will trouble, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? ¹⁷  8:36 As it is written, “For your sake we encounter death all day long; we were considered as sheep to be slaughtered.” ¹⁸  8:37 No, in all these things we have complete victory ¹⁹  through him ²⁰  who loved us! 8:38 For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor heavenly rulers, ²¹  nor things that are present, nor things to come, nor powers, 8:39 nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in creation will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Roma 8:2

8:2 For the law of the life-giving Spirit ²²  in Christ Jesus has set you ²³  free from the law of sin and death.

Pengkhotbah 1:10-11

1:10 Is there anything about which someone can say, “Look at this! It is new!”? ²⁴ 

It was already ²⁵  done long ago, ²⁶  before our time. ²⁷ 

1:11 No one remembers the former events, ²⁸ 

nor will anyone remember ²⁹  the events that are yet to happen; ³⁰ 

they will not be remembered by the future generations. ³¹ 

[10:25]  ¹ sn The word for “storm wind” comes from the root סוּף (suf, “to come to an end; to cease”). The noun may then describe the kind of storm that makes an end of things, a “whirlwind” (so KJV, NASB; NLT “cyclone”). It is used in prophetic passages that describe swift judgment and destruction.

[10:25]  ² tn Heb “the wicked are not”; ASV, NAB, NASB “is no more.”

[10:25]  ³ tn Heb “a foundation forever”; NLT “have a lasting foundation.”

[10:25]  sn The metaphor compares the righteous to an everlasting foundation to stress that they are secure when the catastrophes of life come along. He is fixed in a covenantal relationship and needs not to fear passing misfortunes. The wicked has no such security.

[16:8]  ⁴ tn Heb “I set the Lord before me continually.” This may mean that the psalmist is aware of the Lord’s presence and sensitive to his moral guidance (see v. 7), or that he trusts in the Lord’s protection (see the following line).

[37:22]  ⁵ tn The particle כִּי is best understood as asseverative or emphatic here.

[37:22]  ⁶ tn Heb “those blessed by him.” The pronoun “him” must refer to the Lord (see vv. 20, 23), so the referent has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[37:22]  ⁷ tn Heb “cursed.”

[37:22]  ⁸ tn Or “cut off”; or “removed” (see v. 9).

[37:28]  ⁹ tn Heb “loves.” The verb “loves” is here metonymic; the Lord’s commitment to principles of justice causes him to actively promote these principles as he governs the world. The active participle describes characteristic behavior.

[37:28]  ¹⁰ tn The imperfect verbal form draws attention to this generalizing statement.

[37:28]  ¹¹ tn Or “protected forever.”

[37:28]  ¹² tn Or “offspring”; Heb “seed.”

[37:28]  ¹³ tn Or “cut off”; or “removed.” The perfect verbal forms in v. 28b state general truths.

[112:6]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “for an eternal memorial a just [one] will be.”

[125:1]  ¹⁵ sn Psalm 125. The psalmist affirms his confidence in the Lord’s protection and justice.

[125:1]  ¹⁶ sn The precise significance of this title, which appears in Pss 120-134, is unclear. Perhaps worshipers recited these psalms when they ascended the road to Jerusalem to celebrate annual religious festivals. For a discussion of their background see L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 (WBC), 219-21.

[8:35]  ¹⁷ tn Here “sword” is a metonymy that includes both threats of violence and acts of violence, even including death (although death is not necessarily the only thing in view here).

[8:36]  ¹⁸ sn A quotation from Ps 44:22.

[8:37]  ¹⁹ tn BDAG 1034 s.v. ὑπερνικάω states, “as a heightened form of νικᾶν prevail completely ὑπερνικῶμεν we are winning a most glorious victory Ro 8:37.”

[8:37]  ²⁰ tn Here the referent could be either God or Christ, but in v. 39 it is God’s love that is mentioned.

[8:38]  ²¹ tn BDAG 138 s.v. ἀρχή 6 takes this term as a reference to angelic or transcendent powers (as opposed to merely human rulers). To clarify this, the adjective “heavenly” has been supplied in the translation. Some interpreters see this as a reference to fallen angels or demonic powers, and this view is reflected in some recent translations (NIV, NLT).

[8:2]  ²² tn Grk “for the law of the Spirit of life.”

[8:2]  ²³ tc Most mss read the first person singular pronoun με (me) here (A D 1739^c 1881 Ï lat sa). The second person singular pronoun σε (se) is superior because of external support (א B {F which reads σαι} G 1506* 1739*) and internal support (it is the harder reading since ch. 7 was narrated in the first person). At the same time, it could have arisen via dittography from the final syllable of the verb preceding it (ἠλευθέρωσεν, hleuqerwsen; “has set free”). But for this to happen in such early and diverse witnesses is unlikely, especially as it depends on various scribes repeatedly overlooking either the nu or the nu-bar at the end of the verb.

[1:10]  ²⁴ 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]  ²⁵ 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]  ²⁶ 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]  ²⁷ tn Heb “in the ages long ago before us.”

[1:11]  ²⁸ 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]  ²⁹ tn The term “remember” is not in the Hebrew text, but has been supplied in the translation for clarity.

[1:11]  ³⁰ 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]  ³¹ 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).