Mazmur 11:5

11:5 The Lord approves of ¹  the godly, ² 

but he ³  hates ⁴  the wicked and those who love to do violence. ⁵ 

Mazmur 50:16-21

50:16 God says this to the evildoer: ⁶ 

“How can you declare my commands,

and talk about my covenant? ⁷ 

50:17 For you hate instruction

and reject my words. ⁸ 

50:18 When you see a thief, you join him; ⁹ 

you associate with men who are unfaithful to their wives. ¹⁰ 

50:19 You do damage with words, ¹¹ 

and use your tongue to deceive. ¹² 

50:20 You plot against your brother; ¹³ 

you slander your own brother. ¹⁴ 

50:21 When you did these things, I was silent, ¹⁵ 

so you thought I was exactly like you. ¹⁶ 

But now I will condemn ¹⁷  you

and state my case against you! ¹⁸ 

Mazmur 52:3-4

52:3 You love evil more than good,

lies more than speaking the truth. ¹⁹  (Selah)

52:4 You love to use all the words that destroy, ²⁰ 

and the tongue that deceives.

Hosea 7:3

Political Intrigue and Conspiracy in the Palace

7:3 The royal advisers delight the king with their evil schemes,

the princes make him glad with their lies.

Mikha 3:2

3:2 yet you ²¹  hate what is good, ²² 

and love what is evil. ²³ 

You flay my people’s skin ²⁴ 

and rip the flesh from their bones. ²⁵ 

Markus 14:11

14:11 When they heard this, they were delighted ²⁶  and promised to give him money. ²⁷  So ²⁸  Judas ²⁹  began looking for an opportunity to betray him.

Yohanes 3:19-21

3:19 Now this is the basis for judging: ³⁰  that the light has come into the world and people ³¹  loved the darkness rather than the light, because their deeds were evil. 3:20 For everyone who does evil deeds hates the light and does not come to the light, so that their deeds will not be exposed. 3:21 But the one who practices the truth comes to the light, so that it may be plainly evident that his deeds have been done in God. ³² 

Roma 1:32

1:32 Although they fully know ³³  God’s righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, ³⁴  they not only do them but also approve of those who practice them. ³⁵ 

Roma 2:8

2:8 but ³⁶  wrath and anger to those who live in selfish ambition ³⁷  and do not obey the truth but follow ³⁸  unrighteousness.

Roma 8:7-8

8:7 because the outlook of the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to the law of God, nor is it able to do so. 8:8 Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.

Roma 12:9

Conduct in Love

12:9 Love must be ³⁹  without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil, cling to what is good.

Roma 12:2

12:2 Do not be conformed ⁴⁰  to this present world, ⁴¹  but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may test and approve ⁴²  what is the will of God – what is good and well-pleasing and perfect.

Pengkhotbah 2:13-15

2:13 I realized that wisdom is preferable to folly, ⁴³ 

just as light is preferable to darkness:

2:14 The wise man can see where he is going, ⁴⁴  but the fool walks in darkness.

Yet I also realized that the same fate ⁴⁵  happens to them both. ⁴⁶ 

2:15 So I thought to myself, “The fate of the fool will happen even to me! ⁴⁷ 

Then what did I gain by becoming so excessively ⁴⁸  wise?” ⁴⁹ 

So I lamented to myself, ⁵⁰ 

“The benefits of wisdom ⁵¹  are ultimately ⁵²  meaningless!”

Pengkhotbah 2:3

2:3 I thought deeply ⁵³  about the effects of ⁵⁴  indulging ⁵⁵  myself ⁵⁶  with wine

(all the while ⁵⁷  my mind was guiding me ⁵⁸  with wisdom) ⁵⁹ 

and the effects of ⁶⁰  behaving foolishly, ⁶¹ 

so that ⁶²  I might discover what is profitable ⁶³ 

for people ⁶⁴  to do on earth ⁶⁵  during the few days ⁶⁶  of their lives.

Yohanes 1:11

1:11 He came to what was his own, ⁶⁷  but ⁶⁸  his own people ⁶⁹  did not receive him. ⁷⁰ 

[11:5]  ¹ tn Heb “examines,” the same verb used in v. 4b. But here it is used in a metonymic sense of “examine and approve” (see Jer 20:12).

[11:5]  ² tn The singular form is used here in a collective or representative sense. Note the plural form “pure (of heart)” in v. 2.

[11:5]  ³ tn Heb “his [very] being.” A נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh, “being, soul”) is also attributed to the Lord in Isa 1:14, where a suffixed form of the noun appears as the subject of the verb “hate.” Both there and here the term is used of the seat of one’s emotions and passions.

[11:5]  ⁴ sn He hates the wicked. The Lord “hates” the wicked in the sense that he despises their wicked character and deeds, and actively opposes and judges them for their wickedness. See Ps 5:5.

[11:5]  ⁵ tn Heb “the wicked [one] and the lover of violence.” The singular form is used here in a collective or representative sense. Note the plural form רְשָׁעִים (rÿsha’im, “wicked [ones]”) in vv. 2 and 6.

[50:16]  ⁶ tn Heb “evil [one].” The singular adjective is used here in a representative sense; it refers to those within the larger covenant community who have blatantly violated the Lord’s commandments. In the psalms the “wicked” (רְשָׁעִים, rÿsha’im) are typically proud, practical atheists (Ps 10:2, 4, 11) who hate God’s commands, commit sinful deeds, speak lies and slander, and cheat others (Ps 37:21).

[50:16]  ⁷ tn Heb “What to you to declare my commands and lift up my covenant upon your mouth?” The rhetorical question expresses sarcastic amazement. The Lord is shocked that such evildoers would give lip-service to his covenantal demands, for their lifestyle is completely opposed to his standards (see vv. 18-20).

[50:17]  ⁸ tn Heb “and throw my words behind you.”

[50:18]  ⁹ tn Heb “you run with him.”

[50:18]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “and with adulterers [is] your portion.”

[50:19]  ¹¹ tn Heb “your mouth you send with evil.”

[50:19]  ¹² tn Heb “and your tongue binds together [i.e., “frames”] deceit.”

[50:20]  ¹³ tn Heb “you sit, against your brother you speak.” To “sit” and “speak” against someone implies plotting against that person (see Ps 119:23).

[50:20]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “against the son of your mother you give a fault.”

[50:21]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “these things you did and I was silent.” Some interpret the second clause (“and I was silent”) as a rhetorical question expecting a negative answer, “[When you do these things], should I keep silent?” (cf. NEB). See GKC 335 §112.cc.

[50:21]  sn The Lord was silent in the sense that he delayed punishment. Of course, God’s patience toward sinners eventually runs out. The divine “silence” is only temporary (see v. 3, where the psalmist, having described God’s arrival, observes that “he is not silent”).

[50:21]  ¹⁶ tn The Hebrew infinitive construct (הֱיוֹת, heyot) appears to function like the infinitive absolute here, adding emphasis to the following finite verbal form (אֶהְיֶה, ’ehyeh). See GKC 339-40 §113.a. Some prefer to emend הֱיוֹת (heyot) to the infinitive absolute form הָיוֹ (hayo).

[50:21]  ¹⁷ tn Or “rebuke” (see v. 8).

[50:21]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “and I will set in order [my case against you] to your eyes.” The cohortative form expresses the Lord’s resolve to accuse and judge the wicked.

[52:3]  ¹⁹ tn Or “deceit more than speaking what is right.”

[52:4]  ²⁰ tn Heb “you love all the words of swallowing.” Traditionally בַּלַּע (bala’) has been taken to mean “swallowing” in the sense of “devouring” or “destructive” (see BDB 118 s.v. בָּלַע). HALOT 135 s.v. III *בֶּלַע proposes a homonym here, meaning “confusion.” This would fit the immediate context nicely and provide a close parallel to the following line, which refers to deceptive words.

[3:2]  ²¹ tn Heb “the ones who.”

[3:2]  ²² tn Or “good.”

[3:2]  ²³ tn Or “evil.”

[3:2]  ²⁴ tn Heb “their skin from upon them.” The referent of the pronoun (“my people,” referring to Jacob and/or the house of Israel, with the Lord as the speaker) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[3:2]  ²⁵ tn Heb “and their flesh from their bones.”

[3:2]  sn Micah compares the social injustice perpetrated by the house of Jacob/Israel to cannibalism, because it threatens the very lives of the oppressed.

[14:11]  ²⁶ sn The leaders were delighted when Judas contacted them about betraying Jesus, because it gave them the opportunity they had been looking for, and they could later claim that Jesus had been betrayed by one of his own disciples.

[14:11]  ²⁷ sn Matt 26:15 states the amount of money they gave Judas was thirty pieces of silver (see also Matt 27:3-4; Zech 11:12-13).

[14:11]  ²⁸ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of previous action(s) in the narrative.

[14:11]  ²⁹ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Judas) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[3:19]  ³⁰ tn Or “this is the reason for God judging,” or “this is how judgment works.”

[3:19]  ³¹ tn Grk “and men,” but in a generic sense, referring to people of both genders (as “everyone” in v. 20 makes clear).

[3:21]  ³² sn John 3:16-21 provides an introduction to the (so-called) “realized” eschatology of the Fourth Gospel: Judgment has come; eternal life may be possessed now, in the present life, as well as in the future. The terminology “realized eschatology” was originally coined by E. Haenchen and used by J. Jeremias in discussion with C. H. Dodd, but is now characteristically used to describe Dodd’s own formulation. See L. Goppelt, Theology of the New Testament, 1:54, note 10, and R. E. Brown (John [AB], 1:cxvii-cxviii) for further discussion. Especially important to note is the element of choice portrayed in John’s Gospel. If there is a twofold reaction to Jesus in John’s Gospel, it should be emphasized that that reaction is very much dependent on a person’s choice, a choice that is influenced by his way of life, whether his deeds are wicked or are done in God (John 3:20-21). For John there is virtually no trace of determinism at the surface. Only when one looks beneath the surface does one find statements like “no one can come to me, unless the Father who sent me draws him” (John 6:44).

[1:32]  ³³ tn Grk “who, knowing…, not only do them but also approve…” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.

[1:32]  ³⁴ tn Grk “are worthy of death.”

[1:32]  ³⁵ sn “Vice lists” like vv. 28-32 can be found elsewhere in the NT in Matt 15:19; Gal 5:19-21; 1 Tim 1:9-10; and 1 Pet 4:3. An example from the intertestamental period can be found in Wis 14:25-26.

[2:8]  ³⁶ tn This contrast is clearer and stronger in Greek than can be easily expressed in English.

[2:8]  ³⁷ tn Grk “those who [are] from selfish ambition.”

[2:8]  ³⁸ tn Grk “are persuaded by, obey.”

[12:9]  ³⁹ tn The verb “must be” is understood in the Greek text.

[12:2]  ⁴⁰ tn Although συσχηματίζεσθε (suschmatizesqe) could be either a passive or middle, the passive is more likely since it would otherwise have to be a direct middle (“conform yourselves”) and, as such, would be quite rare for NT Greek. It is very telling that being “conformed” to the present world is viewed as a passive notion, for it may suggest that it happens, in part, subconsciously. At the same time, the passive could well be a “permissive passive,” suggesting that there may be some consciousness of the conformity taking place. Most likely, it is a combination of both.

[12:2]  ⁴¹ tn Grk “to this age.”

[12:2]  ⁴² sn The verb translated test and approve (δοκιμάζω, dokimazw) carries the sense of “test with a positive outcome,” “test so as to approve.”

[2:13]  ⁴³ tn Heb “and I saw that there is profit for wisdom more than folly.”

[2:14]  ⁴⁴ tn Heb “has his eyes in his head.” The term עַיִן (’ayin, “eye”) is used figuratively in reference to mental and spiritual faculties (BDB 744 s.v. עַיִן 3.a). The term “eye” is a metonymy of cause (eye) for effect (sight and perception).

[2:14]  ⁴⁵ sn The common fate to which Qoheleth refers is death.

[2:14]  ⁴⁶ tn The term כֻּלָּם (kullam, “all of them”) denotes “both of them.” This is an example of synecdoche of general (“all of them”) for the specific (“both of them,” that is, both the wise man and the fool).

[2:15]  ⁴⁷ tn The emphatic use of the 1st person common singular personal pronoun אֲנִי (’ani, “me”) with the emphatic particle of association גַּם (gam, “even, as well as”; HALOT 195–96 s.v. גַּם) appears to emphasize the 1st person common singular suffix on יִקְרֵנִי (yiqreni) “it will befall [or “happen to”] me” (Qal imperfect 3rd person masculine singular + 1st person common singular suffix from קָרָה, qarah, “to befall; to happen to”); see GKC 438 §135.e. Qoheleth laments not that the fate of the wise man is the same as that of the fool, but that even he himself – the wisest man of all – would fare no better in the end than the most foolish.

[2:15]  ⁴⁸ tn The adjective יוֹתֵר (yoter) means “too much; excessive,” e.g., 7:16 “excessively righteous” (HALOT 404 s.v. יוֹתֵר 2; BDB 452 s.v. יוֹתֵר). It is derived from the root יֶתֶר (yeter, “what is left over”); see HALOT 452 s.v. I יֶתֶר. It is related to the verbal root יתר (Niphal “to be left over”; Hiphil “to have left over”); see HALOT 451–52 s.v. I יתר. The adjective is related to יִתְרוֹן (yitron, “advantage; profit”) which is a key-term in this section, creating a word-play: The wise man has a relative “advantage” (יִתְרוֹן) over the fool (2:13-14a); however, there is no ultimate advantage because both share the same fate, i.e., death (2:14b-15a). Thus, Qoheleth’s acquisition of tremendous wisdom (1:16; 2:9) was “excessive” because it exceeded its relative advantage over folly: it could not deliver him from the same fate as the fool. He had striven to obtain wisdom, yet it held no ultimate advantage.

[2:15]  ⁴⁹ tn Heb “And why was I wise (to) excess?” The rhetorical question is an example of negative affirmation, expecting a negative answer: “I gained nothing!” (E. W. Bullinger, Figures of Speech, 949).

[2:15]  ⁵⁰ tn Heb “So I said in my heart.”

[2:15]  ⁵¹ tn Heb “and also this,” referring to the relative advantage of wisdom over folly.

[2:15]  ⁵² tn The word “ultimately” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity.

[2:3]  ⁵³ tn Heb “In my heart I explored.” The verb תּוּר (tur, “to seek out, to spy out, to explore”) is used in the OT to describe: (1) the physical activity of “spying out” or “exploring” geographical locations (Num 13:2, 16, 17, 21, 25, 32; 14:6, 7, 34, 36, 38; Job 39:8) and (2) the mental activity of “exploring” or “examining” a course of action or the effects of an action (Eccl 1:13; 2:3; 7:25; 9:1). See BDB 1064 s.v. תּוּר 2; HALOT 1708 s.v. תּוּר. It was used as a synonym with דָרָשׁ (darash, “to study”) in 1:13: “I devoted myself to study (לִדְרוֹשׁ, lidrosh) and to explore (לָתוּר, latur).”

[2:3]  sn As the repetition of the term לֵב (lev, “heart” or “mind”) indicates (2:1, 3), this experiment appears to have been only an intellectual exercise or a cognitive reflection: “I said to myself (Heb “in my heart [or “mind”],” 2:1); “I explored with my mind (Heb “heart,” 2:3a); and “my mind (Heb “heart”) guiding me with wisdom” (2:3b). Qoheleth himself did not indulge in drunkenness; but he contemplated the value of self-indulgence in his mind.

[2:3]  ⁵⁴ tn The phrase “the effects of” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity.

[2:3]  ⁵⁵ tn Or “I sought to cheer my flesh with wine.” The term לִמְשׁוֹךְ (limshokh, Qal infinitive construct from מָשַׁךְ, mashakh, “to draw, pull”) functions in a complementary sense with the preceding verb תּוּר (tur “to examine”): Heb “I sought to draw out my flesh with wine” or “I [mentally] explored [the effects] of drawing out my flesh with wine.” The verb מָשַׁךְ means “to draw, to drag along, to lead” (BDB 604 s.v. מָשַׁךְ) or “to draw out; to stretch out [to full length]; to drag; to pull; to seize; to carry off; to pull; to go” (HALOT 645–46 s.v. משׁך). BDB suggests that this use be nuanced “to draw, to attract, to gratify” the flesh, that is, “to cheer” (BDB 604 s.v. מָשַׁךְ 7). While this meaning is not attested elsewhere in the OT, it is found in Mishnaic Hebrew: “to attract” (Qal), e.g., “it is different with heresy, because it attracts [i.e., persuades, offers inducements]” (b. Avodah Zarah 27b) and “to be attracted, carried away, seduced,” e.g., “he was drawn after them, he indulged in the luxuries of the palace” (b. Shabbat 147b). See Jastrow 853-54 s.v. מְשַׂךְ. Here it denotes “to stretch; to draw out [to full length],” that is, “to revive; to restore” the body (HALOT 646 s.v. משׁד [sic] 3). The statement is a metonymy of cause (i.e., indulging the flesh with wine) for effect (i.e., the effects of self-indulgence).

[2:3]  ⁵⁶ tn Heb “my flesh.” The term בְּשָׂרִי (bÿsari, “my flesh”) may function as a synecdoche of part (i.e., flesh) for the whole (i.e., whole person). See E. W. Bullinger, Figures of Speech, 642. One could translate, “I sought to cheer myself.”

[2:3]  ⁵⁷ tn The phrase “all the while” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity.

[2:3]  ⁵⁸ tn The word “me” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity.

[2:3]  ⁵⁹ tn Heb “and my heart was leading along in wisdom.” The vav + noun, וְלִבִּי (vÿlibbi) introduces a disjunctive, parenthetical clause designed to qualify the speaker’s remarks lest he be misunderstood: “Now my heart/mind….” He emphasizes that he never lost control of his senses in this process. It was a purely mental, cognitive endeavor; he never actually gave himself over to wanton self-indulgence in wine or folly.

[2:3]  ⁶⁰ tn The phrase “the effects of” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity.

[2:3]  ⁶¹ tn Heb “embracing folly.” The verb אָחָז (’akhaz, “to embrace”) is normally used to describe the physical action of taking hold of an object. Here is it is used metaphorically to describe a person’s choice of lifestyle, that is, adopting a particular course of moral conduct (e.g., Job 17:9); see HALOT 31–32 s.v. אחז; BDB 28 s.v. אָחַז.

[2:3]  ⁶² tn Or “until.” The construction עַד אֲשֶׁר (’ad ’asher, “until”) introduces a temporal result clause (e.g., Gen 27:44; 28:15; Num 21:35; Isa 6:11); see HALOT 787 s.v. III עַד B.b. With an imperfect verb (such as אֶרְאֶה, ’er’eh, Qal imperfect first common singular from רָאָה, ra’ah, “to see”), the compound construction עַד אֲשֶׁר usually refers to future time (Gen 27:44; 29:8; Exod 23:30; 24:14; Lev 22:4; Num 11:20; 20:17; 1 Sam 22:3; Hos 5:15), but it also rarely refers to past time (Jonah 4:5; Eccl 2:3); see BDB 725 s.v. III עַד II.1.a.b. Joüon 2:370 §113.k notes that when the compound construction עַד אֲשֶׁר is occasionally used with an imperfect depicting past action to denote a virtual nuance of purpose: “until” = “so that,” e.g., Jonah 4:5; Eccl 2:3.

[2:3]  ⁶³ tn Heb “I might see where is the good?” The interrogative particle אֵי (’e, “where?”) used with the demonstrative pronoun זֶה (zeh, “this”) forms an idiom: “where [then]?” (HALOT 37–38 s.v. אֵי 2.a; see, e.g., 1 Sam 9:18; 1 Kgs 13:12; 2 Kgs 3:8; Isa 50:1; 66:1; Jer 6:16; Job 28:12, 20; 38:19, 24; Esth 7:5). The phrase אֵי־זֶה טוֹב (’e-zeh tov) is an indirect question that literally means, “Where is the good?” that is, “what good?” (HALOT 38 s.v. אֵי 2.d).

[2:3]  ⁶⁴ tn Heb “the sons of man.”

[2:3]  ⁶⁵ tn Heb “under the heavens.”

[2:3]  ⁶⁶ tn Heb “number of the days.” The Hebrew noun מִסְפַּר (mispar, “number, quantity”) sometimes means “few” (e.g., Gen 34:30; Num 9:20; Deut 4:27; 33:6; Isa 10:19; Jer 44:28; Ezek 12:16; Ps 105:12; Job 16:22; 1 Chr 16:19); see HALOT 607 s.v. מִסְפָּר 2.b; BDB 709 s.v. מִסְפָּר 1.a. This phrase is an idiom that means, “during all their lives” (BDB 709 s.v.), “during their total [short] time of life,” that is, “as long as they live” (HALOT 608 s.v. מִסְפָּר 3.d). Ecclesiastes often emphasizes the brevity of life (e.g., 5:17; 6:12; 9:9). The LXX rendered מִסְפַּר in a woodenly literal sense: ἀριθμόν (ariqmon, “the number [of days of their lives]”). Several English translations adopt a similar approach: “all the days of their life” (ASV, Douay) and “the number of days of their lives” (YLT). However, this idiom is handled well by a number of English translations: “during the few days of their lives” (RSV, NRSV, NASB, NIV, Moffatt, NJPS), “during the limited days of their life” (NAB), and “throughout the brief span of their lives” (NEB).

[1:11]  ⁶⁷ tn Grk “to his own things.”

[1:11]  ⁶⁸ tn Grk “and,” but in context this is an adversative use of καί (kai) and is thus translated “but.”

[1:11]  ⁶⁹ tn “People” is not in the Greek text but is implied.

[1:11]  ⁷⁰ sn His own people did not receive him. There is a subtle irony here: When the λόγος (logos) came into the world, he came to his own (τὰ ἴδια, ta idia, literally “his own things”) and his own people (οἱ ἴδιοι, Joi idioi), who should have known and received him, but they did not. This time John does not say that “his own” did not know him, but that they did not receive him (παρέλαβον, parelabon). The idea is one not of mere recognition, but of acceptance and welcome.