Mazmur 106:35

106:35 They mixed in with the nations

and learned their ways. ¹ 

Yehezkiel 20:7-8

20:7 I said to them, “Each of you must get rid of the detestable idols you keep before you, ²  and do not defile yourselves with the idols of Egypt; I am the Lord your God.” 20:8 But they rebelled against me, and refused to listen to me; no one got rid of their detestable idols, ³  nor did they abandon the idols of Egypt. Then I decided to pour out ⁴  my rage on them and fully vent my anger against them in the midst of the land of Egypt.

Yehezkiel 23:8

23:8 She did not abandon the prostitution she had practiced in Egypt; for in her youth men had sex with her, fondled her virgin breasts, and ravished her. ⁵ 

Efesus 5:7-11

5:7 Therefore do not be partakers with them, ⁶  5:8 for you were at one time darkness, but now you are ⁷  light in the Lord. Walk as children of the light – 5:9 for the fruit of the light ⁸  consists in ⁹  all goodness, righteousness, and truth – 5:10 trying to learn ¹⁰  what is pleasing to the Lord. 5:11 Do not participate in the unfruitful deeds of darkness, but rather ¹¹  expose them. ¹² 

Efesus 5:1

Live in Love

5:1 Therefore, be ¹³  imitators of God as dearly loved children

Pengkhotbah 4:2-4

4:2 So I considered ¹⁴  those who are dead and gone ¹⁵ 

more fortunate than those who are still alive. ¹⁶ 

4:3 But better than both is the one who has not been born ¹⁷ 

and has not seen the evil things that are done on earth. ¹⁸ 

Labor Motivated by Envy

4:4 Then I considered ¹⁹  all the skillful work ²⁰  that is done:

Surely it is nothing more than ²¹  competition ²²  between one person and another. ²³ 

This also is profitless – like ²⁴  chasing the wind.

[106:35]  ¹ tn Heb “their deeds.”

[20:7]  ² tn Heb “each one, the detestable things of his eyes, throw away.” The Pentateuch does not refer to the Israelites worshiping idols in Egypt, but Josh 24:14 appears to suggest that they did so.

[20:8]  ³ tn Heb “each one, the detestable things of their eyes did not throw away.”

[20:8]  ⁴ tn Heb “and I said/thought to pour out.”

[23:8]  ⁵ tn Heb “and poured out their harlotry on her.”

[5:7]  ⁶ tn The genitive αὐτῶν (autwn) has been translated as a genitive of association because of its use with συμμέτοχοι (summetocoi) – a verb which implies association in the σύν- (sun-) prefix.

[5:8]  ⁷ tn The verb “you are” is implied in the Greek text, but is supplied in the English translation to make it clear.

[5:9]  ⁸ tc Several mss (Ì⁴⁶ D² Ψ Ï) have πνεύματος (pneumatos, “Spirit”) instead of φωτός (fwtos, “light”). Although most today regard φωτός as obviously original (UBS⁴ gives it an “A” rating), a case could be made that πνεύματος is what the author wrote. First, although this is largely a Byzantine reading (D² often, if not normally, assimilates to the Byzantine text), Ì⁴⁶ gives the reading much greater credibility. Internally, the φωτός at the end of v. 8 could have lined up above the πνεύματος in v. 9 in a scribe’s exemplar, thus occasioning dittography. (It is interesting to note that in both Ì⁴⁹ and א the two instances of φωτός line up.) However, written in a contracted form, as a nomen sacrum (pMnMs) – a practice found even in the earliest mss – πνεύματος would not have been easily confused with fwtos (there being only the last letter to occasion homoioteleuton rather than the last three). Further, the external evidence for φωτός is quite compelling (Ì⁴⁹ א A B D* F G P 33 81 1739 1881 2464 pc latt co); it is rather doubtful that the early and widespread witnesses all mistook πνεύματος for φωτός. In addition, πνεύματος can be readily explained as harking back to Gal 5:22 (“the fruit of the Spirit”). Thus, on balance, φωτός appears to be original, giving rise to the reading πνεύματος.

[5:9]  ⁹ tn Grk “in.” The idea is that the fruit of the light is “expressed in” or “consists of.”

[5:10]  ¹⁰ tn BDAG 255 s.v. δοκιμάζω 1 translates δοκιμάζοντες (dokimazonte") in Eph 5:10 as “try to learn.”

[5:11]  ¹¹ tn The Greek conjunction καὶ (kai) seems to be functioning here ascensively, (i.e., “even”), but is difficult to render in this context using good English. It may read something like: “but rather even expose them!”

[5:11]  ¹² tn Grk “rather even expose.”

[5:1]  ¹³ tn Or “become.”

[4:2]  ¹⁴ tn The verb שָׁבַח (shavakh) has a two-fold range of meaning: (1) “to praise; to laud”; and (2) “to congratulate” (HALOT 1387 s.v. I שׁבח; BDB 986 s.v. II שָׁבַח). The LXX translated it as ἐπῄνεσα (ephnesa, “I praised”). The English versions reflect the range of possible meanings: “praised” (KJV, ASV, Douay); “congratulated” (MLB, NASB); “declared/judged/accounted/thought…fortunate/happy” (NJPS, NEB, NIV, RSV, NRSV, NAB).

[4:2]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “the dead who had already died.”

[4:2]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “the living who are alive.”

[4:3]  ¹⁷ tn The word “born” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity.

[4:3]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “under the sun.”

[4:4]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “saw.”

[4:4]  ²⁰ tn Heb “all the toil and all the skill.” This Hebrew clause (אֶת־כָּל־עָמָל וְאֵת כָּל־כִּשְׁרוֹן, ’et-kol-’amal vÿ’et kol-kishron) is a nominal hendiadys (a figurative expression in which two independent phrases are used to connote the same thing). The second functions adverbially, modifying the first, which retains its full nominal function: “all the skillful work.”

[4:4]  ²¹ tn The phrase “nothing more than” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity.

[4:4]  ²² tn The noun קִנְאַה (qin’ah, “competition”) has a wide range of meanings: “zeal; jealousy; envy; rivalry; competition; suffering; animosity; anger; wrath” (HALOT 1110 s.v.; BDB 888 s.v.). Here, as in 9:6, it denotes “rivalry” (BDB 888 s.v. 1) or “competitive spirit” (HALOT 1110 s.v. 1.b). The LXX rendered it ζῆλος (zhlos, “envy; jealousy”). The English versions reflect this broad range: “rivalry” (NEB, NAB, NASB), “envy” (KJV, ASV, RSV, NRSV, MLB, NIV, NJPS), and “jealousy” (Moffatt).

[4:4]  ²³ tn Heb “a man and his neighbor.”

[4:4]  ²⁴ tn The word “like” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity.