Mazmur 37:3

37:3 Trust in the Lord and do what is right!

Settle in the land and maintain your integrity! ¹ 

Mazmur 37:6

37:6 He will vindicate you in broad daylight,

and publicly defend your just cause. ² 

Mazmur 37:1

Psalm 37 ³ 

By David.

37:1 Do not fret ⁴  when wicked men seem to succeed! ⁵ 

Do not envy evildoers!

Pengkhotbah 2:20

2:20 So I began to despair ⁶  about all the fruit of ⁷  my labor ⁸ 

for which I worked so hard ⁹  on earth. ¹⁰ 

Pengkhotbah 3:16-17

The Problem of Injustice and Oppression

3:16 I saw something else on earth: ¹¹ 

In the place of justice, there was wickedness,

and in the place of fairness, ¹²  there was wickedness.

3:17 I thought to myself, “God will judge both the righteous and the wicked;

for there is an appropriate time for every activity,

and there is a time of judgment ¹³  for every deed.

Pengkhotbah 4:14-16

4:14 For he came out of prison ¹⁴  to become king,

even though he had been born poor in what would become his ¹⁵  kingdom.

4:15 I considered all the living who walk on earth, ¹⁶ 

as well as the successor ¹⁷  who would arise ¹⁸  in his place.

4:16 There is no end to all the people ¹⁹  nor to the past generations, ²⁰ 

yet future generations ²¹  will not rejoice in him.

This also is profitless and like ²²  chasing the wind.

[37:3]  ¹ tn Heb “tend integrity.” The verb רָעָה (ra’ah, “tend, shepherd”) is probably used here in the sense of “watch over, guard.” The noun אֱמוּנָה (’emunah, “faithfulness, honesty, integrity”) is understood as the direct object of the verb, though it could be taken as an adverbial accusative, “[feed] securely,” if the audience is likened to a flock of sheep.

[37:6]  ² tn Heb “and he will bring out like light your vindication, and your just cause like noonday.”

[37:1]  ³ sn Psalm 37. The psalmist urges his audience not to envy the wicked, but to trust in and obey the Lord, for he will destroy sinners and preserve the godly. When the smoke of judgment clears, the wicked will be gone, but the godly will remain and inherit God’s promised blessings. The psalm is an acrostic; every other verse begins with a successive letter of the Hebrew alphabet.

[37:1]  ⁴ tn The verb form is singular (see vv. 3-10 as well, where the second person verbs and pronouns are also singular). The psalmist’s exhortation has a wisdom flavor to it; it is personalized for each member of his audience.

[37:1]  ⁵ tn Heb “over sinners.” The context indicates that the psalmist has in mind the apparent power and success of sinners. See v. 7b.

[2:20]  ⁶ tn Heb “I turned aside to allow my heart despair.” The term לִבִּי (libbi, “my heart”) is a synecdoche of part (i.e., heart) for the whole (i.e., whole person); see E. W. Bullinger, Figures of Speech, 648.

[2:20]  ⁷ tn The phrase “the fruit of” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity (see the following note on the word “labor”).

[2:20]  ⁸ tn Heb “all my toil.” As in 2:18-19, the term עֲמָלִי (’amali, “my labor”) is a metonymy of cause (i.e., my labor) for effect (i.e., the fruit of my labor). The metonymy is recognized by several translations: “all the fruits of my labor” (NAB); “all the fruit of my labor” (NASB); “all the gains I had made” (NJPS).

[2:20]  ⁹ tn Here the author uses an internal cognate accusative construction (accusative noun and verb from the same root) for emphasis: שֶׁעָמַלְתִּי הֶעָמָל (he’amal she’amalti, “the toil for which I had toiled”); see IBHS 167 §10.2.1g.

[2:20]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “under the sun.”

[3:16]  ¹¹ tn Heb “under the sun.”

[3:16]  ¹² tn Or “righteousness.”

[3:17]  ¹³ tn The phrase “a time of judgment” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity.

[4:14]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “came from the house of bonds.”

[4:14]  ¹⁵ tn The phrase “what would become” is not in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity. However, it is not altogether clear whether the 3rd person masculine singular suffix (“his”) on בְּמַלְכוּתוֹ (bÿmalkhuto, “his kingdom”) refers to the old foolish king or to the poor but wise youth of 4:13.

[4:15]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “under the sun.”

[4:15]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “the second youth.” It is not clear whether “the second” (הַשֵּׁנִי, hasheni) refers to the young man who succeeds the old king or a second youthful successor.

[4:15]  ¹⁸ tn The verb עָמַד (’amad, “to stand”) may denote “to arise; to appear; to come on the scene” (e.g., Ps 106:30; Dan 8:22, 23; 11:2-4; 12:1; Ezra 2:63; Neh 7:65); cf. BDB 764 s.v. עָמַד 6.a; HALOT 840 s.v. עמד 1.a.

[4:16]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “the people.” The term עַם (’am, “people”) can refer to the subjects of the king (BDB 766 s.v. עַם 2).

[4:16]  ²⁰ tn Heb “those who were before them.”

[4:16]  ²¹ tn Heb “those coming after.” The Hebrew term הָאַחֲרוֹנִים (ha’akharonim, “those coming after”) is derived from the preposition אַחַר (’akhar, “behind”). When used in reference to time, it refers to future generations (e.g., Deut 29:21; Pss 48:14; 78:4, 6; 102:19; Job 18:20; Eccl 1:11; 4:16); cf. HALOT 36 s.v. אַחַר B.3; BDB 30 s.v. אַחַר 2.b).

[4:16]  ²² tn The word “like” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity.