Leviticus 26:1-46 
Context26:1 “‘You must not make for yourselves idols, 1 so you must not set up for yourselves a carved image or a pillar, and you must not place a sculpted stone in your land to bow down before 2 it, for I am the Lord your God. 26:2 You must keep my Sabbaths and reverence 3 my sanctuary. I am the Lord.
26:3 “‘If you walk in my statutes and are sure to obey my commandments, 4 26:4 I will give you your rains in their time so that 5 the land will give its yield and the trees of the field will produce their fruit. 6 26:5 Threshing season will extend for you until the season for harvesting grapes, 7 and the season for harvesting grapes will extend until sowing season, so 8 you will eat your bread until you are satisfied, 9 and you will live securely in your land. 26:6 I will grant peace in the land so that 10 you will lie down to sleep without anyone terrifying you. 11 I will remove harmful animals 12 from the land, and no sword of war 13 will pass through your land. 26:7 You will pursue your enemies and they will fall before you by the sword. 14 26:8 Five of you will pursue a hundred, and a hundred of you will pursue ten thousand, and your enemies will fall before you by the sword. 26:9 I will turn to you, make you fruitful, multiply you, and maintain 15 my covenant with you. 26:10 You will still be eating stored produce from the previous year 16 and will have to clean out what is stored from the previous year to make room for new. 17
26:11 “‘I will put my tabernacle 18 in your midst and I will not abhor you. 19 26:12 I will walk among you, and I will be your God and you will be my people. 26:13 I am the Lord your God who brought you out from the land of Egypt, from being their slaves, 20 and I broke the bars of your yoke and caused you to walk upright. 21
26:14 “‘If, however, 22 you do not obey me and keep 23 all these commandments – 26:15 if you reject my statutes and abhor my regulations so that you do not keep 24 all my commandments and you break my covenant – 26:16 I for my part 25 will do this to you: I will inflict horror on you, consumption and fever, which diminish eyesight and drain away the vitality of life. 26 You will sow your seed in vain because 27 your enemies will eat it. 28 26:17 I will set my face against you. You will be struck down before your enemies, those who hate you will rule over you, and you will flee when there is no one pursuing you.
26:18 “‘If, in spite of all these things, 29 you do not obey me, I will discipline you seven times more on account of your sins. 30 26:19 I will break your strong pride and make your sky like iron and your land like bronze. 26:20 Your strength will be used up in vain, your land will not give its yield, and the trees of the land 31 will not produce their fruit.
26:21 “‘If you walk in hostility against me 32 and are not willing to obey me, I will increase your affliction 33 seven times according to your sins. 26:22 I will send the wild animals 34 against you and they will bereave you of your children, 35 annihilate your cattle, and diminish your population 36 so that your roads will become deserted.
26:23 “‘If in spite of these things 37 you do not allow yourselves to be disciplined and you walk in hostility against me, 38 26:24 I myself will also walk in hostility against you and strike you 39 seven times on account of your sins. 26:25 I will bring on you an avenging sword, a covenant vengeance. 40 Although 41 you will gather together into your cities, I will send pestilence among you and you will be given into enemy hands. 42 26:26 When I break off your supply of bread, 43 ten women will bake your bread in one oven; they will ration your bread by weight, 44 and you will eat and not be satisfied.
26:27 “‘If in spite of this 45 you do not obey me but walk in hostility against me, 46 26:28 I will walk in hostile rage against you 47 and I myself will also discipline you seven times on account of your sins. 26:29 You will eat the flesh of your sons and the flesh of your daughters. 48 26:30 I will destroy your high places and cut down your incense altars, 49 and I will stack your dead bodies on top of the lifeless bodies of your idols. 50 I will abhor you. 51 26:31 I will lay your cities waste 52 and make your sanctuaries desolate, and I will refuse to smell your soothing aromas. 26:32 I myself will make the land desolate and your enemies who live in it will be appalled. 26:33 I will scatter you among the nations and unsheathe the sword 53 after you, so your land will become desolate and your cities will become a waste.
26:34 “‘Then the land will make up for 54 its Sabbaths all the days it lies desolate while you are in the land of your enemies; then the land will rest and make up its Sabbaths. 26:35 All the days of the desolation it will have the rest it did not have 55 on your Sabbaths when you lived on it.
26:36 “‘As for 56 the ones who remain among you, I will bring despair into their hearts in the lands of their enemies. The sound of a blowing leaf will pursue them, and they will flee as one who flees the sword and fall down even though there is no pursuer. 26:37 They will stumble over each other as those who flee before a sword, though 57 there is no pursuer, and there will be no one to take a stand 58 for you before your enemies. 26:38 You will perish among the nations; the land of your enemies will consume you.
26:39 “‘As for the ones who remain among you, they will rot away because of 59 their iniquity in the lands of your enemies, and they will also rot away because of their ancestors’ 60 iniquities which are with them. 26:40 However, when 61 they confess their iniquity and their ancestors’ iniquity which they committed by trespassing against me, 62 by which they also walked 63 in hostility against me 64 26:41 (and I myself will walk in hostility against them and bring them into the land of their enemies), and 65 then their uncircumcised hearts become humbled and they make up for 66 their iniquity, 26:42 I will remember my covenant with Jacob and also my covenant with Isaac and also my covenant with Abraham, 67 and I will remember the land. 26:43 The land will be abandoned by them 68 in order that it may make up for 69 its Sabbaths while it is made desolate 70 without them, 71 and they will make up for their iniquity because 72 they have rejected my regulations and have abhorred 73 my statutes. 26:44 In spite of this, however, when they are in the land of their enemies I will not reject them and abhor them to make a complete end of them, to break my covenant with them, for I am the Lord their God. 26:45 I will remember for them the covenant with their ancestors 74 whom I brought out from the land of Egypt in the sight of the nations to be their God. I am the Lord.’”
26:46 These are the statutes, regulations, and instructions which the Lord established 75 between himself and the Israelites at Mount Sinai through 76 Moses.
Psalms 33:1-22
Context33:1 You godly ones, shout for joy because of the Lord!
It is appropriate for the morally upright to offer him praise.
33:2 Give thanks to the Lord with the harp!
Sing to him to the accompaniment of a ten-stringed instrument!
33:3 Sing to him a new song! 78
Play skillfully as you shout out your praises to him! 79
33:4 For 80 the Lord’s decrees 81 are just, 82
and everything he does is fair. 83
33:5 The Lord promotes 84 equity and justice;
the Lord’s faithfulness extends throughout the earth. 85
33:6 By the Lord’s decree 86 the heavens were made;
by a mere word from his mouth all the stars in the sky were created. 87
33:7 He piles up the water of the sea; 88
he puts the oceans 89 in storehouses.
33:8 Let the whole earth fear 90 the Lord!
Let all who live in the world stand in awe of him!
33:9 For he spoke, and it 91 came into existence,
he issued the decree, 92 and it stood firm.
33:10 The Lord frustrates 93 the decisions of the nations;
he nullifies the plans 94 of the peoples.
33:11 The Lord’s decisions stand forever;
his plans abide throughout the ages. 95
33:12 How blessed 96 is the nation whose God is the Lord,
the people whom he has chosen to be his special possession. 97
33:13 The Lord watches 98 from heaven;
he sees all people. 99
33:14 From the place where he lives he looks carefully
at all the earth’s inhabitants.
33:15 He is the one who forms every human heart, 100
and takes note of all their actions.
33:16 No king is delivered by his vast army;
a warrior is not saved by his great might.
33:17 A horse disappoints those who trust in it for victory; 101
despite its great strength, it cannot deliver.
33:18 Look, the Lord takes notice of his loyal followers, 102
those who wait for him to demonstrate his faithfulness 103
33:19 by saving their lives from death 104
and sustaining them during times of famine. 105
33:20 We 106 wait for the Lord;
he is our deliverer 107 and shield. 108
33:21 For our hearts rejoice in him,
for we trust in his holy name.
33:22 May we experience your faithfulness, O Lord, 109
for 110 we wait for you.
Ecclesiastes 9:1-18
Context9:1 So I reflected on all this, 111 attempting to clear 112 it all up.
I concluded that 113 the righteous and the wise, as well as their works, are in the hand of God;
whether a person will be loved or hated 114 –
no one knows what lies ahead. 115
9:2 Everyone shares the same fate 116 –
the righteous and the wicked,
the good and the bad, 117
the ceremonially clean and unclean,
those who offer sacrifices and those who do not.
What happens to the good person, also happens to the sinner; 118
what happens to those who make vows, also happens to those who are afraid to make vows.
9:3 This is the unfortunate fact 119 about everything that happens on earth: 120
the same fate awaits 121 everyone.
In addition to this, the hearts of all people 122 are full of evil,
and there is folly in their hearts during their lives – then they die. 123
9:4 But whoever is among 124 the living 125 has hope;
a live dog is better than a dead lion.
9:5 For the living know that they will die, but the dead do not know anything;
they have no further reward – and even the memory of them disappears. 126
9:6 What they loved, 127 as well as what they hated 128 and envied, 129 perished long ago,
and they no longer have a part in anything that happens on earth. 130
9:7 Go, eat your food 131 with joy,
and drink your wine with a happy heart,
because God has already approved your works.
9:8 Let your clothes always be white,
and do not spare precious ointment on your head.
9:9 Enjoy 132 life with your beloved wife 133 during all the days of your fleeting 134 life
that God 135 has given you on earth 136 during all your fleeting days; 137
for that is your reward in life and in your burdensome work 138 on earth. 139
9:10 Whatever you find to do with your hands, 140
do it with all your might,
because there is neither work nor planning nor knowledge nor wisdom in the grave, 141
the place where you will eventually go. 142
9:11 Again, 143 I observed this on the earth: 144
the race is not always 145 won by the swiftest,
the battle is not always won by the strongest;
prosperity 146 does not always belong to those who are the wisest,
wealth does not always belong to those who are the most discerning,
nor does success 147 always come to those with the most knowledge –
for time and chance may overcome 148 them all.
9:12 Surely, no one 149 knows his appointed time! 150
Like fish that are caught in a deadly 151 net, and like birds that are caught in a snare –
just like them, all people 152 are ensnared 153 at an unfortunate 154 time that falls upon them suddenly.
9:13 This is what I also observed about wisdom on earth, 155
and it is a great burden 156 to me:
9:14 There was once 157 a small city with a few men in it,
and a mighty king attacked it, besieging 158 it and building strong 159 siege works against it.
9:15 However, a poor but wise man lived in the city, 160
and he could have delivered 161 the city by his wisdom,
but no one listened 162 to that poor man.
9:16 So I concluded that wisdom is better than might, 163
but a poor man’s wisdom is despised; no one ever listens 164 to his advice. 165
9:17 The words of the wise are heard in quiet,
more than the shouting of a ruler is heard 166 among fools.
9:18 Wisdom is better than weapons of war,
but one sinner can destroy much that is good.
Titus 1:1-16
Context1:1 From Paul, 167 a slave 168 of God and apostle of Jesus Christ, to further the faith 169 of God’s chosen ones and the knowledge of the truth that is in keeping with godliness, 1:2 in hope of eternal life, which God, who does not lie, promised before the ages began. 170 1:3 But now in his own time 171 he has made his message evident through the preaching I was entrusted with according to the command of God our Savior. 1:4 To Titus, my genuine son in a common faith. Grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior!
1:5 The reason I left you in Crete was to set in order the remaining matters and to appoint elders in every town, as I directed you. 1:6 An elder must be blameless, 172 the husband of one wife, 173 with faithful children 174 who cannot be charged with dissipation or rebellion. 1:7 For the overseer 175 must be blameless as one entrusted with God’s work, 176 not arrogant, not prone to anger, not a drunkard, not violent, not greedy for gain. 1:8 Instead he must be hospitable, devoted to what is good, sensible, upright, devout, and self-controlled. 1:9 He must hold firmly to the faithful message as it has been taught, 177 so that he will be able to give exhortation in such healthy teaching 178 and correct those who speak against it.
1:10 For there are many 179 rebellious people, idle talkers, and deceivers, especially those with Jewish connections, 180 1:11 who must be silenced because they mislead whole families by teaching for dishonest gain what ought not to be taught. 1:12 A certain one of them, in fact, one of their own prophets, said, “Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons.” 181 1:13 Such testimony is true. For this reason rebuke them sharply that they may be healthy in the faith 1:14 and not pay attention to Jewish myths 182 and commands of people who reject the truth. 1:15 All is pure to those who are pure. But to those who are corrupt and unbelieving, nothing is pure, but both their minds and consciences are corrupted. 1:16 They profess to know God but with their deeds they deny him, since they are detestable, disobedient, and unfit for any good deed.
1 sn For the literature regarding the difficult etymology and meaning of the term for “idols” (אֱלִילִם, ’elilim), see the literature cited in the note on Lev 19:4. It appears to be a diminutive play on words with אֵל (’el, “god, God”) and, perhaps at the same time, recalls a common Semitic word for “worthless, weak, powerless, nothingness.” Snaith suggests a rendering of “worthless godlings.”
2 tn Heb “on.” The “sculpted stone” appears to be some sort of stone with images carved into (see B. A. Levine, Leviticus [JPSTC], 181, and J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC], 449).
3 tn Heb “and my sanctuary you shall fear.” Cf. NCV “respect”; CEV “honor.”
4 tn Heb “and my commandments you shall keep and do them.” This appears to be a kind of verbal hendiadys, where the first verb is a modifier of the action of the second verb (see GKC 386 §120.d, although שָׁמַר [shamar, “to keep”] is not cited there; cf. Lev 20:8; 25:18, etc.).
5 tn Heb “and.” The Hebrew conjunction ו (vav, “and”) can be considered to have resultative force here.
6 tn Heb “the tree of the field will give its fruit.” As a collective singular this has been translated as plural.
7 tn Heb “will reach for you the vintage season.”
8 tn Heb “and.” The Hebrew conjunction ו (vav, “and”) can be considered to have resultative force here.
9 tn Heb “to satisfaction”; KJV, ASV, NASB “to the full.”
10 tn Heb “and.” The Hebrew conjunction ו (vav, “and”) can be considered to have resultative force here.
11 tn Heb “and there will be no one who terrifies.” The words “to sleep” have been supplied in the translation for clarity.
12 tn Heb “harmful animal,” singular, but taken here as a collective plural (so almost all English versions).
13 tn Heb “no sword”; the words “of war” are supplied in the translation to indicate what the metaphor of the sword represents.
14 tn Heb “to the sword.”
15 tn Heb “cause to arise,” but probably used here for the
16 tn Heb “old [produce] growing old.”
17 tn Heb “and old from the presence of new you will bring out.”
18 tn LXX codexes Vaticanus and Alexandrinus have “my covenant” rather than “my tabernacle.” Cf. NAB, NASB, NRSV “my dwelling.”
19 tn Heb “and my soul [נֶפֶשׁ, nefesh] will not abhor you.”
20 tn Heb “from being to them slaves.”
21 tn In other words, to walk as free people and not as slaves. Cf. NIV “with (+ your CEV, NLT) heads held high”; NCV “proudly.”
22 tn Heb “And if.”
23 tn Heb “and do not do.”
24 tn Heb “to not do.”
25 tn Or “I also” (see HALOT 76 s.v. אַף 6.b).
26 tn Heb “soul.” These expressions may refer either to the physical effects of consumption and fever as the rendering in the text suggests (e.g., J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC], 452, 454, “diminishing eyesight and loss of appetite”), or perhaps the more psychological effects, “which exhausts the eyes” because of anxious hope “and causes depression” (Heb “causes soul [נֶפֶשׁ, nefesh] to pine away”), e.g., B. A. Levine, Leviticus (JPSTC), 185.
27 tn Heb “and.” The Hebrew conjunction ו (vav, “and”) can be considered to have causal force here.
28 tn That is, “your enemies will eat” the produce that grows from the sown seed.
29 tn Heb “And if until these.”
30 tn Heb “I will add to discipline you seven [times] on your sins.”
31 tn Heb “the tree of the land will not give its fruit.” The collective singular has been translated as a plural. Tg. Onq., some medieval Hebrew
32 tn Heb “hostile with me,” but see the added preposition בְּ (bet) on the phrase “in hostility” in v. 24 and 27.
33 tn Heb “your blow, stroke”; cf. TEV “punishment”; NLT “I will inflict you with seven more disasters.”
34 tn Heb “the animal of the field.” This collective singular has been translated as a plural. The expression “animal of the field” refers to a wild (i.e., nondomesticated) animal.
35 tn The words “of your children” are not in the Hebrew text, but are implied.
36 tn Heb “and diminish you.”
37 tn Heb “And if in these.”
38 tn Heb “with me,” but see the added preposition בְּ (bet) on the phrase “in hostility” in vv. 24 and 27.
39 tn Heb “and I myself will also strike you.”
40 tn Heb “vengeance of covenant”; cf. NAB “the avenger of my covenant.”
41 tn Heb “and.” The Hebrew conjunction ו (vav, “and”) has a concessive force in this context.
42 tn Heb “in hand of enemy,” but Tg. Ps.-J. and Tg. Neof. have “in the hands of your enemies” (J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC], 454).
43 tn Heb “When I break to you staff of bread” (KJV, ASV, and NASB all similar).
44 tn Heb “they will return your bread in weight.”
45 tn Heb “And if in this.”
46 tn Heb “with me.”
47 tn Heb “in rage of hostility with you”; NASB “with wrathful hostility”; NRSV “I will continue hostile to you in fury”; CEV “I’ll get really furious.”
48 tn Heb “and the flesh of your daughters you will eat.” The phrase “you will eat” has not been repeated in the translation for stylistic reasons.
49 sn Regarding these cultic installations, see the remarks in B. A. Levine, Leviticus (JPSTC), 188, and R. E. Averbeck, NIDOTTE 2:903. The term rendered “incense altars” might better be rendered “sanctuaries [of foreign deities]” or “stelae.”
50 tn The translation reflects the Hebrew wordplay “your corpses…the corpses of your idols.” Since idols, being lifeless, do not really have “corpses,” the translation uses “dead bodies” for people and “lifeless bodies” for the idols.
51 tn Heb “and my soul will abhor you.”
52 tn Heb “And I will give your cities a waste”; NLT “make your cities desolate.”
53 tn Heb “and I will empty sword” (see HALOT 1228 s.v. ריק 3).
54 tn There are two Hebrew roots רָצָה (ratsah), one meaning “to be pleased with; to take pleasure” (HALOT 1280-81 s.v. רצה; cf. “enjoy” in NASB, NIV, NRSV, and J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC], 452), and the other meaning “to restore” (HALOT 1281-82 s.v. II רצה; cf. NAB “retrieve” and B. A. Levine, Leviticus [JPSTC], 189).
55 tn Heb “it shall rest which it did not rest.”
56 tn Heb “And.”
57 tn Heb “and.” The Hebrew conjunction ו (vav, “and”) is used in a concessive sense here.
58 tn The term rendered “to stand up” is a noun, not an infinitive. It occurs only here and appears to designate someone who would take a powerful stand for them against their enemies.
59 tn Heb “in” (so KJV, ASV; also later in this verse).
60 tn Heb “fathers’” (also in the following verse).
61 tn Heb “And.” Many English versions take this to be a conditional clause (“if…”) though there is no conditional particle (see, e.g., NASB, NIV, NRSV; but see the very different rendering in B. A. Levine, Leviticus [JPSTC], 190). The temporal translation offered here (“when”) takes into account the particle אָז (’az, “then”), which occurs twice in v. 41. The obvious contextual contrast between vv. 39 and 40 is expressed by “however” in the translation.
62 tn Heb “in their trespassing which they trespassed in me.” See the note on Lev 5:15, although the term is used in a more technical sense there in relation to the “guilt offering.”
63 tn Heb “and also which they walked.”
64 tn Heb “with me.”
65 tn Heb “or then,” although the LXX has “then” and the Syriac “and then.”
66 tn Heb “and then they make up for.” On the verb “make up for” see the note on v. 34 above.
67 tn Heb “my covenant with Abraham I will remember.” The phrase “I will remember” has not been repeated in the translation for stylistic reasons.
68 tn Heb “from them.” The preposition “from” refers here to the agent of the action (J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC], 455).
69 tn The jussive form of the verb with the simple vav (ו) here calls for a translation that expresses purpose.
70 tn The verb is the Hophal infinitive construct with the third feminine singular suffix (GKC 182 §67.y; cf. v. 34).
71 tn Heb “from them.”
72 tn Heb “because and in because,” a double expression, which is used only here and in Ezek 13:10 (without the vav) for emphasis (GKC 492 §158.b).
73 tn Heb “and their soul has abhorred.”
74 tn Heb “covenant of former ones.”
sn For similar expressions referring back to the ancestors who refused to follow the stipulations of the Mosaic covenant see, for example, Deut 19:14, Jer 11:10, and Ps 79:8 (see B. A. Levine, Leviticus [JPSTC], 192, and J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC], 471).
75 tn Heb “gave” (so NLT); KJV, ASV, NCV “made.”
76 tn Heb “by the hand of” (so KJV).
77 sn Psalm 33. In this hymn the psalmist praises the Lord as the sovereign creator and just ruler of the world who protects and vindicates those who fear him.
78 sn A new song is appropriate because the Lord is constantly intervening in the lives of his people in fresh and exciting ways.
79 tn Heb “play skillfully with a loud shout.”
80 sn For the
81 tn Heb “word.” In this context, which depicts the
82 tn Or “upright.”
83 tn Heb “and all his work [is] in faithfulness.”
84 tn Heb “loves.” The verb “loves” is here metonymic; the
85 tn Heb “fills the earth.”
86 tn Heb “word.”
87 tn Heb “and by the breath of his mouth all their host.” The words “were created” are added in the translation for stylistic reasons; they are understood by ellipsis (note “were made” in the preceding line). The description is consistent with Gen 1:16, which indicates that God spoke the heavenly luminaries into existence.
88 tn Heb “[he] gathers like a pile the waters of the sea.” Some prefer to emend נֵד (ged, “heap, pile”; cf. NASB) to נֹד (nod, “bottle”; cf. NRSV; NIV “into jars”), but “pile” is used elsewhere to describe water that the
89 tn Or “watery depths.” The form תְּהוֹמוֹת (tÿhomot, “watery depths”) is the plural form of תְּהוֹם (tÿhom, “great deep”; see Gen 1:2).
90 tn In this context “fear” probably means “to demonstrate respect for the
91 tn That is, “all the earth” in the first line of v. 8. The apparent antecedent of the masculine subject of the verbs in v. 9 (note וַיֶּהִי [vayyehiy] and וַיַּעֲמֹד [vayya’amod]) is “earth” or “world,” both of which are feminine nouns. However, כָּל (kol, “all”) may be the antecedent, or the apparent lack of agreement may be explained by the collective nature of the nouns involved here (see GKC 463 §145.e).
92 tn Heb “he commanded.”
93 tn Heb “breaks” or “destroys.” The Hebrew perfect verbal forms here and in the next line generalize about the
94 tn Heb “thoughts.”
95 tn Heb “the thoughts of his heart for generation to generation.” The verb “abides” is supplied in the translation. The
96 tn The Hebrew noun is an abstract plural. The word often refers metonymically to the happiness that God-given security and prosperity produce (see Pss 1:1; 2:12; 34:9; 41:1; 65:4; 84:12; 89:15; 106:3; 112:1; 127:5; 128:1; 144:15).
97 tn Heb “inheritance.”
98 tn The Hebrew perfect verbal forms in v. 13 state general facts.
99 tn Heb “all the sons of men.”
100 tn Heb “the one who forms together their heart[s].” “Heart” here refers to human nature, composed of intellect, emotions and will. The precise force of יָחַד (yakhad, “together”) is unclear here. The point seems to be that the
101 tn Heb “a lie [is] the horse for victory.”
102 tn Heb “look, the eye of the
103 tn Heb “for the ones who wait for his faithfulness.”
104 tn Heb “to save from death their live[s].”
105 tn Heb “and to keep them alive in famine.”
106 tn Or “our lives.” The suffixed form of נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh, “being, life”) is often equivalent to a pronoun in poetic texts.
107 tn Or “[source of] help.”
108 tn Or “protector.”
109 tn Heb “let your faithfulness, O
110 tn Or “just as.”
111 tn Heb “I laid all this to my heart.”
112 tn The term וְלָבוּר (velavur, conjunction + Qal infinitive construct from בּוּר, bur, “to make clear”) denotes “to examine; to make clear; to clear up; to explain” (HALOT 116 s.v. בור; BDB 101 s.v. בּוּר). The term is related to Arabic baraw “to examine” (G. R. Driver, “Supposed Arabisms in the Old Testament,” JBL 55 [1936]: 108). This verb is related to the Hebrew noun בֹּר (bor, “cleanness”) and adjective בַּר (bar, “clean”). The term is used in the OT only in Ecclesiastes (1:13; 2:3; 7:25; 9:1). This use of the infinitive has a connotative sense (“attempting to”), and functions in a complementary sense, relative to the main verb.
113 tn The words “I concluded that” do not appear in the Hebrew text, but are supplied in the translation for clarity.
114 tn Heb “whether love or hatred.”
115 tn Heb “man does not know anything before them.”
116 tn Heb “all things just as to everyone, one fate.”
117 tc The MT reads simply “the good,” but the Greek versions read “the good and the bad.” In contrast to the other four pairs in v. 2 (“the righteous and the wicked,” “those who sacrifice, and those who do not sacrifice,” “the good man…the sinner,” and “those who make vows…those who are afraid to make vows”), the MT has a triad in the second line: לַטּוֹב וְלַטָּהוֹר וְלַטָּמֵא (lattov vÿlattahor vÿlattame’, “the good, and the clean, and the unclean”). This reading in the Leningrad Codex (ca.
118 tn Heb “As is the good (man), so is the sinner.”
119 tn Heb “evil.”
120 tn Heb “under the sun.”
121 tn The term “awaits” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for smoothness and stylistic reasons.
122 tn Heb “also the heart of the sons of man.” Here “heart” is a collective singular.
123 tn Heb “and after that [they go] to [the place of] the dead.”
124 tn The consonantal text (Kethib) has “is chosen, selected.” The translation follows the marginal reading (Qere), “is joined.” See BDB 288 s.v. חָבַר Pu.
125 tn Heb “all the living.”
126 tn Heb “for their memory is forgotten.” The pronominal suffix is an objective genitive, “memory of them.”
127 tn Heb “their love.”
128 tn Heb “their hatred.”
129 tn Heb “their envy.”
130 tn Heb “under the sun.”
131 tn Heb “your bread.”
132 tn Heb “see.”
133 tn Heb “the wife whom you love.”
134 tn As discussed in the note on the word “futile” in 1:2, the term הֶבֶל (hevel) has a wide range of meanings, and should not be translated the same in every place (see HALOT 236–37 s.v. I הֶבֶל; BDB 210–11 s.v. I הבֶל). The term is used in two basic ways in OT, literally and figuratively. The literal, concrete sense is used in reference to the wind, man’s transitory breath, evanescent vapor (Isa 57:13; Pss 62:10; 144:4; Prov 21:6; Job 7:16). In this sense, it is often a synonym for “breath; wind” (Eccl 1:14; Isa 57:13; Jer 10:14). The literal sense lent itself to the metaphorical sense. Because breath/vapor/wind is transitory and fleeting, the figurative connotation “fleeting; transitory” arose (e.g., Prov 31:30; Eccl 6:12; 7:15; 9:9; 11:10; Job 7:16). In this sense, it is parallel to “few days” and “[days] which he passes like a shadow” (Eccl 6:12). It is used in reference to youth and vigor (11:10) or life (6:12; 7:15; 9:9) which are “transitory” or “fleeting.” In this context, the most appropriate meaning is “fleeting.”
135 tn Heb “he”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
136 tn Heb “under the sun”
137 tc The phrase כָּל יְמֵי הֶבְלֶךָ (kol yÿme hevlekha, “all your fleeting days”) is present in the MT, but absent in the Greek versions, other medieval Hebrew
138 tn Heb “in your toil in which you toil.”
139 tn Heb “under the sun.”
140 tn Heb “Whatever your hand finds to do.”
141 tn Heb “Sheol.”
142 tn Or “where you are about to go.”
143 tn Heb “I returned and.” In the Hebrew idiom, “to return and do” means “to do again.”
144 tn Heb “under the sun.”
145 tn The term “always” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation (five times in this verse) for clarity.
146 tn Heb “bread.”
147 tn Heb “favor.”
148 tn Heb “happen to.”
149 tn Heb “man.” The term is used here in a generic sense and translated “no one.”
150 tn Heb “time.” BDB 773 s.v. עֵת 2.d suggests that עֵת (’et, “time”) refers to an “uncertain time.” On the other hand, HALOT 901 s.v. עֵת 6 nuances it as “destined time,” that is, “no one knows his destined time [i.e., hour of destiny].” It is used in parallelism with זְמָן (zÿman, “appointed time; appointed hour”) in 3:1 (HALOT 273 s.v. זְמָן; BDB 273 s.v. זְמָן). Eccl 3:9-15 teaches God’s sovereignty over the appointed time-table of human events. Similarly, Qoheleth here notes that no one knows what God has appointed in any situation or time. This highlights the limitations of human wisdom and human ability, as 9:11 stresses.
151 tn Heb “bad, evil.” The moral connotation hardly fits here. The adjective would seem to indicate that the net is the instrument whereby the fish come to ruin.
152 tn Heb “the sons of man.”
153 tn The Masoretes pointed the consonantal form יוקשׁים (“are ensnared”) as יוּקָשִׁים (yuqashim, Pual participle mpl from ַָיקֹשׁ, yaqosh, “to be ensnared”). This is an unusual form for a Pual participle: (1) The characteristic doubling of the middle consonant was omitted due to the lengthening of the preceding short vowel from יֻקָּשִׁים to יוּקָשִׁים (GKC 74 §20.n and 143 §52.s), and (2) The characteristic prefix מְ (mem) is absent, as in a few other Pual participles, e.g., Exod 3:2; Judg 13:8; 2 Kgs 2:10; Isa 30:24; 54:11 (GKC 143 §52.s). On the other hand, the consonant form יוקשים might actually be an example of the old Qal passive participle which dropped out of Hebrew at an early stage, and was frequently mistaken by the Masoretes as a Pual form (e.g., Jer 13:10; 23:32) (GKC 143 §52.s). Similarly, the Masoretes pointed אכל as אֻכָּל (’ukkal, Pual perfect 3rd person masculine singular “he was eaten”); however, it probably should be pointed אֻכַל (’ukhal, old Qal passive perfect 3rd person masculine singular “he was eaten”) because אָכַל (’akhal) only occurs in the Qal (see IBHS 373-74 §22.6a).
154 tn Heb “evil.” The term רָעָה (ra’ah, “evil; unfortunate”) is repeated in v. 12 in the two parts of the comparison: “fish are caught in an evil (רָעָה) net” and “men are ensnared at an unfortunate (רָעָה) time.”
155 tn Heb “under the sun.”
156 tn The term “burden” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity.
157 tn The verbs in this section function either as past definite actions (describing a past situation) or as hypothetical past actions (describing an imaginary hypothetical situation for the sake of illustration). The LXX uses subjunctives throughout vv. 14-15 to depict the scenario as a hypothetical situation: “Suppose there was a little city, and a few men [lived] in it; and there should come against it a great king, and surround it, and build great siege-works against it; and should find in it a poor wise man, and he should save the city through his wisdom; yet no man would remember that poor man.”
158 tn The two perfect tense verbs וְסָבַב (vÿsavav, “he besieged”) and וּבָנָה (uvanah, “he built”) may be taken in a complementary sense, qualifying the action of the main perfect tense verb וּבָא (uva’, “he attacked it”).
159 tn The root גדל (“mighty; strong; large”) is repeated in 9:13b for emphasis: “a mighty (גָדוֹל, gadol) king…building strong (גְדֹלִים, gÿdolim) siege works.” This repetition highlights the contrast between the vast power and resources of the attacking king, and the meager resources of the “little” (קְטַנָּה, qÿtannah) city with “few” (מְעָט, mÿ’at) men in it to defend it.
160 tn Heb “was found in it”; the referent (the city) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
161 tn Or “he delivered.” The verb וּמִלַּט (umillat, from מָלַט, malat, “to deliver”) is functioning either in an indicative sense (past definite action: “he delivered”) or in a modal sense (past potential: “he could have delivered”). The literal meaning of זָכַר (zakhar, “to remember”) in the following line harmonizes with the indicative: “but no one remembered that poor man [afterward].” However, the modal is supported by v. 16: “A poor man’s wisdom is despised; no one ever listens to his advice.” This approach must nuance זָכַר (“to remember”) as “[no one] listened to [that poor man].” Most translations favor the indicative approach: “he delivered” or “he saved” (KJV, RSV, NRSV, NAB, ASV, NASB, MLB, NIV); however, some adopt the modal nuance: “he might have saved” (NEB, NJPS, NASB margin).
162 tn Heb “remembered.”
163 tn Or “power.”
164 tn The participle form נִשְׁמָעִים (nishma’im, Niphal participle mpl from שָׁמַע, “to listen”) is used verbally to emphasize a continual, durative, gnomic action.
165 tn Heb “his words are never listened to.”
166 tn The phrase “is heard” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity and smoothness. Note its appearance in the previous line.
167 tn Grk “Paul.” The word “from” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied to indicate the sender of the letter.
168 tn Traditionally, “servant” or “bondservant.” Though δοῦλος (doulos) is normally translated “servant,” the word does not bear the connotation of a free individual serving another. BDAG notes that “‘servant’ for ‘slave’ is largely confined to Biblical transl. and early American times…in normal usage at the present time the two words are carefully distinguished” (BDAG 260 s.v.). The most accurate translation is “bondservant” (sometimes found in the ASV for δοῦλος), in that it often indicates one who sells himself into slavery to another. But as this is archaic, few today understand its force.
sn Undoubtedly the background for the concept of being the Lord’s slave or servant is to be found in the Old Testament scriptures. For a Jew this concept did not connote drudgery, but honor and privilege. It was used of national Israel at times (Isa 43:10), but was especially associated with famous OT personalities, including such great men as Moses (Josh 14:7), David (Ps 89:3; cf. 2 Sam 7:5, 8) and Elijah (2 Kgs 10:10); all these men were “servants (or slaves) of the Lord.”
169 tn Grk “for the faith,” possibly, “in accordance with the faith.”
170 tn Grk “before eternal ages.”
171 tn The Greek text emphasizes the contrast between vv. 2b and 3a: God promised this long ago but now has revealed it in his own time.
172 tn Grk “if anyone is blameless…” as a continuation of v. 5b, beginning to describe the elder’s character.
173 tn Or “married only once,” “devoted solely to his wife.” See the note on “wife” in 1 Tim 3:2; also 1 Tim 3:12; 5:9.
174 tn Or “believing children.” The phrase could be translated “believing children,” but the parallel with 1 Tim 3:4 (“keeping his children in control”) argues for the sense given in the translation.
175 sn The overseer is another term for the same official position of leadership as the “elder.” This is seen in the interchange of the two terms in this passage and in Acts 20:17, 28, as well as in the parallels between these verses and 1 Tim 3:1-7.
176 tn Grk “as God’s steward.”
177 tn Grk “the faithful message in accordance with the teaching” (referring to apostolic teaching).
178 tn Grk “the healthy teaching” (referring to what was just mentioned).
179 tc ‡ The earliest and best
180 tn Grk “those of the circumcision.” Some translations take this to refer to Jewish converts to Christianity (cf. NAB “Jewish Christians”; TEV “converts from Judaism”; CEV “Jewish followers”) while others are less clear (cf. NLT “those who insist on circumcision for salvation”).
181 sn A saying attributed to the poet Epimenides of Crete (6th century
182 sn Jewish myths were legendary tales characteristic of the false teachers in Ephesus and Crete. See parallels in 1 Tim 1:4; 4:7; and 2 Tim 4:4.
