2:26 For to the one who pleases him, 1 God gives wisdom, knowledge, and joy,
but to the sinner, he gives the task of amassing 2 wealth 3 –
only to give 4 it 5 to the one who pleases God.
This 6 task of the wicked 7 is futile – like chasing the wind!
7:26 I discovered this: 8
More bitter than death is the kind of 9 woman 10 who is like a hunter’s snare; 11
her heart is like a hunter’s net and her hands are like prison chains.
The man who pleases God escapes her,
but the sinner is captured by her.
11:9 Rejoice, young man, while you are young, 12
and let your heart cheer you in the days of your youth.
Follow the impulses 13 of your heart and the desires 14 of your eyes,
but know that God will judge your motives and actions. 15
1 tn Heb “for to a man who is good before him.”
2 sn The phrase the task of amassing wealth (Heb “the task of gathering and heaping up”) implicitly compares the work of the farmer reaping his crops and storing them up in a barn, to the work of the laborer amassing wealth as the fruit of his labor. However, rather than his storehouse being safe for the future, the sinner is deprived of it.
3 tn The word “wealth” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity.
4 sn The three-fold repetition of the Hebrew word translated “give” in the first part of this verse creates irony: God “gives” the righteous the ability to prosper and to find enjoyment in his work; but to the wicked He “gives” the task of “giving” his wealth to the righteous.
5 tn The word “it” (an implied direct object) does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity.
6 tn The antecedent of the demonstrative pronoun זֶה (zeh, “this”) is debated: (1) Some refer it to the enjoyment which Qoheleth had just commended in 2:24-26. However, this is inconsistent with the enjoyment theme found elsewhere in the book. It also ignores the fact that 2:24-26 states that such enjoyment is a good gift from God. (2) Others refer it to the term “toil” (עָמָל, ’amal) which is repeated throughout 2:18-26. However, Qoheleth affirmed that if one is righteous, he can find enjoyment in his toil, even though so much of it is ultimately futile. (3) Therefore, it seems best to refer it to the grievous “task” (עִנְיָן, ’inyan) God has given to the sinner in 2:26b. Consistent with the meaning of הֶבֶל (hevel, “futile; profitless; fruitless”), 2:26b emphasizes that the “task” of the sinner is profitless: he labors hard to amass wealth, only to see the fruit of his labor given away to someone else. The righteous man’s enjoyment of his work and the fruit of his labor under the blessing of God (2:24-26a) is not included in this.
7 tn The phrase “task of the wicked” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity.
8 tn The word “this” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for smoothness.
9 tn The phrase “kind of” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity (see the following note on the word “woman”).
10 tn The article on הָאִשָּׁה (ha’ishah) functions in a particularizing sense (“the kind of woman”) rather than in a generic sense (i.e., “women”).
11 tn Heb “is snares.” The plural form מְצוֹדִים (mÿtsodim, from the noun I מָצוֹד, matsod, “snare”) is used to connote either intensity, repeated or habitual action, or moral characteristic. For the function of the Hebrew plural, see IBHS 120-21 §7.4.2. The term II מָצוֹד “snare” is used in a concrete sense in reference to the hunter’s snare or net, but in a figurative sense of being ensnared by someone (Job 19:6; Prov 12:12; Eccl 7:26).
12 tn Heb “in your youth”; or “in your childhood.”
13 tn Heb “walk in the ways of your heart.”
14 tn Heb “the sight.”
15 tn Heb “and know that concerning all these God will bring you into judgment.” The point is not that following one’s impulses and desires is inherently bad and will bring condemnation from God. Rather the point seems to be: As you follow your impulses and desires, realize that all you think and do will eventually be evaluated by God. So one must seek joy within the boundaries of God’s moral standards.