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Ecclesiastes 4:5

Context

4:5 The fool folds his hands and does no work, 1 

so he has nothing to eat but his own flesh. 2 

Ecclesiastes 8:4

Context

8:4 Surely the king’s authority 3  is absolute; 4 

no one can say 5  to him, “What are you doing?”

1 tn Heb “the fool folds his hands.” The Hebrew idiom means that he does not work (e.g., Prov 6:10; 24:33). In the translation the words “and does no work” (which do not appear in the Hebrew text) have been supplied following the idiom to clarify what is meant.

2 tn Heb “and eats his own flesh.” Most English versions render the idiom literally: “and eats/consumes his flesh” (KJV, AS, NASB, NAB, RSV, NRSV, NJPS). However, a few versions attempt to explain the idiom: “and lets life go to ruin” (Moffatt), “and wastes away” (NEB), “and ruins himself” (NIV).

3 tn Heb “word.”

4 tn Heb “supreme.”

5 tn Heb “Who can say…?”



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