³ sn Zion’s residents will benefit from and enjoy her great material prosperity. See v. 12.

⁸ tn Heb “it”; the referent (enjoyment of life) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

¹ tn The participle is used substantivally here: “whoever listens” will enjoy the benefits of the instruction.

³ sn Their delicacies. This probably refers to the enjoyment that a sinful lifestyle appears to offer.

³ tn Heb “eaten what is good.” It means he died without having enjoyed the good life.

¹ sn God is with you. Abimelech and Phicol recognized that Abraham enjoyed special divine provision and protection.

⁵ sn The image of a continual feast signifies the enjoyment of what life offers (cf. TEV “happy people…enjoy life”). The figure is a hypocatastasis; among its several implications are joy, fulfillment, abundance, pleasure.

⁶ tn The phrase “ability to find enjoyment” is not in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity.

³ tn The form is the Hitpael cohortative of עָלַס (ʿalas), which means “to rejoice.” Cf. NIV “let’s enjoy ourselves.”

¹ tn The expression “to enjoy” is not included in the Hebrew text, but has been supplied in the translation for clarity.

² tc For the MT’s reading Piel שִׂמַּח (simmakh, “bring joy to”), the Syriac and others read שָׂמַח (samakh, “enjoy”).

⁴ tn Or “will dine”; Grk “eat bread.” This refers to those who enjoy the endless fellowship of God’s coming rule.

¹ tn Heb “the enjoyment.” The phrase “of life” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity.

³ sn The city’s towers, defenses, and fortresses are outward reminders and tangible symbols of the divine protection the city enjoys.

³ sn The term טוֹב (tov, “good; enjoyable; favorable; virtuous”) might be an allusion to Gen 2:18, which affirms that it is not good for man to be alone. The word describes that which is pleasing to God, beneficial for life, and abundantly enjoyable.

⁸ sn Instead, someone else enjoys it. A person may be unable to enjoy the fruit of his/her labor due to an unfortunate turn of events that robs a person of his possessions (5:13-14) or a miserly, lifelong hoarding of one’s wealth that robs him of the ability to enjoy what he has worked so hard to acquire (5:15-17). Qoheleth recommends the enjoyment of life and the fruit of one’s labor, as God enables (5:18-20). Unfortunately, the ability to enjoy the fruits of one’s labor is often thwarted by the obstacles described in 6:1-2 and 6:3-9.

² sn The terms used here refer to the enjoyment of a period of peace and stability and to the reversal of the curse (contrast, e.g., Deut 28:30). The Hebrew word translated “enjoy its fruit” is a technical one that refers to the owner of a vineyard getting to enjoy its fruit in the fifth year after it was planted, the crops of the first three years lying fallow, and those of the fourth being given to the Lord (cf. Lev 19:23-25).

² sn God offered to reunify Israel and Judah in the state they enjoyed before the division after Solomon. Cf. Jer 3:18; 30:3; 31:27 and see the study note on 30:3.

² sn The phrase “to eat and to drink” is a common idiom in Ecclesiastes for a person enjoying the fruit of his labor (e.g., 2:24; 3:13).

³ sn These two verbs express the confidence of the righteous—they have no fears and so can sing. So the proverb is saying that only the righteous can enjoy a sense of security.