Pengkhotbah 2:20

2:20 So I began to despair ¹  about all the fruit of ²  my labor ³ 

for which I worked so hard ⁴  on earth. ⁵ 

Pengkhotbah 4:4

Labor Motivated by Envy

4:4 Then I considered ⁶  all the skillful work ⁷  that is done:

Surely it is nothing more than ⁸  competition ⁹  between one person and another. ¹⁰ 

This also is profitless – like ¹¹  chasing the wind.

Pengkhotbah 4:16

4:16 There is no end to all the people ¹²  nor to the past generations, ¹³ 

yet future generations ¹⁴  will not rejoice in him.

This also is profitless and like ¹⁵  chasing the wind.

Pengkhotbah 5:12

5:12 The sleep of the laborer is pleasant – whether he eats little or much –

but the wealth of the rich will not allow him to sleep.

Pengkhotbah 8:12

8:12 Even though a sinner might commit a hundred crimes ¹⁶  and still live a long time, ¹⁷ 

yet I know that it will go well with God-fearing people ¹⁸  – for they stand in fear ¹⁹  before him.

[2:20]  ¹ 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]  ² 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]  ³ 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]  ⁴ 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]  ⁵ tn Heb “under the sun.”

[4:4]  ⁶ tn Heb “saw.”

[4:4]  ⁷ tn Heb “all the toil and all the skill.” This Hebrew clause (אֶת־כָּל־עָמָל וְאֵת כָּל־כִּשְׁרוֹן, ’et-kol-’amal vÿ’et kol-kishron) is a nominal hendiadys (a figurative expression in which two independent phrases are used to connote the same thing). The second functions adverbially, modifying the first, which retains its full nominal function: “all the skillful work.”

[4:4]  ⁸ tn The phrase “nothing more than” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity.

[4:4]  ⁹ tn The noun קִנְאַה (qin’ah, “competition”) has a wide range of meanings: “zeal; jealousy; envy; rivalry; competition; suffering; animosity; anger; wrath” (HALOT 1110 s.v.; BDB 888 s.v.). Here, as in 9:6, it denotes “rivalry” (BDB 888 s.v. 1) or “competitive spirit” (HALOT 1110 s.v. 1.b). The LXX rendered it ζῆλος (zhlos, “envy; jealousy”). The English versions reflect this broad range: “rivalry” (NEB, NAB, NASB), “envy” (KJV, ASV, RSV, NRSV, MLB, NIV, NJPS), and “jealousy” (Moffatt).

[4:4]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “a man and his neighbor.”

[4:4]  ¹¹ tn The word “like” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity.

[4:16]  ¹² 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]  ¹³ tn Heb “those who were before them.”

[4:16]  ¹⁴ 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]  ¹⁵ tn The word “like” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity.

[8:12]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “does evil one hundred [times].”

[8:12]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “and prolongs his [life].”

[8:12]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “those who fear God.”

[8:12]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “they fear.”