Mazmur 17:1

Psalm 17 ¹ 

A prayer of David.

17:1 Lord, consider my just cause! ² 

Pay attention to my cry for help!

Listen to the prayer

I sincerely offer! ³ 

Mazmur 54:2

54:2 O God, listen to my prayer!

Pay attention to what I say! ⁴ 

Mazmur 55:1-2

Psalm 55 ⁵ 

For the music director, to be accompanied by stringed instruments; a well-written song ⁶  by David.

55:1 Listen, O God, to my prayer!

Do not ignore ⁷  my appeal for mercy!

55:2 Pay attention to me and answer me!

I am so upset ⁸  and distressed, ⁹  I am beside myself, ¹⁰ 

Mazmur 64:1

Psalm 64 ¹¹ 

For the music director; a psalm of David.

64:1 Listen to me, ¹²  O God, as I offer my lament!

Protect ¹³  my life from the enemy’s terrifying attacks. ¹⁴ 

Mazmur 80:1

Psalm 80 ¹⁵ 

For the music director; according to the shushan-eduth style; ¹⁶  a psalm of Asaph.

80:1 O shepherd of Israel, pay attention,

you who lead Joseph like a flock of sheep!

You who sit enthroned above the winged angels, ¹⁷  reveal your splendor! ¹⁸ 

Mazmur 86:1

Psalm 86 ¹⁹ 

A prayer of David.

86:1 Listen ²⁰  O Lord! Answer me!

For I am oppressed and needy.

Mazmur 86:1

Psalm 86 ²¹ 

A prayer of David.

86:1 Listen ²²  O Lord! Answer me!

For I am oppressed and needy.

Pengkhotbah 3:12

Enjoy Life in the Present

3:12 I have concluded ²³  that there is nothing better for people ²⁴ 

than ²⁵  to be happy and to enjoy

themselves ²⁶  as long as they live,

Pengkhotbah 3:1

A Time for All Events in Life

3:1 For everything ²⁷  there is an appointed time, ²⁸ 

and an appropriate time ²⁹  for every activity ³⁰  on earth: ³¹ 

Yohanes 5:14-15

5:14 After this Jesus found him at the temple and said to him, “Look, you have become well. Don’t sin any more, ³²  lest anything worse happen to you.” 5:15 The man went away and informed the Jewish leaders ³³  that Jesus was the one who had made him well.

[17:1]  ¹ sn Psalm 17. The psalmist asks God to intervene on his behalf because his life is threatened by dangerous enemies. He appeals to divine justice, for he is certain of his own innocence. Because he is innocent, he expects to encounter God and receive an assuring word.

[17:1]  ² tn Heb “hear, Lord, what is just.”

[17:1]  ³ tn Heb “Listen to my prayer, [made] without lips of deceit.”

[54:2]  ⁴ tn Heb “to the words of my mouth.”

[55:1]  ⁵ sn Psalm 55. The suffering and oppressed author laments that one of his friends has betrayed him, but he is confident that God will vindicate him by punishing his deceitful enemies.

[55:1]  ⁶ tn The meaning of the Hebrew term מַשְׂכִּיל (maskil) is uncertain. See the note on the phrase “well-written song” in the superscription of Ps 52.

[55:1]  ⁷ tn Heb “hide yourself from.”

[55:2]  ⁸ tn Or “restless” (see Gen 27:40). The Hiphil is intransitive-exhibitive, indicating the outward display of an inner attitude.

[55:2]  ⁹ tn Heb “in my complaint.”

[55:2]  ¹⁰ tn The verb is a Hiphil cohortative from הוּם (hum), which means “to confuse someone” in the Qal and “to go wild” in the Niphal. An Arabic cognate means “to be out of one’s senses, to wander about.” With the vav (ו) conjunctive prefixed to it, the cohortative probably indicates the result or effect of the preceding main verb. Some prefer to emend the form to וְאֵהוֹמָה (vÿ’ehomah), a Niphal of הוּם (hum), or to וְאֶהַמֶה (vÿ’ehameh), a Qal imperfect from הָמָה (hamah, “to moan”). Many also prefer to take this verb with what follows (see v. 3).

[64:1]  ¹¹ sn Psalm 64. The psalmist asks God to protect him from his dangerous enemies and then confidently affirms that God will destroy his enemies and demonstrate his justice in the sight of all observers.

[64:1]  ¹² tn Heb “my voice.”

[64:1]  ¹³ tn The imperfect verbal form is used here to express the psalmist’s request.

[64:1]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “from the terror of [the] enemy.” “Terror” is used here metonymically for the enemy’s attacks that produce fear because they threaten the psalmist’s life.

[80:1]  ¹⁵ sn Psalm 80. The psalmist laments Israel’s demise and asks the Lord to show favor toward his people, as he did in earlier times.

[80:1]  ¹⁶ tn The Hebrew expression shushan-eduth means “lily of the testimony.” It may refer to a particular music style or to a tune title. See the superscription to Ps 60.

[80:1]  ¹⁷ sn Winged angels (Heb “cherubs”). Cherubs, as depicted in the OT, possess both human and animal (lion, ox, and eagle) characteristics (see Ezek 1:10; 10:14, 21; 41:18). They are pictured as winged creatures (Exod 25:20; 37:9; 1 Kgs 6:24-27; Ezek 10:8, 19) and serve as the very throne of God when the ark of the covenant is in view (Ps 99:1; see Num 7:89; 1 Sam 4:4; 2 Sam 6:2; 2 Kgs 19:15). The picture of the Lord seated on the cherubs suggests they might be used by him as a vehicle, a function they carry out in Ezek 1:22-28 (the “living creatures” mentioned here are identified as cherubs in Ezek 10:20). In Ps 18:10 the image of a cherub serves to personify the wind.

[80:1]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “shine forth.”

[80:1]  sn Reveal your splendor. The psalmist may allude to Deut 33:2, where God “shines forth” from Sinai and comes to superintend Moses’ blessing of the tribes.

[86:1]  ¹⁹ sn Psalm 86. The psalmist appeals to God’s mercy as he asks for deliverance from his enemies.

[86:1]  ²⁰ tn Heb “turn your ear.”

[86:1]  ²¹ sn Psalm 86. The psalmist appeals to God’s mercy as he asks for deliverance from his enemies.

[86:1]  ²² tn Heb “turn your ear.”

[3:12]  ²³ tn Heb “I know.”

[3:12]  ²⁴ tn Heb “for them”; the referent (people, i.e., mankind) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[3:12]  ²⁵ tn Qoheleth uses the exceptive particle אִם…כִּי (ki…’im, “except”) to identify the only exception to the futility within man’s life (BDB 474 s.v. כִּי 2).

[3:12]  ²⁶ tn Heb “to do good.” The phrase לַעֲשׂוֹת טוֹב (la’asot tov) functions idiomatically for “to experience [or see] happiness [or joy].” The verb עָשַׂה (’asah) probably denotes “to acquire; to obtain” (BDB 795 s.v. עָשַׂה II.7), and טוֹב (tov) means “good; pleasure; happiness,” e.g., Eccl 2:24; 3:13; 5:17 (BDB 375 s.v. טוֹב 1).

[3:1]  ²⁷ tn Verse 1 is arranged in an ABB’A’ chiasm (לַכֹּל זְמָן וְעֵת לְכָל־חֵפֶץ, lakkol zÿman vÿ’et lÿkhol-khefets): (A) “for everything”; (B) “a season”; (B’) “a time”; (A’) “for every matter.” The terms “season” (זְמָן, zÿman) and “time” (עֵת, ’et) are parallel. In the light of its parallelism with “every matter” (כָל־חֵפֶץ, khol-khefets), the term “everything” (כָל, khol) must refer to events and situations in life.

[3:1]  ²⁸ tn The noun זְמָן (zÿman) denotes “appointed time” or “appointed hour” (HALOT 273 s.v. זְמָן; BDB 273 s.v. זְמָן; see Eccl 3:1; Esth 9:27, 31; Neh 2:6; Sir 43:7), e.g., the appointed or designated time for the Jewish feasts (Esth 9:27, 31), the length of time that Nehemiah set for his absence from Susa (Neh 2:6), and the appointed times in the Jewish law for the months to begin (Sir 43:7). It is used in parallelism with מועד (“appointed time”), i.e., מועד ירח (“the appointed time of the moon”) parallels זמני חק (“the appointed times of the law”; Sir 43:7). The related verb, a Pual of זָמַן (zaman), means “to be appointed” (HALOT 273 s.v. זְמָן); e.g. Ezra 10:14; Neh 10:35; 13:31. These terms may be related to the noun I זִמָּה (zimmah, “plan; intention”; Job 17:11; HALOT 272 s.v. I זִמָּה) and מְזִמָּה (mÿzimmah, “purpose; plan; project”), e.g., the purposes of God (Job 42:2; Jer 23:20; 30:24; 51:11) and man’s plan (Isa 5:12); see HALOT 566 s.v. מְזִמָּה; BDB 273 s.v. מְזִמָּה.

[3:1]  sn Verses 1-8 refer to God’s appointed time-table for human activities or actions whose most appropriate time is determined by men. Verses 9-15 state that God is ultimately responsible for the time in which events in human history occur. This seems to provide a striking balance between the sovereignty of God and the responsibility of man. Man does what God has willed, but man also does what he “pleases” (see note on the word “matter” in 3:1).

[3:1]  ²⁹ tn The noun עֵת (’et, “point in time”) has a basic two-fold range of meanings: (1) “time of an event” and (2) “time for an event” (BDB 773 s.v. עֵת). The latter has subcategories: (a) “usual time,” (b) “the proper, suitable or appropriate time,” (c) “the appointed time,” and (d) “uncertain time” (Eccl 9:11). Here it connotes “a proper, suitable time for an event” (HALOT 900 s.v. עֵת 6; BDB s.v. עֵת 2.b). Examples: “the time for rain” (Ezra 10:13), “a time of judgment for the nations” (Ezek 30:3), “an appropriate time for every occasion” (Eccl 3:1), “the time when mountain goats are born” (Job 39:1), “the rain in its season” (Deut 11:14; Jer 5:24), “the time for the harvest” (Hos 2:11; Ps 1:3), “food in its season” (Ps 104:27), “no one knows his hour of destiny” (Eccl 9:12), “the right moment” (Eccl 8:5); cf. HALOT 900 s.v. עֵת 6.

[3:1]  ³⁰ tn The noun חֵפֶץ (khefets, here “matter, business”) has a broad range of meanings: (1) “delight; joy,” (2) “desire; wish; longing,” (3) “the good pleasure; will; purpose,” (4) “precious stones” (i.e., jewelry), i.e., what someone takes delight in, and (5) “matter; business,” as a metonymy of adjunct to what someone takes delight in (Eccl 3:1, 17; 5:7; 8:6; Isa 53:10; 58:3, 13; Pss 16:3; 111:2; Prov 31:13); see HALOT 340 s.v. חֵפֶץ 4; BDB 343 s.v. חֵפֶץ 4. It is also sometimes used in reference to the “good pleasure” of God, that is, his sovereign plan, e.g., Judg 13:23; Isa 44:28; 46:10; 48:14 (BDB 343 s.v. חֵפֶץ). While the theme of the sovereignty of God permeates Eccl 3:1–4:3, the content of 3:1-8 refers to human activities that are planned and purposed by man. The LXX translated it with πράγματι (pragmati, “matter”). The term is translated variously by modern English versions: “every purpose” (KJV, ASV), “every event” (NASB), “every delight” (NASB margin), “every affair” (NAB), “every matter” (RSV, NRSV), “every activity” (NEB, NIV), “every project” (MLB), and “every experience” (NJPS).

[3:1]  ³¹ tn Heb “under heaven.”

[5:14]  ³² tn Since this is a prohibition with a present imperative, the translation “stop sinning” is sometimes suggested. This is not likely, however, since the present tense is normally used in prohibitions involving a general condition (as here) while the aorist tense is normally used in specific instances. Only when used opposite the normal usage (the present tense in a specific instance, for example) would the meaning “stop doing what you are doing” be appropriate.

[5:15]  ³³ tn Or “the Jewish authorities”; Grk “the Jews.” See the note on the phrase “Jewish leaders” in v. 10.