Yakobus 1:6-8

1:6 But he must ask in faith without doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed around by the wind. 1:7 For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord, 1:8 since he is a double-minded individual, ¹  unstable in all his ways.

Yakobus 1:2

Joy in Trials

1:2 My brothers and sisters, ²  consider it nothing but joy ³  when you fall into all sorts of trials,

Pengkhotbah 2:14

2:14 The wise man can see where he is going, ⁴  but the fool walks in darkness.

Yet I also realized that the same fate ⁵  happens to them both. ⁶ 

Pengkhotbah 3:16

The Problem of Injustice and Oppression

3:16 I saw something else on earth: ⁷ 

In the place of justice, there was wickedness,

and in the place of fairness, ⁸  there was wickedness.

[1:8]  ¹ tn Grk “a man of two minds,” continuing the description of the person in v. 7, giving the reason that he cannot expect to receive anything. The word for “man” or “individual” is ἀνήρ (anhr), which often means “male” or “man (as opposed to woman).” But it sometimes is used generically to mean “anyone,” “a person,” as here (cf. BDAG 79 s.v. 2).

[1:8]  sn A double-minded man is one whose devotion to God is less than total. His attention is divided between God and other things, and as a consequence he is unstable and therefore unable to receive from God.

[1:2]  ² tn Grk “brothers,” but the Greek word may be used for “brothers and sisters” or “fellow Christians” as here (cf. BDAG 18 s.v. ἀδελφός 1, where considerable nonbiblical evidence for the plural ἀδελφοί [adelfoi] meaning “brothers and sisters” is cited). Where the plural term is used in direct address, as here, “brothers and sisters” is used; where the term is singular and not direct address (as in v. 9), “believer” is preferred.

[1:2]  ³ tn Grk “all joy,” “full joy,” or “greatest joy.”

[2:14]  ⁴ tn Heb “has his eyes in his head.” The term עַיִן (’ayin, “eye”) is used figuratively in reference to mental and spiritual faculties (BDB 744 s.v. עַיִן 3.a). The term “eye” is a metonymy of cause (eye) for effect (sight and perception).

[2:14]  ⁵ sn The common fate to which Qoheleth refers is death.

[2:14]  ⁶ tn The term כֻּלָּם (kullam, “all of them”) denotes “both of them.” This is an example of synecdoche of general (“all of them”) for the specific (“both of them,” that is, both the wise man and the fool).

[3:16]  ⁷ tn Heb “under the sun.”

[3:16]  ⁸ tn Or “righteousness.”