Pengkhotbah 3:22

3:22 So I perceived there is nothing better than for people ¹  to enjoy their work, ² 

because that is their ³  reward;

for who can show them what the future holds? ⁴ 

Pengkhotbah 5:2

5:2 Do not be rash with your mouth or hasty in your heart to bring up a matter before God,

for God is in heaven and you are on earth!

Therefore, let your words be few.

Pengkhotbah 9:1

Everyone Will Die

9:1 So I reflected on all this, ⁵  attempting to clear ⁶  it all up.

I concluded that ⁷  the righteous and the wise, as well as their works, are in the hand of God;

whether a person will be loved or hated ⁸  –

no one knows what lies ahead. ⁹ 

[3:22]  ¹ tn Heb “man.”

[3:22]  ² tn Heb “his works.”

[3:22]  ³ tn Heb “his.”

[3:22]  ⁴ tn Heb “what will be after him” (cf. KJV, NASB, NIV) or “afterward” (cf. NJPS).

[9:1]  ⁵ tn Heb “I laid all this to my heart.”

[9:1]  ⁶ tn The term וְלָבוּר (velavur, conjunction + Qal infinitive construct from בּוּר, bur, “to make clear”) denotes “to examine; to make clear; to clear up; to explain” (HALOT 116 s.v. בור; BDB 101 s.v. בּוּר). The term is related to Arabic baraw “to examine” (G. R. Driver, “Supposed Arabisms in the Old Testament,” JBL 55 [1936]: 108). This verb is related to the Hebrew noun בֹּר (bor, “cleanness”) and adjective בַּר (bar, “clean”). The term is used in the OT only in Ecclesiastes (1:13; 2:3; 7:25; 9:1). This use of the infinitive has a connotative sense (“attempting to”), and functions in a complementary sense, relative to the main verb.

[9:1]  ⁷ tn The words “I concluded that” do not appear in the Hebrew text, but are supplied in the translation for clarity.

[9:1]  ⁸ tn Heb “whether love or hatred.”

[9:1]  ⁹ tn Heb “man does not know anything before them.”