Mazmur 16:8

16:8 I constantly trust in the Lord; ¹ 

because he is at my right hand, I will not be upended.

Mazmur 55:22

55:22 Throw your burden ²  upon the Lord,

and he will sustain you. ³ 

He will never allow the godly to be upended. ⁴ 

Mazmur 106:3

106:3 How blessed are those who promote justice,

and do what is right all the time!

Mazmur 112:6

112:6 For he will never be upended;

others will always remember one who is just. ⁵ 

Amsal 12:3

12:3 No one ⁶  can be established ⁷  through wickedness,

but a righteous root ⁸  cannot be moved.

Yehezkiel 18:27

18:27 When a wicked person turns from the wickedness he has committed and does what is just and right, he will preserve his life.

Matius 7:21-25

Judgment of Pretenders

7:21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ ⁹  will enter into the kingdom of heaven – only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven. 7:22 On that day, many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, didn’t we prophesy in your name, and in your name cast out demons and do ¹⁰  many powerful deeds?’ 7:23 Then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you. Go away from me, you lawbreakers!’ ¹¹ 

Hearing and Doing

7:24 “Everyone ¹²  who hears these words of mine and does them is like ¹³  a wise man ¹⁴  who built his house on rock. 7:25 The rain fell, the flood ¹⁵  came, and the winds beat against that house, but it did not collapse because it had been founded on rock.

Yohanes 13:17

13:17 If you understand ¹⁶  these things, you will be blessed if you do them.

Yakobus 1:22-25

1:22 But be sure you live out the message and do not merely listen to it and so deceive yourselves. 1:23 For if someone merely listens to the message and does not live it out, he is like someone ¹⁷  who gazes at his own face ¹⁸  in a mirror. 1:24 For he gazes at himself and then goes out and immediately forgets ¹⁹  what sort of person he was. 1:25 But the one who peers into the perfect law of liberty and fixes his attention there, ²⁰  and does not become a forgetful listener but one who lives it out – he ²¹  will be blessed in what he does. ²² 

Yakobus 1:2

Joy in Trials

1:2 My brothers and sisters, ²³  consider it nothing but joy ²⁴  when you fall into all sorts of trials,

Pengkhotbah 1:10-11

1:10 Is there anything about which someone can say, “Look at this! It is new!”? ²⁵ 

It was already ²⁶  done long ago, ²⁷  before our time. ²⁸ 

1:11 No one remembers the former events, ²⁹ 

nor will anyone remember ³⁰  the events that are yet to happen; ³¹ 

they will not be remembered by the future generations. ³² 

[16:8]  ¹ tn Heb “I set the Lord before me continually.” This may mean that the psalmist is aware of the Lord’s presence and sensitive to his moral guidance (see v. 7), or that he trusts in the Lord’s protection (see the following line).

[55:22]  ² tn The Hebrew noun occurs only here.

[55:22]  ³ tn The pronoun is singular; the psalmist addresses each member of his audience individually.

[55:22]  ⁴ tn Heb “he will never allow swaying for the righteous.”

[112:6]  ⁵ tn Heb “for an eternal memorial a just [one] will be.”

[12:3]  ⁶ tn Heb “a man cannot be.”

[12:3]  ⁷ tn The Niphal imperfect of כּוּן (cun, “to be established”) refers to finding permanent “security” (so NRSV, TEV, CEV) before God. Only righteousness can do that.

[12:3]  ⁸ tn Heb “a root of righteousness.” The genitive צַדִּיקִים (tsadiqim, “righteousness”) functions as an attributive adjective. The figure “root” (שֹׁרֶשׁ, shoresh) stresses the security of the righteous; they are firmly planted and cannot be uprooted (cf. NLT “the godly have deep roots”). The righteous are often compared to a tree (e.g., 11:30; Ps 1:3; 92:13).

[7:21]  ⁹ sn The double use of the vocative is normally used in situations of high emotion or emphasis. Even an emphatic confession without action means little.

[7:22]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “and in your name do.” This phrase was not repeated here in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[7:23]  ¹¹ tn Grk “workers of lawlessness.”

[7:24]  ¹² tn Grk “Therefore everyone.” Here οὖν (oun) has not been translated.

[7:24]  ¹³ tn Grk “will be like.” The same phrase occurs in v. 26.

[7:24]  ¹⁴ tn Here and in v. 26 the Greek text reads ἀνήρ (anhr), while the parallel account in Luke 6:47-49 uses ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpo") in vv. 48 and 49.

[7:25]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “the rivers.”

[13:17]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “If you know.”

[1:23]  ¹⁷ tn The word for “man” or “individual” is ἀνήρ (anhr), which often means “male” or “man (as opposed to woman).” However, as BDAG 79 s.v. 2 says, here it is “equivalent to τὶς someone, a person.”

[1:23]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “the face of his beginning [or origin].”

[1:24]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “and he has gone out and immediately has forgotten.”

[1:25]  ²⁰ tn Grk “continues.”

[1:25]  ²¹ tn Grk “this one.”

[1:25]  ²² tn Grk “in his doing.”

[1:2]  ²³ 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]  ²⁴ tn Grk “all joy,” “full joy,” or “greatest joy.”

[1:10]  ²⁵ tn Alternately, “[Even when] there is something of which someone might claim…” The terms יֵשׁ דָּבָר שֶׁיֹּאמַר (yesh davar sheyyo’mar) may be an interrogative clause without an introductory interrogative particle (GKC 473 §150.a). In questions, יֵשׁ often implies doubt about the existence of something (BDB 441 s.v. יֵשׁ 2.b). The LXX rendered it as a question, as do most English versions: “Is there anything of which it can be said…?” (KJV, ASV, RSV, MLB, NEB, NASB, NIV, NRSV). On the other hand, יֵשׁ is used elsewhere in the Book of Ecclesiastes as a predication of existence (“There is…”) to assert the existence of something (2:13, 21; 4:8, 9; 5:13[12]; 6:1, 11; 7:15; 8:6, 14; 9:4; 10:5). HALOT 443 s.v. יֵשׁ 2 renders יֵשׁ דָּבָר as “There is something….” This view is taken by several translations: “Even the thing of which we say…” (NAB), “Men may say of something …” (Moffatt), and “Sometimes there is a phenomena of which they say…” (NJPS).

[1:10]  ²⁶ tn The perfect tense verb הָיָה (hayah) refers to a past perfect situation: It describes an action that is viewed as a remote past event from the perspective of the past. This past perfect situation is brought out by the temporal adverb כְּבָר (kÿvar, “already”; HALOT 459 s.v. I כְּבָר; BDB 460 s.v. I כְּבָר; cf. 1:10; 2:12, 16; 3:15; 4:2; 6:10; 9:6-7). The expression כְּבָר + הָיָה connotes a past perfect nuance: “it has already been” (Eccl 1:10; see BDB 460 s.v.).

[1:10]  ²⁷ sn This does not deny man’s creativity or inventiveness, only the ultimate newness of his accomplishments. For example, there is no essential difference between the first voyage to the moon and the discovery of America (different point of arrival, different vehicles of travel, but the same essential action and results).

[1:10]  ²⁸ tn Heb “in the ages long ago before us.”

[1:11]  ²⁹ tn Heb “There is no remembrance of former things.” The term רִאשֹׁנִים (ri’shonim, “former things”) is the masculine plural form of the adjective רִאשׁוֹן (ri’shon,“former, first, chief”; BDB 911 s.v. רִאשׁוֹן). When used in a temporal sense, the singular denotes “former” in time (BDB 911 s.v. 1.a) or “first” in time (BDB 911 s.v. 2.a). The plural form is only used to denote “former” in time: “former persons,” i.e., ancestors, men of old (e.g., Lev 26:45; Deut 19:14; Job 18:20; Isa 61:4; Ps 79:8; Sirach 4:16) or “former things,” i.e., past events (e.g., Isa 41:22; 42:9; 43:9, 18; 46:9; 48:3). See BDB 911 s.v. 1.a, which suggests that this usage refers to “former persons.” This approach is adopted by several translations: “men of old” (NEB, NAB, NIV, Moffatt), “people of long ago” (NRSV), “earlier ones” (NJPS), and “former generations” (ASV). On the other hand, this Hebrew phrase may be nuanced “former things” or “earlier things” (HALOT 1168 s.v. ן(וֹ)רִאשֹׁ). This is adopted by some translations: “former things” (KJV, RSV) and “earlier things” (NASB). Although future generations are mentioned in 1:11, what they will not remember is the past events. The context of 1:3-11 focuses on human achievement, that is, former things.

[1:11]  ³⁰ tn The term “remember” is not in the Hebrew text, but has been supplied in the translation for clarity.

[1:11]  ³¹ tn Heb “and also of the last things which will be.” The term אַחֲרֹנִים (’akharonim, “the future things”) is the masculine plural form of the adjective אַחֲרוֹן (’akharon) which means “coming after” (BDB 30 s.v. אַחֲרוֹן) or “at the back” (HALOT 36 s.v. אַחֲרוֹן). When used in a temporal sense, it may mean (1) “later one; (2) “in the future”; (3) “last”; or (4) “at the last” or “in the end” (HALOT 36 s.v. 2). The plural form may be used in reference to (1) future generations, e.g., Deut 29:21; Pss 48:14; 78:4, 6; 102:19; Job 18:20; Eccl 4:16, or (2) future events, e.g., Neh 8:18 (BDB 30 s.v.). BDB 30 s.v. b suggests that this usage refers to “future generations,” while HALOT 36 s.v. 2.c suggests future events. As mentioned in the previous note, it probably refers to future events rather than future generations.

[1:11]  sn The Hebrew terms translated former events and future events create a merism (two polar extremes encompass everything in between). This encompasses all secular achievements in human history past to future things yet to be done.

[1:11]  ³² tn Heb “There will not be any remembrance of them among those who come after.”

[1:11]  sn According to Qoheleth, nothing new really happens under the sun (1:9). Apparent observations of what appears to be revolutionary are due to a lack of remembrance by subsequent generations of what happened long before their time in past generations (1:10-11a). And what will happen in future generations will not be remembered by the subsequent generations to arise after them (1:11b).