10:23 King Solomon was wealthier and wiser than any of the kings of the earth. 9 10:24 Everyone 10 in the world wanted to visit Solomon to see him display his God-given wisdom. 11
1:11 Nathan said to Bathsheba, Solomon’s mother, “Has it been reported to you 16 that Haggith’s son Adonijah has become king behind our master David’s back? 17 1:12 Now 18 let me give you some advice as to how 19 you can save your life and your son Solomon’s life.
119:34 Give me understanding so that I might observe your law,
and keep it with all my heart. 20
2:6 For 21 the Lord gives 22 wisdom,
and from his mouth 23 comes 24 knowledge and understanding.
1:16 I thought to myself, 25
“I have become much wiser 26 than any of my predecessors who ruled 27 over Jerusalem; 28
I 29 have acquired much wisdom and knowledge.” 30
2:26 For to the one who pleases him, 31 God gives wisdom, knowledge, and joy,
but to the sinner, he gives the task of amassing 32 wealth 33 –
only to give 34 it 35 to the one who pleases God.
This 36 task of the wicked 37 is futile – like chasing the wind!
1 tn This statement is introduced in the Hebrew text by the particle הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”) which draws attention to and emphasizes what follows.
2 tn Heb “I am doing according to your words.” The perfect tense is sometimes used of actions occurring at the same time a statement is made.
3 tn This statement is introduced by the particle הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”) which draws attention to and emphasizes what follows. The translation assumes that the perfect tense here indicates that the action occurs as the statement is made (i.e., “right now I give you”).
4 tn Heb “heart.” (The Hebrew term translated “heart” often refers to the mental faculties.)
5 tn Heb “so that there has not been one like you prior to you, and after you one will not arise like you.”
6 tn Heb “feared,” perhaps in the sense, “stood in awe of.”
7 tn Heb “saw.”
8 tn Heb “the wisdom of God within him.”
9 tn Heb “King Solomon was greater than all the kings of the earth with respect to wealth and with respect to wisdom.”
10 tc The Old Greek translation and Syriac Peshitta have “all the kings of the earth.” See 2 Chr 9:23.
11 tn Heb “and all the earth was seeking the face of Solomon to hear his wisdom which God had placed in his heart.”
12 map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.
13 tn Heb “with very great strength.” The Hebrew term חַיִל (khayil, “strength”) may refer here to the size of her retinue (cf. NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV) or to the great wealth she brought with her.
14 tn Or “balsam oil.”
15 tn Or “bodyguard” (Heb “mighty men”).
16 tn Heb “Have you not heard?”
17 tn Heb “and our master David does not know.”
18 tn Heb “now, come.” The imperative of הָלַךְ (halakh) is here used as an introductory interjection. See BDB 234 s.v. חָלַךְ.
19 tn Or “so that.”
20 tn The two prefixed verbal forms with vav (ו) conjunctive indicate purpose/result after the introductory imperative.
21 tn This is a causal clause. The reason one must fear and know the
22 tn The verb is an imperfect tense which probably functions as a habitual imperfect describing a universal truth in the past, present and future.
23 sn This expression is an anthropomorphism; it indicates that the
24 tn The verb “comes” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for the sake of clarity and smoothness.
25 tn Heb “I spoke, I, with my heart.”
26 tn Heb “I, look, I have made great and increased wisdom.” The expression הִגְדַּלְתִּי וְהוֹסַפְתִּי (higdalti vÿhosafti) is a verbal hendiadys; it means that Qoheleth had become the wisest man in the history of Jerusalem.
27 tn The phrase “who ruled” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity.
28 map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.
29 tn Heb “my heart” (לִבִּי, libbi). The term “heart” is a metonymy of part for the whole (“my heart” = myself).
30 tn Heb “My heart has seen much wisdom and knowledge.”
31 tn Heb “for to a man who is good before him.”
32 sn The phrase the task of amassing wealth (Heb “the task of gathering and heaping up”) implicitly compares the work of the farmer reaping his crops and storing them up in a barn, to the work of the laborer amassing wealth as the fruit of his labor. However, rather than his storehouse being safe for the future, the sinner is deprived of it.
33 tn The word “wealth” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity.
34 sn The three-fold repetition of the Hebrew word translated “give” in the first part of this verse creates irony: God “gives” the righteous the ability to prosper and to find enjoyment in his work; but to the wicked He “gives” the task of “giving” his wealth to the righteous.
35 tn The word “it” (an implied direct object) does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity.
36 tn The antecedent of the demonstrative pronoun זֶה (zeh, “this”) is debated: (1) Some refer it to the enjoyment which Qoheleth had just commended in 2:24-26. However, this is inconsistent with the enjoyment theme found elsewhere in the book. It also ignores the fact that 2:24-26 states that such enjoyment is a good gift from God. (2) Others refer it to the term “toil” (עָמָל, ’amal) which is repeated throughout 2:18-26. However, Qoheleth affirmed that if one is righteous, he can find enjoyment in his toil, even though so much of it is ultimately futile. (3) Therefore, it seems best to refer it to the grievous “task” (עִנְיָן, ’inyan) God has given to the sinner in 2:26b. Consistent with the meaning of הֶבֶל (hevel, “futile; profitless; fruitless”), 2:26b emphasizes that the “task” of the sinner is profitless: he labors hard to amass wealth, only to see the fruit of his labor given away to someone else. The righteous man’s enjoyment of his work and the fruit of his labor under the blessing of God (2:24-26a) is not included in this.
37 tn The phrase “task of the wicked” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity.
38 tn The first phrase refers to the action of giving and the second to what is given.
39 tn Or “All generous giving and every perfect gift from above is coming down.”
40 tn Grk “variation or shadow of turning” (referring to the motions of heavenly bodies causing variations of light and darkness).
41 tn Or “willing to yield,” “open to persuasion.”
42 tn Grk “fruits.” The plural Greek term καρπούς has been translated with the collective singular “fruit.”
43 tn Or “sincere.”