8:1 4 Then Solomon convened in Jerusalem 5 Israel’s elders, all the leaders of the Israelite tribes and families, so they could witness the transferal of the ark of the Lord’s covenant from the city of David (that is, Zion). 6
11:4 The Lord is in his holy temple; 8
the Lord’s throne is in heaven. 9
His eyes 10 watch; 11
his eyes 12 examine 13 all people. 14
11:5 The Lord approves of 15 the godly, 16
but he 17 hates 18 the wicked and those who love to do violence. 19
1 tn The words “their sin” are added for clarification.
2 tn Heb “and act and give to each one according to all his ways because you know his heart.” In the Hebrew text vv. 37-39a actually contain one lengthy conditional sentence, which the translation has divided up for stylistic reasons.
3 tn Heb “Indeed you know, you alone, the heart of all the sons of mankind.”
4 tc The Old Greek translation includes the following words at the beginning of ch. 8: “It so happened that when Solomon finished building the Lord’s temple and his own house, after twenty years.”
5 map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.
6 tn Heb “Then Solomon convened the elders of Israel, the heads of the tribes, the chiefs of the fathers belonging to the sons of Israel to King Solomon [in] Jerusalem to bring up the ark of the covenant of the
7 tc The ancient Greek version omits this appositional phrase.
8 tn Because of the royal imagery involved here, one could translate “lofty palace.” The
9 sn The
10 sn His eyes. The anthropomorphic language draws attention to God’s awareness of and interest in the situation on earth. Though the enemies are hidden by the darkness (v. 2), the Lord sees all.
11 tn The two Hebrew imperfect verbal forms in this verse describe the
12 tn Heb “eyelids.”
13 tn For other uses of the verb in this sense, see Job 7:18; Pss 7:9; 26:2; 139:23.
14 tn Heb “test the sons of men.”
15 tn Heb “examines,” the same verb used in v. 4b. But here it is used in a metonymic sense of “examine and approve” (see Jer 20:12).
16 tn The singular form is used here in a collective or representative sense. Note the plural form “pure (of heart)” in v. 2.
17 tn Heb “his [very] being.” A נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh, “being, soul”) is also attributed to the Lord in Isa 1:14, where a suffixed form of the noun appears as the subject of the verb “hate.” Both there and here the term is used of the seat of one’s emotions and passions.
18 sn He hates the wicked. The Lord “hates” the wicked in the sense that he despises their wicked character and deeds, and actively opposes and judges them for their wickedness. See Ps 5:5.
19 tn Heb “the wicked [one] and the lover of violence.” The singular form is used here in a collective or representative sense. Note the plural form רְשָׁעִים (rÿsha’im, “wicked [ones]”) in vv. 2 and 6.
20 tn The masculine form has been retained here in the translation to maintain the connection with “a man of the Pharisees” in 3:1, with the understanding that the reference is to people of both genders.
21 tn See previous note on “man” in this verse.
22 tn Grk “him”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
23 tn Grk “her children,” but in this context a reference to this woman’s followers or disciples is more likely meant.
24 tn Grk “I will kill with death.” θάνατος (qanatos) can in particular contexts refer to a manner of death, specifically a contagious disease (see BDAG 443 s.v. 3; L&N 23.158).
25 tn Grk “I will give.” The sense of δίδωμι (didwmi) in this context is more “repay” than “give.”
26 sn This pronoun and the following one are plural in the Greek text.
27 tn Grk “each one of you according to your works.”