9:1 After Solomon finished building the Lord’s temple, the royal palace, and all the other construction projects he had planned, 1
2:10 I did not restrain myself from getting whatever I wanted; 2
I did not deny myself anything that would bring me pleasure. 3
So all my accomplishments gave me joy; 4
this was my reward for all my effort. 5
6:9 It is better to be content with 6 what the eyes can see 7
than for one’s heart always to crave more. 8
This continual longing 9 is futile – like 10 chasing the wind.
1 tn Heb “and all the desire of Solomon which he wanted to do.”
2 tn Heb “all which my eyes asked for, I did not withhold from them.”
3 tn Heb “I did not refuse my heart any pleasure.” The term לִבִּי (libbi, “my heart”) is a synecdoche of part (i.e., heart) for the whole (i.e., whole person); see E. W. Bullinger, Figures of Speech, 648. The term is repeated twice in 2:10 for emphasis.
4 tn Heb “So my heart was joyful from all my toil.”
5 tn Heb “and this was my portion from all my toil.”
6 tn The phrase “to be content with” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity.
7 tn The expression מַרְאֵה עֵינַיִם (mar’eh ’enayim, “the seeing of the eyes”) is a metonymy of cause (i.e., seeing an object) for effect (i.e., being content with what the eyes can see); see E. W. Bullinger, Figures of Speech, 552-54.
8 tn Heb “the roaming of the soul.” The expression מֵהֲלָךְ־נָפֶשׁ (mehalakh-nafesh, “the roaming of the soul”) is a metonymy for unfulfilled desires. The term “soul” (נֶפֶשׁ, nefesh) is used as a metonymy of association for man’s desires and appetites (BDB 660 s.v. נֶפֶשׁ 5.c; 6.a). This also involves the personification of the roving appetite as “roving” (מֵהֲלָךְ); see BDB 235 s.v. הָלַךְ II.3.f; 232 I.3.
9 tn The phrase “continual longing” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity.
10 tn The term “like” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity and smoothness.