1 Kings 9:11

9:11 King Solomon gave King Hiram of Tyre ¹  twenty cities in the region of Galilee, because Hiram had supplied Solomon with cedars, evergreens, and all the gold he wanted.

1 Kings 9:19

9:19 all the storage cities that belonged to him, ²  and the cities where chariots and horses were kept. ³  He built whatever he wanted in Jerusalem, Lebanon, and throughout his entire kingdom. ⁴ 

Ecclesiastes 2:10

2:10 I did not restrain myself from getting whatever I wanted; ⁵ 

I did not deny myself anything that would bring me pleasure. ⁶ 

So all my accomplishments gave me joy; ⁷ 

this was my reward for all my effort. ⁸ 

Ecclesiastes 6:9

6:9 It is better to be content with ⁹  what the eyes can see ¹⁰ 

than for one’s heart always to crave more. ¹¹ 

This continual longing ¹²  is futile – like ¹³  chasing the wind.

¹ map For location see Map1-A2; Map2-G2; Map4-A1; JP3-F3; JP4-F3.

² tn Heb “to Solomon.” The proper name has been replaced by the pronoun (“him”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.

³ tn Heb “the cities of the chariots and the cities of the horses.”

⁴ tn Heb “and the desire of Solomon which he desired to build in Jerusalem and in Lebanon and in all the land of his kingdom.”

⁵ tn Heb “all which my eyes asked for, I did not withhold from them.”

⁶ 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.

⁷ tn Heb “So my heart was joyful from all my toil.”

⁸ tn Heb “and this was my portion from all my toil.”

⁹ tn The phrase “to be content with” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity.

¹⁰ 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.

¹¹ 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.

¹² tn The phrase “continual longing” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity.

¹³ tn The term “like” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity and smoothness.