Ecclesiastes 11:9

Enjoy Life to the Fullest under the Fear of God

11:9 Rejoice, young man, while you are young, ¹ 

and let your heart cheer you in the days of your youth.

Follow the impulses ²  of your heart and the desires ³  of your eyes,

but know that God will judge your motives and actions. ⁴ 

Mark 7:21-22

7:21 For from within, out of the human heart, come evil ideas, sexual immorality, theft, murder, 7:22 adultery, greed, evil, deceit, debauchery, envy, slander, pride, and folly.

Acts 5:3-4

5:3 But Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled ⁵  your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and keep back for yourself part of the proceeds from the sale of ⁶  the land? 5:4 Before it was sold, ⁷  did it not ⁸  belong to you? And when it was sold, was the money ⁹  not at your disposal? How have you thought up this deed in your heart? ¹⁰  You have not lied to people ¹¹  but to God!”

Acts 8:22

8:22 Therefore repent of this wickedness of yours, and pray to the Lord ¹²  that he may perhaps forgive you for the intent of your heart. ¹³ 

James 1:14-15

1:14 But each one is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desires. 1:15 Then when desire conceives, it gives birth to sin, and when sin is full grown, it gives birth to death.

¹ tn Heb “in your youth”; or “in your childhood.”

² tn Heb “walk in the ways of your heart.”

³ tn Heb “the sight.”

⁴ tn Heb “and know that concerning all these God will bring you into judgment.” The point is not that following one’s impulses and desires is inherently bad and will bring condemnation from God. Rather the point seems to be: As you follow your impulses and desires, realize that all you think and do will eventually be evaluated by God. So one must seek joy within the boundaries of God’s moral standards.

⁵ sn This is a good example of the Greek verb fill (πληρόω, plhrow) meaning “to exercise control over someone’s thought and action” (cf. Eph 5:18).

⁶ tn The words “from the sale of” are not in the Greek text, but are supplied to clarify the meaning, since the phrase “proceeds from the land” could possibly be understood as crops rather than money from the sale.

⁷ tn Grk “Remaining to you.”

⁸ tn The negative interrogative particle οὐχί (ouci) expects a positive reply to this question and the following one (“And when it was sold, was it not at your disposal?”).

⁹ tn Grk “it”; the referent of the pronoun (the money generated from the sale of the land) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

¹⁰ tn Grk “How is it that you have [or Why have you] placed this deed in your heart?” Both of these literal translations differ from the normal way of expressing the thought in English.

¹¹ tn Grk “to men.” If Peter’s remark refers only to the apostles, the translation “to men” would be appropriate. But if (as is likely) the action was taken to impress the entire congregation (who would presumably have witnessed the donation or been aware of it) then the more general “to people” is more appropriate, since the audience would have included both men and women.

¹² tn Or “and implore the Lord.”

¹³ tn Grk “that if possible the intent of your heart may be forgiven you.” The passive construction is somewhat awkward in contemporary English and has thus been converted to an active construction in the translation.