1:16 I thought to myself, 1
“I have become much wiser 2 than any of my predecessors who ruled 3 over Jerusalem; 4
I 5 have acquired much wisdom and knowledge.” 6
10:20 Do not curse a king even in your thoughts,
and do not curse the rich 7 while in your bedroom; 8
for a bird 9 might report what you are thinking, 10
or some winged creature 11 might repeat your 12 words. 13
1 tn Heb “I spoke, I, with my heart.”
2 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.
3 tn The phrase “who ruled” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity.
4 map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.
5 tn Heb “my heart” (לִבִּי, libbi). The term “heart” is a metonymy of part for the whole (“my heart” = myself).
6 tn Heb “My heart has seen much wisdom and knowledge.”
7 tn Perhaps the referent is people who are in authority because of their wealth.
8 tn Heb “in chambers of your bedroom.”
9 tn Heb “a bird of the air.”
10 tn Heb “might carry the voice.” The article is used here with the force of a possessive pronoun.
11 tn The Hebrew phrase בַּעַל הַכְּנָפַיִם (ba’al hakkÿnafayim, “possessor of wings”) is an idiom for a winged creature, that is, a bird (e.g., Prov 1:17; see HALOT 143 s.v. בַּעַל A.6; BDB 127 s.v. בַּעַל 5.a). The term בַּעַל (“master; possessor”) is the construct governing the attributive genitive הַכְּנָפַיִם (“wings”); see IBHS 149-51 §9.5.3b.
12 tn The term “your” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for smoothness.
13 tn Heb “tell the matter.”