2:14 The wise man can see where he is going, 1 but the fool walks in darkness.
Yet I also realized that the same fate 2 happens to them both. 3
7:15 During the days of my fleeting life 4 I have seen both 5 of these things:
Sometimes 6 a righteous person dies prematurely 7 in spite of 8 his righteousness,
and sometimes 9 a wicked person lives long 10 in spite of his evil deeds.
9:1 So I reflected on all this, 11 attempting to clear 12 it all up.
I concluded that 13 the righteous and the wise, as well as their works, are in the hand of God;
whether a person will be loved or hated 14 –
no one knows what lies ahead. 15
9:2 Everyone shares the same fate 16 –
the righteous and the wicked,
the good and the bad, 17
the ceremonially clean and unclean,
those who offer sacrifices and those who do not.
What happens to the good person, also happens to the sinner; 18
what happens to those who make vows, also happens to those who are afraid to make vows.
9:3 This is the unfortunate fact 19 about everything that happens on earth: 20
the same fate awaits 21 everyone.
In addition to this, the hearts of all people 22 are full of evil,
and there is folly in their hearts during their lives – then they die. 23
9:22 “It is all one! 24 That is why I say, 25
‘He destroys the blameless and the guilty.’
9:23 If a scourge brings sudden death, 26
he mocks 27 at the despair 28 of the innocent. 29
9:24 If a land 30 has been given
into the hand of a wicked man, 31
he covers 32 the faces of its judges; 33
if it is not he, then who is it? 34
21:17 “How often 35 is the lamp of the wicked extinguished?
How often does their 36 misfortune come upon them?
How often does God apportion pain 37 to them 38 in his anger?
21:18 How often 39 are they like straw before the wind,
and like chaff swept away 40 by a whirlwind?
21:19 You may say, 41 ‘God stores up a man’s 42 punishment for his children!’ 43
Instead let him repay 44 the man himself 45
so that 46 he may know it!
21:20 Let his own eyes see his destruction; 47
let him drink of the anger of the Almighty.
21:21 For what is his interest 48 in his home
after his death, 49
when the number of his months
has been broken off? 50
21:22 Can anyone teach 51 God knowledge,
since 52 he judges those that are on high? 53
21:23 “One man dies in his full vigor, 54
completely secure and prosperous,
21:24 his body 55 well nourished, 56
and the marrow of his bones moist. 57
21:25 And another man 58 dies in bitterness of soul, 59
never having tasted 60 anything good.
21:26 Together they lie down in the dust,
and worms cover over them both.
21:27 “Yes, I know what you are thinking, 61
the schemes 62 by which you would wrong me. 63
21:28 For you say,
‘Where now is the nobleman’s house, 64
and where are the tents in which the wicked lived?’ 65
21:29 Have you never questioned those who travel the roads?
Do you not recognize their accounts 66 –
21:30 that the evil man is spared
from the day of his misfortune,
that he is delivered 67
from the day of God’s wrath?
21:31 No one denounces his conduct to his face;
no one repays him for what 68 he has done. 69
21:32 And when he is carried to the tombs,
and watch is kept 70 over the funeral mound, 71
21:33 The clods of the torrent valley 72 are sweet to him;
behind him everybody follows in procession,
and before him goes a countless throng.
21:34 So how can you console me with your futile words?
Nothing is left of your answers but deception!” 73
24:21 He preys on 74 the barren and childless woman, 75
and does not treat the widow well.
24:22 But God 76 drags off the mighty by his power;
when God 77 rises up against him, he has no faith in his life. 78
24:23 God 79 may let them rest in a feeling of security, 80
but he is constantly watching 81 all their ways. 82
24:24 They are exalted for a little while,
and then they are gone, 83
they are brought low 84 like all others,
and gathered in, 85
and like a head of grain they are cut off.’ 86
24:25 “If this is not so, who can prove me a liar
and reduce my words to nothing?” 87
73:13 I concluded, 88 “Surely in vain I have kept my motives 89 pure
and maintained a pure lifestyle. 90
73:14 I suffer all day long,
and am punished every morning.”
1 tn Heb “has his eyes in his head.” The term עַיִן (’ayin, “eye”) is used figuratively in reference to mental and spiritual faculties (BDB 744 s.v. עַיִן 3.a). The term “eye” is a metonymy of cause (eye) for effect (sight and perception).
2 sn The common fate to which Qoheleth refers is death.
3 tn The term כֻּלָּם (kullam, “all of them”) denotes “both of them.” This is an example of synecdoche of general (“all of them”) for the specific (“both of them,” that is, both the wise man and the fool).
4 tn The word “life” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for smoothness and clarity.
5 tn As is the case throughout Ecclesiastes, the term הַכֹּל (hakkol) should be nuanced “both” rather than “all.”
6 tn Heb “There is.” The term יֵשׁ (yesh, “there is”) is often used in aphorisms to assert the existence of a particular situation that occurs sometimes. It may indicate that the situation is not the rule but that it does occur on occasion, and may be nuanced “sometimes” (Prov 11:24; 13:7, 23; 14:12; 16:25; 18:24; 20:15; Eccl 2:21; 4:8; 5:12; 6:1; 7:15 [2x]; 8:14 [3x]).
7 tn Heb “perishes.”
8 tn Or “in his righteousness.” The preposition בְּ (bet) on the terms בְּצִרְקוֹ (bÿtsirqo, “his righteousness”) and בְּרָעָתוֹ (bÿra’ato, “his evil-doing”) in the following line are traditionally taken in a locative sense: “in his righteousness” and “in his wickedness” (KJV, NASB, NIV). However, it is better to take the בְּ (bet) in the adversative sense “in spite of” (e.g., Lev 26:27; Num 14:11; Deut 1:32; Isa 5:25; 9:11, 16, 20; 10:4; 16:14; 47:9; Pss 27:3; 78:32; Ezra 3:3); cf. HALOT 104 s.v. בְּ 7; BDB 90 s.v. בְּ 3.7. NJPS renders it well: “Sometimes a good man perishes in spite of his goodness, and sometimes a wicked one endures in spite of his wickedness.” In a similar vein, D. R. Glenn (“Ecclesiastes,” BKCOT, 993–94) writes: “The word ‘in’ in the phrases ‘in his righteousness’ and ‘in his wickedness’ can here mean ‘in spite of.’ These phrases…argue against the common view that in 7:16 Solomon was warning against legalistic or Pharisaic self-righteousness. Such would have been a sin and would have been so acknowledged by Solomon who was concerned about true exceptions to the doctrine of retribution, not supposed ones (cf. 8:10–14 where this doctrine is discussed again).”
9 tn Heb “There is.” The term יֵשׁ (yesh,“there is”) is often used in aphorisms to assert the existence of a particular situation that occurs sometimes. It may indicate that the situation is not the rule but that it does occur on occasion, and may be nuanced “sometimes” (Prov 11:24; 13:7, 23; 14:12; 16:25; 18:24; 20:15; Eccl 2:21; 4:8; 5:12; 6:1; 7:15 [2x]; 8:14 [3x]).
10 tn Heb “a wicked man endures.”
11 tn Heb “I laid all this to my heart.”
12 tn The term וְלָבוּר (velavur, conjunction + Qal infinitive construct from בּוּר, bur, “to make clear”) denotes “to examine; to make clear; to clear up; to explain” (HALOT 116 s.v. בור; BDB 101 s.v. בּוּר). The term is related to Arabic baraw “to examine” (G. R. Driver, “Supposed Arabisms in the Old Testament,” JBL 55 [1936]: 108). This verb is related to the Hebrew noun בֹּר (bor, “cleanness”) and adjective בַּר (bar, “clean”). The term is used in the OT only in Ecclesiastes (1:13; 2:3; 7:25; 9:1). This use of the infinitive has a connotative sense (“attempting to”), and functions in a complementary sense, relative to the main verb.
13 tn The words “I concluded that” do not appear in the Hebrew text, but are supplied in the translation for clarity.
14 tn Heb “whether love or hatred.”
15 tn Heb “man does not know anything before them.”
16 tn Heb “all things just as to everyone, one fate.”
17 tc The MT reads simply “the good,” but the Greek versions read “the good and the bad.” In contrast to the other four pairs in v. 2 (“the righteous and the wicked,” “those who sacrifice, and those who do not sacrifice,” “the good man…the sinner,” and “those who make vows…those who are afraid to make vows”), the MT has a triad in the second line: לַטּוֹב וְלַטָּהוֹר וְלַטָּמֵא (lattov vÿlattahor vÿlattame’, “the good, and the clean, and the unclean”). This reading in the Leningrad Codex (ca.
18 tn Heb “As is the good (man), so is the sinner.”
19 tn Heb “evil.”
20 tn Heb “under the sun.”
21 tn The term “awaits” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for smoothness and stylistic reasons.
22 tn Heb “also the heart of the sons of man.” Here “heart” is a collective singular.
23 tn Heb “and after that [they go] to [the place of] the dead.”
24 tc The LXX omits the phrase “It is all one.” Modern scholars either omit it or transpose it for clarity.
25 tn The relationships of these clauses is in some question. Some think that the poet has inverted the first two, and so they should read, “That is why I have said: ‘It is all one.’” Others would take the third clause to be what was said.
26 tc The LXX contains a paraphrase: “for the worthless die, but the righteous are laughed to scorn.”
27 sn This bold anthropomorphism means that by his treatment of the despair of the innocent, God is in essence mocking them.
28 tn The term מַסַּת (massat), a hapax legomenon, was translated “trial” in the older versions; but it is not from נָסָה (nasah, “to tempt; to test; to try”), but from מָסַס (masas, “to flow”). It is used in the Niphal to speak of the heart “melting” in suffering. So the idea behind this image is that of despair. This is the view that most interpreters adopt; it requires no change of the text whatsoever.
29 sn Job uses this word to refute Eliphaz; cf. 4:7.
30 tn Some would render this “earth,” meaning the whole earth, and having the verse be a general principle for all mankind. But Job may have in mind the more specific issue of individual land.
31 sn The details of the verse are not easy to explain, but the meaning of the whole verse seems to be about the miscarriage of justice in the courts and the failure of God to do anything about it.
32 tn The subject of the verb is God. The reasoning goes this way: it is the duty of judges to make sure that justice prevails, that restitution and restoration are carried through; but when the wicked gain control of the land of other people, and the judges are ineffective to stop it, then God must be veiling their eyes.
33 sn That these words are strong, if not wild, is undeniable. But Job is only taking the implications of his friends’ speeches to their logical conclusion – if God dispenses justice in the world, and there is no justice, then God is behind it all. The LXX omitted these words, perhaps out of reverence for God.
34 tn This seems to be a broken-off sentence (anacoluthon), and so is rather striking. The scribes transposed the words אֵפוֹא (’efo’) and הוּא (hu’) to make the smoother reading: “If it is not he, who then is it?”
35 tn The interrogative “How often” occurs only with the first colon; it is supplied for smoother reading in the next two.
36 tn The pronominal suffix is objective; it re-enforces the object of the preposition, “upon them.” The verb in the clause is בּוֹא (bo’) followed by עַל (’al), “come upon [or against],” may be interpreted as meaning attack or strike.
37 tn חֲבָלִים (khavalim) can mean “ropes” or “cords,” but that would not go with the verb “apportion” in this line. The meaning of “pangs (as in “birth-pangs”) seems to fit best here. The wider meaning would be “physical agony.”
38 tn The phrase “to them” is understood and thus is supplied in the translation for clarification.
39 tn To retain the sense that the wicked do not suffer as others, this verse must either be taken as a question or a continuation of the question in v. 17.
40 tn The verb used actually means “rob.” It is appropriate to the image of a whirlwind suddenly taking away the wisp of straw.
41 tn These words are supplied. The verse records an idea that Job suspected they might have, namely, that if the wicked die well God will make their children pay for the sins (see Job 5:4; 20:10; as well as Exod 20:5).
42 tn The text simply has אוֹנוֹ (’ono, “his iniquity”), but by usage, “the punishment for the iniquity.”
43 tn Heb “his sons.”
44 tn The verb שָׁלַם (shalam) in the Piel has the meaning of restoring things to their normal, making whole, and so reward, repay (if for sins), or recompense in general.
45 tn The text simply has “let him repay [to] him.”
46 tn The imperfect verb after the jussive carries the meaning of a purpose clause, and so taken as a final imperfect: “in order that he may know [or realize].”
47 tc This word occurs only here. The word כִּיד (kid) was connected to Arabic kaid, “fraud, trickery,” or “warfare.” The word is emended by the commentators to other ideas, such as פִּיד (pid, “[his] calamity”). Dahood and others alter it to “cup”; Wright to “weapons.” A. F. L. Beeston argues for a meaning “condemnation” for the MT form, and so makes no change in the text (Mus 67 [1954]: 315-16). If the connection to Arabic “warfare” is sustained, or if such explanations of the existing MT can be sustained, then the text need not be emended. In any case, the sense of the line is clear.
48 tn Heb “his desire.” The meaning is that after he is gone he does not care about what happens to his household (“house” meaning “family” here).
49 tn Heb “after him,” but clearly the meaning is “after he is gone.”
50 tc The rare word חֻצָּצוּ (khutsatsu) is probably a cognate of hassa in Arabic, meaning “to cut off.” There is also an Akkadian word “to cut in two” and “to break.” These fit the context here rather well. The other Hebrew words that are connected to the root חָצַצ (khatsats) do not offer any help.
51 tn The imperfect verb in this question should be given the modal nuance of potential imperfect. The question is rhetorical – it is affirming that no one can teach God.
52 tn The clause begins with the disjunctive vav (ו) and the pronoun, “and he.” This is to be subordinated as a circumstantial clause. See GKC 456 §142.d.
53 tc The Hebrew has רָמִים (ramim), a plural masculine participle of רוּם (rum, “to be high; to be exalted”). This is probably a reference to the angels. But M. Dahood restores an older interpretation that it refers to “the Most High” (“Some Northwest Semitic words in Job,”Bib 38 [1957]: 316-17). He would take the word as a singular form with an enclitic mem (ם). He reads the verse, “will he judge the Most High?”
54 tn The line has “in the bone of his perfection.” The word עֶצֶם (’etsem), which means “bone,” is used pronominally to express “the same, very”; here it is “in the very fullness of his strength” (see GKC 449 §139.g). The abstract תֹּם (tom) is used here in the sense of physical perfection and strengths.
55 tn The verb עָטַן (’atan) has the precise meaning of “press olives.” But because here it says “full of milk,” the derived meaning for the noun has been made to mean “breasts” or “pails” (although in later Hebrew this word occurs – but with olives, not with milk). Dhorme takes it to refer to “his sides,” and repoints the word for “milk” (חָלָב, khalav) to get “fat” (חֶלֶב, khelev) – “his sides are full of fat,” a rendering followed by NASB. However, this weakens the parallelism.
56 tn This interpretation, adopted by several commentaries and modern translations (cf. NAB, NIV), is a general rendering to capture the sense of the line.
57 tn The verb שָׁקָה (shaqah) means “to water” and here “to be watered thoroughly.” The picture in the line is that of health and vigor.
58 tn The expression “this (v. 23)…and this” (v. 25) means “one…the other.”
59 tn The text literally has “and this [man] dies in soul of bitterness.” Some simply reverse it and translate “in the bitterness of soul.” The genitive “bitterness” may be an attribute adjective, “with a bitter soul.”
60 tn Heb “eaten what is good.” It means he died without having enjoyed the good life.
61 tn The word is “your thoughts.” The word for “thoughts” (from חָצַב [khatsav, “to think; to reckon; to plan”]) has more to do with their intent than their general thoughts. He knows that when they talked about the fate of the wicked they really were talking about him.
62 tn For the meaning of this word, and its root זָמַם (zamam), see Job 17:11. It usually means the “plans” or “schemes” that are concocted against someone.
63 tn E. Dhorme (Job, 321) distinguishes the verb חָמַס (khamas) from the noun for “violence.” He proposes a meaning of “think, imagine”: “and the ideas you imagined about me.”
64 sn The question implies the answer will be “vanished” or “gone.”
65 tn Heb “And where is the tent, the dwellings of the wicked.” The word “dwellings of the wicked” is in apposition to “tent.” A relative pronoun must be supplied in the translation.
66 tc The LXX reads, “Ask those who go by the way, and do not disown their signs.”
67 tn The verb means “to be led forth.” To be “led forth in the day of trouble” means to be delivered.
68 tn The expression “and he has done” is taken here to mean “what he has done.”
69 tn Heb “Who declares his way to his face? // Who repays him for what he has done?” These rhetorical questions, which expect a negative answer (“No one!”) have been translated as indicative statements to bring out their force clearly.
70 tn The verb says “he will watch.” The subject is unspecified, so the translation is passive.
71 tn The Hebrew word refers to the tumulus, the burial mound that is erected on the spot where the person is buried.
72 tn The clods are those that are used to make a mound over the body. And, for a burial in the valley, see Deut 34:6. The verse here sees him as participating in his funeral and enjoying it. Nothing seems to go wrong with the wicked.
73 tn The word מָעַל (ma’al) is used for “treachery; deception; fraud.” Here Job is saying that their way of interpreting reality is dangerously unfaithful.
74 tc The form in the text is the active participle, “feed; graze; shepherd.” The idea of “prey” is not natural to it. R. Gordis (Job, 270) argues that third he (ה) verbs are often by-forms of geminate verbs, and so the meaning here is more akin to רָעַע (ra’a’, “to crush”). The LXX seems to have read something like הֵרַע (hera’, “oppressed”).
75 tn Heb “the childless [woman], she does not give birth.” The verbal clause is intended to serve as a modifier here for the woman. See on subordinate verbal clauses GKC 490 §156.d, f.
76 tn God has to be the subject of this clause. None is stated in the Hebrew text, but “God” has been supplied in the translation for clarity.
77 tn Heb “he”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity. See the note on the word “life” at the end of the line.
78 tn This line has been given a number of interpretations due to its cryptic form. The verb יָקוּם (yaqum) means “he rises up.” It probably is meant to have God as the subject, and be subordinated as a temporal clause to what follows. The words “against him” are not in the Hebrew text, but have been supplied in the translation to specify the object and indicate that “rise up” is meant in a hostile sense. The following verb וְלֹא־יַאֲמִין (vÿlo’-ya’amin), by its very meaning of “and he does not believe,” cannot have God as the subject, but must refer to the wicked.
79 tn Heb “he”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
80 tn The expression לָבֶטַח (lavetakh, “in security”) precedes the verb that it qualifies – God “allows him to take root in security.” For the meaning of the verb, see Job 8:15.
81 tn Heb “his eyes are on.”
82 sn The meaning of the verse is that God may allow the wicked to rest in comfort and security, but all the time he is watching them closely with the idea of bringing judgment on them.
83 tn The Hebrew throughout this section (vv. 18-24) interchanges the singular and the plural. Here again we have “they are exalted…but he is not.” The verse is clear nonetheless: the wicked rise high, and then suddenly they are gone.
84 tn The verb is the Hophal of the rare verb מָכַךְ (makhakh), which seems to mean “to bend; to collapse.” The text would read “they are made to collapse like all others.” There is no reason here to change “like others” just because the MT is banal. But many do, following the LXX with “like mallows.” The LXX was making a translation according to sense. R. Gordis (Job, 271) prefers “like grass.”
85 tn The verb קָפַץ (qafats) actually means “to shut in,” which does not provide exactly the idea of being gathered, not directly at least. But a change to קָטַף (qataf, “pluck”) while attractive, is not necessary.
86 sn This marks the end of the disputed section, taken here to be a quotation by Job of their sentiments.
87 tn The word אַל (’al, “not”) is used here substantivally (“nothing”).
88 tn The words “I concluded” are supplied in the translation. It is apparent that vv. 13-14 reflect the psalmist’s thoughts at an earlier time (see vv. 2-3), prior to the spiritual awakening he describes in vv. 17-28.
89 tn Heb “heart,” viewed here as the seat of one’s thoughts and motives.
90 tn Heb “and washed my hands in innocence.” The psalmist uses an image from cultic ritual to picture his moral lifestyle. The reference to “hands” suggests actions.
91 tn Heb “built up” (so NASB); NIV, NRSV “prosper”; NLT “get rich.”
92 tn Or “test”; NRSV, CEV “put God to the test.”