5:12 The sleep of the laborer is pleasant – whether he eats little or much –
but the wealth of the rich will not allow him to sleep.
8:16 When I tried 1 to gain 2 wisdom
and to observe the activity 3 on earth –
even though it prevents anyone from sleeping day or night 4 –
4:11 Furthermore, if two lie down together, they can keep each other warm,
but how can one person keep warm by himself?
10:20 Do not curse a king even in your thoughts,
and do not curse the rich 5 while in your bedroom; 6
for a bird 7 might report what you are thinking, 8
or some winged creature 9 might repeat your 10 words. 11
1 tn Heb “I applied my heart.”
2 tn Heb “to know.”
3 tn Heb “and to see the business which is done.”
4 tn Heb “for no one sees sleep with their eyes either day or night.” The construction גַם …כִּי (ki… gam) expresses a concessive sense: “even though” (e.g., Ps 23:4; Prov 22:6; Eccl 4:14; Isa 1:15; Lam 3:8; Hos 8:10; 9:16); cf. HALOT 196 s.v. גַּם 9; BDB 169 s.v. גַּם 6; 473 s.v. כִּי 2.c.
1 tn Perhaps the referent is people who are in authority because of their wealth.
2 tn Heb “in chambers of your bedroom.”
3 tn Heb “a bird of the air.”
4 tn Heb “might carry the voice.” The article is used here with the force of a possessive pronoun.
5 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.
6 tn The term “your” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for smoothness.
7 tn Heb “tell the matter.”