34:20 “‘Therefore, this is what the sovereign Lord says to them: Look, I myself will judge between the fat sheep and the lean sheep.
3:17 I thought to myself, “God will judge both the righteous and the wicked;
for there is an appropriate time for every activity,
and there is a time of judgment 10 for every deed.
12:14 For God will evaluate every deed, 11
including every secret thing, whether good or evil.
12:1 So remember 12 your Creator in the days of your youth –
before 13 the difficult 14 days come,
and the years draw near when you will say, “I have no pleasure in them”;
1:17 So I decided 15 to discern the benefit of 16 wisdom and knowledge over 17 foolish behavior and ideas; 18
however, I concluded 19 that even 20 this endeavor 21 is like 22 trying to chase the wind! 23
1 tn Or “punish” (cf. BDB 1047 s.v. שָׁפַט 3.c).
2 tn Heb “ways.”
3 tn Heb “I will place on you.”
4 tn The expression “to pour out rage” also occurs in Ezek 9:8; 14:19; 20:8, 13, 21; 22:31; 30:15; 36:18.
5 tn The meaning of the Hebrew term is primarily emotional: “to pity,” which in context implies an action, as in being moved by pity in order to spare them from the horror of their punishment.
6 tn Heb “According to your behavior I will place on you.”
7 tn The MT lacks “you.” It has been added for clarification.
8 tn Heb “and by their judgments.”
9 tn Heb “ways.”
10 tn The phrase “a time of judgment” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity.
11 tn Heb “will bring every deed into judgment.”
12 tn The imperative זְכֹר (zekhor, “Remember!”) is a figurative expression (metonymy of association) for obeying God and acknowledging his lordship over one’s life (e.g., Num 15:40; Deut 8:18; Pss 42:6-7; 63:6-8; 78:42; 103:18; 106:7; 119:52, 55; Jer 51:50; Ezek 20:43; Jonah 2:7; Mal 4:4). The exhortation to fear God and obey his commands in 12:13-14 spells out what it means to “remember” God.
13 tn The temporal adjective עַד (’ad, “before”) appears three times in 12:1-7 (vv. 1b, 2a, 6a). Likewise, the temporal preposition בְּ (bet, “when”) is repeated (vv. 3a, 4b). These seven verses comprise one long sentence in Hebrew: The main clause is 12:1a (“Remember your Creator in the days of your youth”), while 12:1b-7 consists of five subordinate temporal clauses (“before…before…when…when…before…”).
14 tn The adjective רָעָה (ra’ah, “evil”) does not refer here to ethical evil, but to physical difficulty, injury, pain, deprivation and suffering (e.g., Deut 31:17, 21; 32:23; 1 Sam 10:19; Neh 1:3; 2:17; Pss 34:20; 40:13; 88:4; 107:26; Eccl 11:10; Jer 2:27; Lam 3:38); see HALOT 1263 s.v. רָעָה 4.b; BDB 949 s.v. רָעָה 2.
15 tn Heb “gave my heart,” or “set my mind.” See v. 13.
16 tn The phrase “the benefit of” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity.
17 tn The word “over” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity.
18 tn The terms שִׂכְלוּת (sikhlut, “folly”) and הוֹלֵלוֹת (holelot, “foolishness”) are synonyms. The term שִׂכְלוּת (alternate spelling of סִכְלוּת, sikhlut) refers to foolish behavior (HALOT 755 s.v. סִכְלוּת), while הוֹלֵלוֹת refers to foolish ideas and mental blindness (HALOT 242 s.v. הוֹלֵלוֹת). Qoheleth uses these terms to refer to foolish ideas and self-indulgent pleasures (e.g., Eccl 2:2-3, 12-14; 7:25; 9:3; 10:1, 6, 13).
19 tn Heb “I know.”
20 tn The term גַּם (gam, “even”) is a particle of association and emphasis (HALOT 195 s.v. גַּם).
21 tn This term does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity.
22 tn This term does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity.
23 tn Heb “striving of wind.”
24 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.
25 tn Grk “another book was opened, which is of life.”
26 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of the books being opened.
27 tn Grk “from the things written in the books according to their works.”