4:4 Tremble with fear and do not sin! 1
Meditate as you lie in bed, and repent of your ways! 2 (Selah)
1:16 I thought to myself, 3
“I have become much wiser 4 than any of my predecessors who ruled 5 over Jerusalem; 6
I 7 have acquired much wisdom and knowledge.” 8
1 sn The psalmist warns his enemies that they need to tremble with fear before God and repudiate their sinful ways.
2 tn Heb “say in your heart(s) on your bed(s) and wail/lament.” The verb דֹמּוּ (dommu) is understood as a form of דָמָם (“wail, lament”) in sorrow and repentance. Another option is to take the verb from II דָמָם (damam, “be quiet”); cf. NIV, NRSV “be silent.”
3 tn Heb “I spoke, I, with my heart.”
4 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.
5 tn The phrase “who ruled” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity.
6 map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.
7 tn Heb “my heart” (לִבִּי, libbi). The term “heart” is a metonymy of part for the whole (“my heart” = myself).
8 tn Heb “My heart has seen much wisdom and knowledge.”