Genesis 19:1-38

The Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah

19:1 The two angels came to Sodom in the evening while ¹  Lot was sitting in the city’s gateway. ²  When Lot saw them, he got up to meet them and bowed down with his face toward the ground.

19:2 He said, “Here, my lords, please turn aside to your servant’s house. Stay the night ³  and wash your feet. Then you can be on your way early in the morning.” ⁴  “No,” they replied, “we’ll spend the night in the town square.” ⁵ 

19:3 But he urged ⁶  them persistently, so they turned aside with him and entered his house. He prepared a feast for them, including bread baked without yeast, and they ate. 19:4 Before they could lie down to sleep, ⁷  all the men – both young and old, from every part of the city of Sodom – surrounded the house. ⁸  19:5 They shouted to Lot, ⁹  “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us so we can have sex ¹⁰  with them!”

19:6 Lot went outside to them, shutting the door behind him. 19:7 He said, “No, my brothers! Don’t act so wickedly! ¹¹  19:8 Look, I have two daughters who have never had sexual relations with ¹²  a man. Let me bring them out to you, and you can do to them whatever you please. ¹³  Only don’t do anything to these men, for they have come under the protection ¹⁴  of my roof.” ¹⁵ 

19:9 “Out of our way!” ¹⁶  they cried, and “This man came to live here as a foreigner, ¹⁷  and now he dares to judge us! ¹⁸  We’ll do more harm ¹⁹  to you than to them!” They kept ²⁰  pressing in on Lot until they were close enough ²¹  to break down the door.

19:10 So the men inside ²²  reached out ²³  and pulled Lot back into the house ²⁴  as they shut the door. 19:11 Then they struck the men who were at the door of the house, from the youngest to the oldest, ²⁵  with blindness. The men outside ²⁶  wore themselves out trying to find the door. 19:12 Then the two visitors ²⁷  said to Lot, “Who else do you have here? ²⁸  Do you have ²⁹  any sons-in-law, sons, daughters, or other relatives in the city? ³⁰  Get them out of this ³¹  place 19:13 because we are about to destroy ³²  it. The outcry against this place ³³  is so great before the Lord that he ³⁴  has sent us to destroy it.”

19:14 Then Lot went out and spoke to his sons-in-law who were going to marry his daughters. ³⁵  He said, “Quick, get out of this place because the Lord is about to destroy ³⁶  the city!” But his sons-in-law thought he was ridiculing them. ³⁷ 

19:15 At dawn ³⁸  the angels hurried Lot along, saying, “Get going! Take your wife and your two daughters who are here, ³⁹  or else you will be destroyed when the city is judged!” ⁴⁰  19:16 When Lot ⁴¹  hesitated, the men grabbed his hand and the hands of his wife and two daughters because the Lord had compassion on them. ⁴²  They led them away and placed them ⁴³  outside the city. 19:17 When they had brought them outside, they ⁴⁴  said, “Run ⁴⁵  for your lives! Don’t look ⁴⁶  behind you or stop anywhere in the valley! ⁴⁷  Escape to the mountains or you will be destroyed!”

19:18 But Lot said to them, “No, please, Lord! ⁴⁸  19:19 Your ⁴⁹  servant has found favor with you, ⁵⁰  and you have shown me great ⁵¹  kindness ⁵²  by sparing ⁵³  my life. But I am not able to escape to the mountains because ⁵⁴  this disaster will overtake ⁵⁵  me and I’ll die. ⁵⁶  19:20 Look, this town ⁵⁷  over here is close enough to escape to, and it’s just a little one. ⁵⁸  Let me go there. ⁵⁹  It’s just a little place, isn’t it? ⁶⁰  Then I’ll survive.” ⁶¹ 

19:21 “Very well,” he replied, ⁶²  “I will grant this request too ⁶³  and will not overthrow ⁶⁴  the town you mentioned. 19:22 Run there quickly, ⁶⁵  for I cannot do anything until you arrive there.” (This incident explains why the town was called Zoar.) ⁶⁶ 

19:23 The sun had just risen ⁶⁷  over the land as Lot reached Zoar. ⁶⁸  19:24 Then the Lord rained down ⁶⁹  sulfur and fire ⁷⁰  on Sodom and Gomorrah. It was sent down from the sky by the Lord. ⁷¹  19:25 So he overthrew those cities and all that region, ⁷²  including all the inhabitants of the cities and the vegetation that grew ⁷³  from the ground. 19:26 But Lot’s ⁷⁴  wife looked back longingly ⁷⁵  and was turned into a pillar of salt.

19:27 Abraham got up early in the morning and went ⁷⁶  to the place where he had stood before the Lord. 19:28 He looked out toward ⁷⁷  Sodom and Gomorrah and all the land of that region. ⁷⁸  As he did so, he saw the smoke rising up from the land like smoke from a furnace. ⁷⁹ 

19:29 So when God destroyed ⁸⁰  the cities of the region, ⁸¹  God honored ⁸²  Abraham’s request. He removed Lot ⁸³  from the midst of the destruction when he destroyed ⁸⁴  the cities Lot had lived in.

19:30 Lot went up from Zoar with his two daughters and settled in the mountains because he was afraid to live in Zoar. So he lived in a cave with his two daughters. 19:31 Later the older daughter said ⁸⁵  to the younger, “Our father is old, and there is no man anywhere nearby ⁸⁶  to have sexual relations with us, ⁸⁷  according to the way of all the world. 19:32 Come, let’s make our father drunk with wine ⁸⁸  so we can have sexual relations ⁸⁹  with him and preserve ⁹⁰  our family line through our father.” ⁹¹ 

19:33 So that night they made their father drunk with wine, ⁹²  and the older daughter ⁹³  came and had sexual relations with her father. ⁹⁴  But he was not aware that she had sexual relations with him and then got up. ⁹⁵  19:34 So in the morning the older daughter ⁹⁶  said to the younger, “Since I had sexual relations with my father last night, let’s make him drunk again tonight. ⁹⁷  Then you go and have sexual relations with him so we can preserve our family line through our father.” ⁹⁸  19:35 So they made their father drunk ⁹⁹  that night as well, and the younger one came and had sexual relations with him. ¹⁰⁰  But he was not aware that she had sexual relations with him and then got up. ¹⁰¹ 

19:36 In this way both of Lot’s daughters became pregnant by their father. 19:37 The older daughter ¹⁰²  gave birth to a son and named him Moab. ¹⁰³  He is the ancestor of the Moabites of today. 19:38 The younger daughter also gave birth to a son and named him Ben-Ammi. ¹⁰⁴  He is the ancestor of the Ammonites of today.

Genesis 11:7

11:7 Come, let’s go down and confuse ¹⁰⁵  their language so they won’t be able to understand each other.” ¹⁰⁶ 

Genesis 26:14

26:14 He had ¹⁰⁷  so many sheep ¹⁰⁸  and cattle ¹⁰⁹  and such a great household of servants that the Philistines became jealous ¹¹⁰  of him.

Genesis 36:26

36:26 These were the sons of Dishon: ¹¹¹  Hemdan, Eshban, Ithran, and Keran.

Proverbs 30:3-4

30:3 I have not learned wisdom,

nor do I have knowledge ¹¹²  of the Holy One. ¹¹³ 

30:4 Who has ascended into heaven, and then descended? ¹¹⁴ 

Who has gathered up the winds in his fists? ¹¹⁵ 

Who has bound up the waters in his cloak? ¹¹⁶ 

Who has established all the ends of the earth? ¹¹⁷ 

What is his name, and what is his son’s name? ¹¹⁸  – if you know!

Ecclesiastes 3:11

3:11 God has made everything fit beautifully ¹¹⁹  in its appropriate time,

but ¹²⁰  he has also placed ignorance ¹²¹  in the human heart ¹²² 

so that ¹²³  people ¹²⁴  cannot discover what God has ordained, ¹²⁵ 

from the beginning to the end ¹²⁶  of their lives. ¹²⁷ 

Luke 10:22

10:22 All things have been given to me by my Father. ¹²⁸  No one knows who the Son is except the Father, or who the Father is except the Son and anyone to whom the Son decides ¹²⁹  to reveal him.”

Romans 11:33

11:33 Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how fathomless his ways!

Romans 11:1

Israel’s Rejection not Complete nor Final

11:1 So I ask, God has not rejected his people, has he? Absolutely not! For I too am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, from the tribe of Benjamin.

Romans 6:16

6:16 Do you not know that if you present yourselves ¹³⁰  as obedient slaves, ¹³¹  you are slaves of the one you obey, either of sin resulting in death, or obedience resulting in righteousness? ¹³² 

[19:1]  ¹ tn The disjunctive clause is temporal here, indicating what Lot was doing at the time of their arrival.

[19:1]  ² tn Heb “sitting in the gate of Sodom.” The phrase “the gate of Sodom” has been translated “the city’s gateway” for stylistic reasons.

[19:2]  ³ tn The imperatives have the force of invitation.

[19:2]  ⁴ tn These two verbs form a verbal hendiadys: “you can rise up early and go” means “you can go early.”

[19:2]  ⁵ sn The town square refers to the wide street area at the gate complex of the city.

[19:3]  ⁶ tn The Hebrew verb פָּצַר (patsar, “to press, to insist”) ironically foreshadows the hostile actions of the men of the city (see v. 9, where the verb also appears). The repetition of the word serves to contrast Lot to his world.

[19:4]  ⁷ tn The verb שָׁכַב (shakhav) means “to lie down, to recline,” that is, “to go to bed.” Here what appears to be an imperfect is a preterite after the adverb טֶרֶם (terem). The nuance of potential (perfect) fits well.

[19:4]  ⁸ tn Heb “and the men of the city, the men of Sodom, surrounded the house, from the young to the old, all the people from the end [of the city].” The repetition of the phrase “men of” stresses all kinds of men.

[19:5]  ⁹ tn The Hebrew text adds “and said to him.” This is redundant in English and has not been translated for stylistic reasons.

[19:5]  ¹⁰ tn The Hebrew verb יָדַע (yada’, “to know”) is used here in the sense of “to lie with” or “to have sex with” (as in Gen 4:1). That this is indeed the meaning is clear from Lot’s warning that they not do so wickedly, and his willingness to give them his daughters instead.

[19:7]  ¹¹ tn Heb “may my brothers not act wickedly.”

[19:8]  ¹² tn Heb “who have not known.” Here this expression is a euphemism for sexual intercourse.

[19:8]  ¹³ tn Heb “according to what is good in your eyes.”

[19:8]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “shadow.”

[19:8]  ¹⁵ sn This chapter portrays Lot as a hypocrite. He is well aware of the way the men live in his city and is apparently comfortable in the midst of it. But when confronted by the angels, he finally draws the line. But he is nevertheless willing to sacrifice his daughters’ virginity to protect his guests. His opposition to the crowds leads to his rejection as a foreigner by those with whom he had chosen to live. The one who attempted to rescue his visitors ends up having to be rescued by them.

[19:9]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “approach out there” which could be rendered “Get out of the way, stand back!”

[19:9]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “to live as a resident alien.”

[19:9]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “and he has judged, judging.” The infinitive absolute follows the finite verbal form for emphasis. This emphasis is reflected in the translation by the phrase “dares to judge.”

[19:9]  ¹⁹ tn The verb “to do wickedly” is repeated here (see v. 7). It appears that whatever “wickedness” the men of Sodom had intended to do to Lot’s visitors – probably nothing short of homosexual rape – they were now ready to inflict on Lot.

[19:9]  ²⁰ tn Heb “and they pressed against the man, against Lot, exceedingly.”

[19:9]  ²¹ tn Heb “and they drew near.”

[19:10]  ²² tn Heb “the men,” referring to the angels inside Lot’s house. The word “inside” has been supplied in the translation for clarity.

[19:10]  ²³ tn The Hebrew text adds “their hand.” These words have not been translated for stylistic reasons.

[19:10]  ²⁴ tn Heb “to them into the house.”

[19:11]  ²⁵ tn Heb “from the least to the greatest.”

[19:11]  ²⁶ tn Heb “they”; the referent (the men of Sodom outside the door) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[19:12]  ²⁷ tn Heb “the men,” referring to the angels inside Lot’s house. The word “visitors” has been supplied in the translation for clarity.

[19:12]  ²⁸ tn Heb “Yet who [is there] to you here?”

[19:12]  ²⁹ tn The words “Do you have” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[19:12]  ³⁰ tn Heb “a son-in-law and your sons and your daughters and anyone who (is) to you in the city.”

[19:12]  ³¹ tn Heb “the place.” The Hebrew article serves here as a demonstrative.

[19:13]  ³² tn The Hebrew participle expresses an imminent action here.

[19:13]  ³³ tn Heb “for their outcry.” The words “about this place” have been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[19:13]  ³⁴ tn Heb “the Lord.” The repetition of the divine name has been replaced in the translation by the pronoun “he” for stylistic reasons.

[19:14]  ³⁵ sn The language has to be interpreted in the light of the context and the social customs. The men are called “sons-in-law” (literally “the takers of his daughters”), but the daughters had not yet had sex with a man. It is better to translate the phrase “who were going to marry his daughters.” Since formal marriage contracts were binding, the husbands-to-be could already be called sons-in-law.

[19:14]  ³⁶ tn The Hebrew active participle expresses an imminent action.

[19:14]  ³⁷ tn Heb “and he was like one taunting in the eyes of his sons-in-law.” These men mistakenly thought Lot was ridiculing them and their lifestyle. Their response illustrates how morally insensitive they had become.

[19:15]  ³⁸ tn Heb “When dawn came up.”

[19:15]  ³⁹ tn Heb “who are found.” The wording might imply he had other daughters living in the city, but the text does not explicitly state this.

[19:15]  ⁴⁰ tn Or “with the iniquity [i.e., punishment] of the city” (cf. NASB, NRSV).

[19:16]  ⁴¹ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Lot) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[19:16]  ⁴² tn Heb “in the compassion of the Lord to them.”

[19:16]  ⁴³ tn Heb “brought him out and placed him.” The third masculine singular suffixes refer specifically to Lot, though his wife and daughters accompanied him (see v. 17). For stylistic reasons these have been translated as plural pronouns (“them”).

[19:17]  ⁴⁴ tn Or “one of them”; Heb “he.” Several ancient versions (LXX, Vulgate, Syriac) read the plural “they.” See also the note on “your” in v. 19.

[19:17]  ⁴⁵ tn Heb “escape.”

[19:17]  ⁴⁶ tn The Hebrew verb translated “look” signifies an intense gaze, not a passing glance. This same verb is used later in v. 26 to describe Lot’s wife’s self-destructive look back at the city.

[19:17]  ⁴⁷ tn Or “in the plain”; Heb “in the circle,” referring to the “circle” or oval area of the Jordan Valley.

[19:18]  ⁴⁸ tn Or “my lords.” See the following note on the problem of identifying the addressee here. The Hebrew term is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay).

[19:19]  ⁴⁹ tn The second person pronominal suffixes are singular in this verse (note “your eyes,” “you have made great,” and “you have acted”). Verse 18a seems to indicate that Lot is addressing the angels, but the use of the singular and the appearance of the divine title “Lord” (אֲדֹנָי, ’adonay) in v. 18b suggests he is speaking to God.

[19:19]  ⁵⁰ tn Heb “in your eyes.”

[19:19]  ⁵¹ tn Heb “you made great your kindness.”

[19:19]  ⁵² sn The Hebrew word חֶסֶד (khesed) can refer to “faithful love” or to “kindness,” depending on the context. The precise nuance here is uncertain.

[19:19]  ⁵³ tn The infinitive construct explains how God has shown Lot kindness.

[19:19]  ⁵⁴ tn Heb “lest.”

[19:19]  ⁵⁵ tn The Hebrew verb דָּבַק (davaq) normally means “to stick to, to cleave, to join.” Lot is afraid he cannot outrun the coming calamity.

[19:19]  ⁵⁶ tn The perfect verb form with vav consecutive carries the nuance of the imperfect verbal form before it.

[19:20]  ⁵⁷ tn The Hebrew word עִיר (’ir) can refer to either a city or a town, depending on the size of the place. Given that this place was described by Lot later in this verse as a “little place,” the translation uses “town.”

[19:20]  ⁵⁸ tn Heb “Look, this town is near to flee to there. And it is little.”

[19:20]  ⁵⁹ tn Heb “Let me escape to there.” The cohortative here expresses Lot’s request.

[19:20]  ⁶⁰ tn Heb “Is it not little?”

[19:20]  ⁶¹ tn Heb “my soul will live.” After the cohortative the jussive with vav conjunctive here indicates purpose/result.

[19:21]  ⁶² tn Heb “And he said, ‘Look, I will grant.’” The order of the clauses has been rearranged for stylistic reasons. The referent of the speaker (“he”) is somewhat ambiguous: It could be taken as the angel to whom Lot has been speaking (so NLT; note the singular references in vv. 18-19), or it could be that Lot is speaking directly to the Lord here. Most English translations leave the referent of the pronoun unspecified and maintain the ambiguity.

[19:21]  ⁶³ tn Heb “I have lifted up your face [i.e., shown you favor] also concerning this matter.”

[19:21]  ⁶⁴ tn The negated infinitive construct indicates either the consequence of God’s granting the request (“I have granted this request, so that I will not”) or the manner in which he will grant it (“I have granted your request by not destroying”).

[19:22]  ⁶⁵ tn Heb “Be quick! Escape to there!” The two imperatives form a verbal hendiadys, the first becoming adverbial.

[19:22]  ⁶⁶ tn Heb “Therefore the name of the city is called Zoar.” The name of the place, צוֹעַר (tso’ar) apparently means “Little Place,” in light of the wordplay with the term “little” (מִצְעָר, mits’ar) used twice by Lot to describe the town (v. 20).

[19:23]  ⁶⁷ sn The sun had just risen. There was very little time for Lot to escape between dawn (v. 15) and sunrise (here).

[19:23]  ⁶⁸ tn The juxtaposition of the two disjunctive clauses indicates synchronic action. The first action (the sun’s rising) occurred as the second (Lot’s entering Zoar) took place. The disjunctive clauses also signal closure for the preceding scene.

[19:24]  ⁶⁹ tn The disjunctive clause signals the beginning of the next scene and highlights God’s action.

[19:24]  ⁷⁰ tn Or “burning sulfur” (the traditional “fire and brimstone”).

[19:24]  ⁷¹ tn Heb “from the Lord from the heavens.” The words “It was sent down” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[19:25]  ⁷² tn Or “and all the plain”; Heb “and all the circle,” referring to the “circle” or oval area of the Jordan Valley.

[19:25]  ⁷³ tn Heb “and the vegetation of the ground.”

[19:26]  ⁷⁴ tn Heb “his”; the referent (Lot) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[19:26]  ⁷⁵ tn The Hebrew verb means “to look intently; to gaze” (see 15:5).

[19:27]  ⁷⁶ tn The words “and went” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[19:28]  ⁷⁷ tn Heb “upon the face of.”

[19:28]  ⁷⁸ tn Or “all the land of the plain”; Heb “and all the face of the land of the circle,” referring to the “circle” or oval area of the Jordan Valley.

[19:28]  ⁷⁹ tn Heb “And he saw, and look, the smoke of the land went up like the smoke of a furnace.”

[19:29]  ⁸⁰ tn The construction is a temporal clause comprised of the temporal indicator, an infinitive construct with a preposition, and the subjective genitive.

[19:29]  ⁸¹ tn Or “of the plain”; Heb “of the circle,” referring to the “circle” or oval area of the Jordan Valley.

[19:29]  ⁸² tn Heb “remembered,” but this means more than mental recollection here. Abraham’s request (Gen 18:23-32) was that the Lord not destroy the righteous with the wicked. While the requisite minimum number of righteous people (ten, v. 32) needed for God to spare the cities was not found, God nevertheless rescued the righteous before destroying the wicked.

[19:29]  ⁸³ sn God’s removal of Lot before the judgment is paradigmatic. He typically delivers the godly before destroying their world.

[19:29]  ⁸⁴ tn Heb “the overthrow when [he] overthrew.”

[19:31]  ⁸⁵ tn Heb “and the firstborn said.”

[19:31]  ⁸⁶ tn Or perhaps “on earth,” in which case the statement would be hyperbolic; presumably there had been some men living in the town of Zoar to which Lot and his daughters had initially fled.

[19:31]  ⁸⁷ tn Heb “to enter upon us.” This is a euphemism for sexual relations.

[19:32]  ⁸⁸ tn Heb “drink wine.”

[19:32]  ⁸⁹ tn Heb “and we will lie down.” The cohortative with vav (ו) conjunctive is subordinated to the preceding cohortative and indicates purpose/result.

[19:32]  ⁹⁰ tn Or “that we may preserve.” Here the cohortative with vav (ו) conjunctive indicates their ultimate goal.

[19:32]  ⁹¹ tn Heb “and we will keep alive from our father descendants.”

[19:33]  ⁹² tn Heb “drink wine.”

[19:33]  ⁹³ tn Heb “the firstborn.”

[19:33]  ⁹⁴ tn Heb “and the firstborn came and lied down with her father.” The expression “lied down with” here and in the following verses is a euphemism for sexual relations.

[19:33]  ⁹⁵ tn Heb “and he did not know when she lay down and when she arose.”

[19:34]  ⁹⁶ tn Heb “the firstborn.”

[19:34]  ⁹⁷ tn Heb “Look, I lied down with my father. Let’s make him drink wine again tonight.”

[19:34]  ⁹⁸ tn Heb “And go, lie down with him and we will keep alive from our father descendants.”

[19:35]  ⁹⁹ tn Heb “drink wine.”

[19:35]  ¹⁰⁰ tn Heb “lied down with him.”

[19:35]  ¹⁰¹ tn Heb “And he did not know when she lied down and when she arose.”

[19:37]  ¹⁰² tn Heb “the firstborn.”

[19:37]  ¹⁰³ sn The meaning of the name Moab is not certain. The name sounds like the Hebrew phrase “from our father” (מֵאָבִינוּ, me’avinu) which the daughters used twice (vv. 32, 34). This account is probably included in the narrative in order to portray the Moabites, who later became enemies of God’s people, in a negative light.

[19:38]  ¹⁰⁴ sn The name Ben-Ammi means “son of my people.” Like the account of Moab’s birth, this story is probably included in the narrative to portray the Ammonites, another perennial enemy of Israel, in a negative light.

[11:7]  ¹⁰⁵ tn The cohortatives mirror the cohortatives of the people. They build to ascend the heavens; God comes down to destroy their language. God speaks here to his angelic assembly. See the notes on the word “make” in 1:26 and “know” in 3:5, as well as Jub. 10:22-23, where an angel recounts this incident and says “And the Lord our God said to us…. And the Lord went down and we went down with him. And we saw the city and the tower which the sons of men built.” On the chiastic structure of the story, see G. J. Wenham, Genesis (WBC), 1:235.

[11:7]  ¹⁰⁶ tn Heb “they will not hear, a man the lip of his neighbor.”

[26:14]  ¹⁰⁷ tn Heb “and there was to him.”

[26:14]  ¹⁰⁸ tn Heb “possessions of sheep.”

[26:14]  ¹⁰⁹ tn Heb “possessions of cattle.”

[26:14]  ¹¹⁰ tn The Hebrew verb translated “became jealous” refers here to intense jealousy or envy that leads to hostile action (see v. 15).

[36:26]  ¹¹¹ tn Heb “Dishan,” but this must be either a scribal error or variant spelling, since “Dishan” is mentioned in v. 28 (see also v. 21).

[30:3]  ¹¹² sn The construction uses repetition to make the point emphatically: “I do not know the knowledge of the Holy One.” Agur’s claim to being “brutish” is here clarified – he is not one of those who has knowledge or understanding of God. C. H. Toy thinks the speaker is being sarcastic in reference to others who may have claimed such knowledge (Proverbs [ICC], 521).

[30:3]  ¹¹³ tn The epithet “the Holy One” is the adjective “holy” put in the masculine plural (as in 9:10). This will harmonize with the plural of majesty used to explain the plural with titles for God. However, NRSV takes the plural as a reference to the “holy ones,” presumably referring to angelic beings.

[30:4]  ¹¹⁴ sn To make his point Agur includes five questions. These, like Job 38–41, or Proverbs 8:24-29, focus on the divine acts to show that it is absurd for a mere mortal to think that he can explain God’s work or compare himself to God. These questions display mankind’s limitations and God’s incomparable nature. The first question could be open to include humans, but may refer to God alone (as the other questions do).

[30:4]  ¹¹⁵ sn The questions are filled with anthropomorphic language. The questioner is asking what humans have ever done this, but the meaning is that only God has done this. “Gathering the wind in his fists” is a way of expressing absolute sovereign control over the forces of nature.

[30:4]  ¹¹⁶ sn The question is comparing the clouds of the heavens to garments (e.g., Job 26:8). T. T. Perowne writes, “Men bind up water in skins or bottles; God binds up the rain-floods in the thin, gauzy texture of the changing clouds, which yet by his power does not rend under its burden of waters.”

[30:4]  ¹¹⁷ sn The ends of the earth is an expression often used in scripture as a metonymy of subject referring to the people who live in the ends of the earth, the far off and remote lands and islands. While that is possible here as well, this may simply be a synecdoche saying that God created the whole world, even the most remote and distant places.

[30:4]  ¹¹⁸ sn The reference to “son” in this passage has prompted many suggestions down through the years: It was identified as Israel in the Jewish Midrashim, the Logos or demiurge by some of the philosophers and allegorical writers, as simple poetic parallelism without a separate identity by some critical scholars, and as Jesus by Christian commentators. Parallels with Ugaritic are interesting, because Baal is referred to as a son; but that is bound up within the pantheon where there was a father god. Some of the Jewish commentators exhibit a strange logic in expressing what Christians would say is only their blindness to the full revelation: There is little cogency in this being a reference to Jesus because if there had been such a person at any time in the past he would have left some tradition about it through his descendants (J. H. Greenstone, Proverbs, 317). But Judaism has taught from the earliest times that Messiah was preexistent (especially in view of Micah 5 and Daniel 7); and the claims of Jesus in the Gospels bear this out. It seems best to say that there is a hint here of the nature of the Messiah as Son, a hint that will later be revealed in full through the incarnation.

[3:11]  ¹¹⁹ sn The Hebrew adjective translated beautifully functions as a metonymy of effect (i.e., to appear beautiful) for cause (i.e., to make it fit): “to fit beautifully.” It is used in parallelism with Qoheleth’s term for evaluation: טוֹב (tov, “good”) in 5:17.

[3:11]  ¹²⁰ tn The word “but” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity.

[3:11]  ¹²¹ tn Heb “darkness”; perhaps “eternity” or “the future.” The meaning of the noun עֹלָם (’olam) is debated. It may mean: (1) “ignorance”; (2) time reference: (a) “eternity” or (b) “the future”; or (3) “knowledge” (less likely). The arguments for these options may be summarized: (1) Most suggest that עֹלָם is the defectively written form of עוֹלָם “duration; eternity” (e.g., Eccl 1:4; 2:16; 3:14; 9:6; 12:5); see BDB 762 s.v. III עוֹלָם 2.k. Within this school of interpretation, there are several varieties: (a) BDB 762 s.v. III עוֹלָם 2.k suggests that here it denotes “age [i.e., duration] of the world,” which is attested in postbiblical Hebrew. The term III עֹלָם “eternity” = “world” (Jastrow 1084 s.v. עָלַם III) is used in this sense in postbiblical Hebrew, mostly in reference to the Messianic age, or the world to come (e.g., Tg. Genesis 9:16; Tg. Onq. Exodus 21:6; Tg. Psalms 61:7). For example, “the world (עֹלָם) shall last six thousand years, and after one thousand years it shall be laid waste” (b. Rosh HaShanah 31a) and “the world (עֹלָם) to come” (b. Sotah 10b). The LXX and the Vulgate took the term in this sense. This approach was also adopted by several English translations: “the world” (KJV, Douay, ASV margin). (b) HALOT 799 s.v. עוֹלָם 5 and THAT 2:242 suggest that the term refers to an indefinite, unending future: “eternity future” or “enduring state referring to past and future” (see also BDB 762 s.v. III עוֹלָם 2.i). In this sense, the noun עֹלָם functions as a metonymy of association: “a sense of eternity,” but not in a philosophical sense (see J. Barr, Biblical Words for Time [SBT], 117, n. 4). This approach is supported by three factors: (i) the recurrence of עוֹלָם (“eternity”) in 3:14, (ii) the temporal qualification of the statement in the parallel clause (“from beginning to end”), and (iii) by the ordinary meaning of the noun as “eternity” (HALOT 798–799 s.v. עוֹלָם). The point would be that God has endowed man with an awareness of the extra-temporal significance of himself and his accomplishments (D. R. Glenn, “Ecclesiastes,” BKCOT, 984). This is the most frequent approach among English versions: “the timeless” (NAB), “eternity” (RSV, MLB, ASV, NASB, NIV, NJPS), “a sense of time past and time future” (NEB), and “a sense of past and future” (NRSV). (3) Other scholars suggest that עוֹלָם simply refers to the indefinite future: “the future,” that is, things to come (e.g., HALOT 799 s.v. עוֹלָם 2; BDB 762 s.v. III עוֹלָם 2.a; THAT 2:241). The plural עֹלָמִים (’olamim, “things to come”) was used in this sense in Eccl 1:10 (e.g., 1 Kgs 8:13 = 2 Chr 6:2; Pss 61:5; 77:8; 145:13; Dan 9:24; cf. HALOT 799 s.v. עוֹלָם 2). The point would simply be that God has not only ordained all the events that will take place in man’s life (3:1-8), but also preoccupies man with the desire to discover what will happen in the future in terms of the orchestration or timing of these events in his life (3:9-11). This fits well with the description of God’s orchestration of human events in their most appropriate time (3:1-10) and the ignorance of man concerning his future (3:11b). Elsewhere, Qoheleth emphasizes that man cannot learn what the future holds in store for him (e.g., 8:7, 17). This approach is only rarely adopted: “the future” (NJPS margin). (2) The second view is that עֹלָם is not defectively written עוֹלָם (“eternity”) but the segholate noun II עֶלֶם (’elem) that means “dark” (literal) or “ignorance; obscurity; secrecy” (figurative). The related noun תַּעֲלֻמָה (ta’alumah) means “hidden thing; secret,” and the related verb עָלַם (’alam) means “to hide; to conceal” (BDB 761 s.v. I עָלַם; HALOT 834–35 s.v. עלם). This is related to the Ugaritic noun “dark” and the Akkadian verb “to be black; to be dark” (see HALOT 834-35 s.v. עלם). In postbiblical Hebrew the root II עֶלֶם means (i) “secret” and (ii) “forgetfulness” (Jastrow 1084 s.v. עֶלֶם I). Thus the verse would mean that God has “obscured” man’s knowledge so that he cannot discover certain features of God’s program. This approach is adopted by Moffatt which uses the word “mystery.” Similarly, the term may mean “forgetfulness,” that is, God has plagued man with “forgetfulness” so that he cannot understand what God has done from the beginning to the end (e.g., Eccl 1:11). (3) The third view (Delitzsch) is to relate עֹלָם to a cognate Arabic root meaning “knowledge.” The point would be that God has endowed man with “knowledge,” but not enough for man to discover God’s eternal plan. This approach is only rarely adopted: “knowledge” (YLT).

[3:11]  ¹²² tn Heb “in their heart.” The Hebrew term translated heart functions as a metonymy of association for man’s intellect, emotions, and will (BDB 524–25 s.v. לֵב 3–6, 9). Here, it probably refers to man’s intellectual capacities, as v. 11 suggests.

[3:11]  ¹²³ tn The compound preposition מִבְּלִי (mibbÿli, preposition מִן [min] + negative particle בְּלִי [bÿli]) is used as a conjunction here. Elsewhere, it can express cause: “because there is no [or is not]” (e.g., Deut 9:28; 28:55; Isa 5:13; Ezek 34:5; Lam 1:4; Hos 4:6), consequence: “so that there is no [or is not]” (e.g., Ezek 14:5; Jer 2:15; 9:9-11; Zeph 3:6), or simple negation: “without” (e.g., Job 4:11, 20; 6:6; 24:7-8; 31:19). BDB 115 s.v. בְּלִי 3.c.β suggests the negative consequence: “so that not,” while HALOT 133 s.v. בְּלִי 5 suggests the simple negation: “without the possibility of.”

[3:11]  ¹²⁴ tn Heb “man.”

[3:11]  ¹²⁵ tn Heb “the work that God has done.” The phrase אֶת־הַמַּעֲשֶׂה אֲשֶׁר־עָשָׂה (’et-hamma’aseh ’asher-’asah, “the work which he [i.e., God] has done”) is an internal cognate accusative (direct object and verb are from the same root), used for emphasis (see IBHS 167 §10.2.1g). The repetition of the verb עָשַׂה (“to do”) in 3:11 and 3:14 suggests that this phrase refers to God’s foreordination of all the events and timing of human affairs: God has “made” ( = “foreordained”; עָשַׂה) everything appropriate in his sovereign timing (3:11a), and all that God has “done” ( = “foreordained”; עָשַׂה) will come to pass (3:14). Thus, the verb עָשַׂה functions as a metonymy of effect (i.e., God’s actions) for cause (i.e., God’s sovereign foreordination). The temporal clause “from beginning to end” (3:11) supports this nuance.

[3:11]  ¹²⁶ tn Traditionally, “what God has done from the beginning to the end.” The temporal clause מֵרֹאשׁ וְעַד־סוֹף (mero’sh vÿ’ad-sof, “from the beginning to the end”) is traditionally taken in reference to “eternity” (the traditional understanding of הָעֹלָם [ha’olam] earlier in the verse; see the note on “ignorance”), e.g., KJV, NEB, NAB, ASV, NASB, NIV, RSV, NRSV. However, if הָעֹלָם simply denotes “the future” (e.g., HALOT 799 s.v. עוֹלָם 2; BDB 762 s.v. III עוֹלָם 2.a; THAT 2:241), this temporal clause would refer to the events God has ordained to transpire in an individual’s life, from beginning to end. This approach is adopted by one English version: “but without man ever guessing, from first to last, all the things that God brings to pass” (NJPS). This would fit well in the context begun in 3:1 with the fourteen merisms encompassing man’s life, starting with “a time to be born” (i.e., from the beginning in 3:11) and concluding with “a time to die” (i.e., to the end in 3:11). This approach is also supported by the admonition of 3:12-13, namely, since no one knows what will happen to him in the future days of his life, Qoheleth recommends that man enjoy each day as a gift from God.

[3:11]  ¹²⁷ tn The phrase “of their lives” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity.

[10:22]  ¹²⁸ sn This verse has been noted for its conceptual similarity to teaching in John’s Gospel (10:15; 17:2). The authority of the Son and the Father are totally intertwined.

[10:22]  ¹²⁹ tn Or “wishes”; or “intends”; or “plans” (cf. BDAG 182 s.v. βούλομαι 2.b). Here it is the Son who has sovereignty.

[6:16]  ¹³⁰ tn Grk “to whom you present yourselves.”

[6:16]  ¹³¹ tn Grk “as slaves for obedience.” See the note on the word “slave” in 1:1.

[6:16]  ¹³² tn Grk “either of sin unto death, or obedience unto righteousness.”