1 Kings 3:12

3:12 I ¹  grant your request, ²  and give ³  you a wise and discerning mind ⁴  superior to that of anyone who has preceded or will succeed you. ⁵ 

1 Kings 3:28

3:28 When all Israel heard about the judicial decision which the king had rendered, they respected ⁶  the king, for they realized ⁷  that he possessed supernatural wisdom ⁸  to make judicial decisions.

1 Kings 10:23-24

10:23 King Solomon was wealthier and wiser than any of the kings of the earth. ⁹  10:24 Everyone ¹⁰  in the world wanted to visit Solomon to see him display his God-given wisdom. ¹¹ 

1 Kings 10:2

10:2 She arrived in Jerusalem ¹²  with a great display of pomp, ¹³  bringing with her camels carrying spices, ¹⁴  a very large quantity of gold, and precious gems. She visited Solomon and discussed with him everything that was on her mind.

1 Kings 1:10-12

1:10 But he did not invite Nathan the prophet, Benaiah, the elite warriors, ¹⁵  or his brother Solomon.

1:11 Nathan said to Bathsheba, Solomon’s mother, “Has it been reported to you ¹⁶  that Haggith’s son Adonijah has become king behind our master David’s back? ¹⁷  1:12 Now ¹⁸  let me give you some advice as to how ¹⁹  you can save your life and your son Solomon’s life.

Psalms 119:34

119:34 Give me understanding so that I might observe your law,

and keep it with all my heart. ²⁰ 

Proverbs 2:6

2:6 For ²¹  the Lord gives ²²  wisdom,

and from his mouth ²³  comes ²⁴  knowledge and understanding.

Ecclesiastes 1:16

Futility of Secular Wisdom

1:16 I thought to myself, ²⁵ 

“I have become much wiser ²⁶  than any of my predecessors who ruled ²⁷  over Jerusalem; ²⁸ 

I ²⁹  have acquired much wisdom and knowledge.” ³⁰ 

Ecclesiastes 2:26

2:26 For to the one who pleases him, ³¹  God gives wisdom, knowledge, and joy,

but to the sinner, he gives the task of amassing ³²  wealth ³³  –

only to give ³⁴  it ³⁵  to the one who pleases God.

This ³⁶  task of the wicked ³⁷  is futile – like chasing the wind!

James 1:5

1:5 But if anyone is deficient in wisdom, he should ask God, who gives to all generously and without reprimand, and it will be given to him.

James 1:17

1:17 All generous giving and every perfect gift ³⁸  is from above, coming down ³⁹  from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or the slightest hint of change. ⁴⁰ 

James 3:17

3:17 But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, accommodating, ⁴¹  full of mercy and good fruit, ⁴²  impartial, and not hypocritical. ⁴³ 

[3:12]  ¹ tn This statement is introduced in the Hebrew text by the particle הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”) which draws attention to and emphasizes what follows.

[3:12]  ² tn Heb “I am doing according to your words.” The perfect tense is sometimes used of actions occurring at the same time a statement is made.

[3:12]  ³ tn This statement is introduced by the particle הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”) which draws attention to and emphasizes what follows. The translation assumes that the perfect tense here indicates that the action occurs as the statement is made (i.e., “right now I give you”).

[3:12]  ⁴ tn Heb “heart.” (The Hebrew term translated “heart” often refers to the mental faculties.)

[3:12]  ⁵ tn Heb “so that there has not been one like you prior to you, and after you one will not arise like you.”

[3:28]  ⁶ tn Heb “feared,” perhaps in the sense, “stood in awe of.”

[3:28]  ⁷ tn Heb “saw.”

[3:28]  ⁸ tn Heb “the wisdom of God within him.”

[10:23]  ⁹ tn Heb “King Solomon was greater than all the kings of the earth with respect to wealth and with respect to wisdom.”

[10:24]  ¹⁰ tc The Old Greek translation and Syriac Peshitta have “all the kings of the earth.” See 2 Chr 9:23.

[10:24]  ¹¹ tn Heb “and all the earth was seeking the face of Solomon to hear his wisdom which God had placed in his heart.”

[10:2]  ¹² map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[10:2]  ¹³ tn Heb “with very great strength.” The Hebrew term חַיִל (khayil, “strength”) may refer here to the size of her retinue (cf. NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV) or to the great wealth she brought with her.

[10:2]  ¹⁴ tn Or “balsam oil.”

[1:10]  ¹⁵ tn Or “bodyguard” (Heb “mighty men”).

[1:11]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “Have you not heard?”

[1:11]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “and our master David does not know.”

[1:12]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “now, come.” The imperative of הָלַךְ (halakh) is here used as an introductory interjection. See BDB 234 s.v. חָלַךְ.

[1:12]  ¹⁹ tn Or “so that.”

[119:34]  ²⁰ tn The two prefixed verbal forms with vav (ו) conjunctive indicate purpose/result after the introductory imperative.

[2:6]  ²¹ tn This is a causal clause. The reason one must fear and know the Lord is that he is the source of true, effectual wisdom.

[2:6]  ²² tn The verb is an imperfect tense which probably functions as a habitual imperfect describing a universal truth in the past, present and future.

[2:6]  ²³ sn This expression is an anthropomorphism; it indicates that the Lord is the immediate source or author of the wisdom. It is worth noting that in the incarnation many of these “anthropomorphisms” become literal in the person of the Logos, the Word, Jesus, who reveals the Father.

[2:6]  ²⁴ tn The verb “comes” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for the sake of clarity and smoothness.

[1:16]  ²⁵ tn Heb “I spoke, I, with my heart.”

[1:16]  ²⁶ 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.

[1:16]  ²⁷ tn The phrase “who ruled” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity.

[1:16]  ²⁸ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[1:16]  ²⁹ tn Heb “my heart” (לִבִּי, libbi). The term “heart” is a metonymy of part for the whole (“my heart” = myself).

[1:16]  ³⁰ tn Heb “My heart has seen much wisdom and knowledge.”

[2:26]  ³¹ tn Heb “for to a man who is good before him.”

[2:26]  ³² sn The phrase the task of amassing wealth (Heb “the task of gathering and heaping up”) implicitly compares the work of the farmer reaping his crops and storing them up in a barn, to the work of the laborer amassing wealth as the fruit of his labor. However, rather than his storehouse being safe for the future, the sinner is deprived of it.

[2:26]  ³³ tn The word “wealth” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity.

[2:26]  ³⁴ sn The three-fold repetition of the Hebrew word translated “give” in the first part of this verse creates irony: God “gives” the righteous the ability to prosper and to find enjoyment in his work; but to the wicked He “gives” the task of “giving” his wealth to the righteous.

[2:26]  ³⁵ tn The word “it” (an implied direct object) does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity.

[2:26]  ³⁶ tn The antecedent of the demonstrative pronoun זֶה (zeh, “this”) is debated: (1) Some refer it to the enjoyment which Qoheleth had just commended in 2:24-26. However, this is inconsistent with the enjoyment theme found elsewhere in the book. It also ignores the fact that 2:24-26 states that such enjoyment is a good gift from God. (2) Others refer it to the term “toil” (עָמָל, ’amal) which is repeated throughout 2:18-26. However, Qoheleth affirmed that if one is righteous, he can find enjoyment in his toil, even though so much of it is ultimately futile. (3) Therefore, it seems best to refer it to the grievous “task” (עִנְיָן, ’inyan) God has given to the sinner in 2:26b. Consistent with the meaning of הֶבֶל (hevel, “futile; profitless; fruitless”), 2:26b emphasizes that the “task” of the sinner is profitless: he labors hard to amass wealth, only to see the fruit of his labor given away to someone else. The righteous man’s enjoyment of his work and the fruit of his labor under the blessing of God (2:24-26a) is not included in this.

[2:26]  ³⁷ tn The phrase “task of the wicked” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity.

[1:17]  ³⁸ tn The first phrase refers to the action of giving and the second to what is given.

[1:17]  ³⁹ tn Or “All generous giving and every perfect gift from above is coming down.”

[1:17]  ⁴⁰ tn Grk “variation or shadow of turning” (referring to the motions of heavenly bodies causing variations of light and darkness).

[3:17]  ⁴¹ tn Or “willing to yield,” “open to persuasion.”

[3:17]  ⁴² tn Grk “fruits.” The plural Greek term καρπούς has been translated with the collective singular “fruit.”

[3:17]  ⁴³ tn Or “sincere.”