1 Samuel 17:28-29

17:28 When David’s ¹  oldest brother Eliab heard him speaking to the men, he became angry ²  with David and said, “Why have you come down here? To whom did you entrust those few sheep in the desert? I am familiar with your pride and deceit! ³  You have come down here to watch the battle!”

17:29 David replied, “What have I done now? Can’t I say anything?” ⁴ 

Ecclesiastes 4:4

Labor Motivated by Envy

4:4 Then I considered ⁵  all the skillful work ⁶  that is done:

Surely it is nothing more than ⁷  competition ⁸  between one person and another. ⁹ 

This also is profitless – like ¹⁰  chasing the wind.

Mark 14:4

14:4 But some who were present indignantly said to one another, “Why this waste of expensive ¹¹  ointment?

John 12:4-6

12:4 But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples (the one who was going to betray him) ¹²  said, 12:5 “Why wasn’t this oil sold for three hundred silver coins ¹³  and the money ¹⁴  given to the poor?” 12:6 (Now Judas ¹⁵  said this not because he was concerned about the poor, but because he was a thief. As keeper of the money box, ¹⁶  he used to steal what was put into it.) ¹⁷ 

[17:28]  ¹ tn Heb “his”; the referent (David) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[17:28]  ² tn Heb “the anger of Eliab became hot.”

[17:28]  ³ tn Heb “the wickedness of your heart.”

[17:29]  ⁴ tn Heb “Is it not [just] a word?”

[4:4]  ⁵ tn Heb “saw.”

[4:4]  ⁶ tn Heb “all the toil and all the skill.” This Hebrew clause (אֶת־כָּל־עָמָל וְאֵת כָּל־כִּשְׁרוֹן, ’et-kol-’amal vÿ’et kol-kishron) is a nominal hendiadys (a figurative expression in which two independent phrases are used to connote the same thing). The second functions adverbially, modifying the first, which retains its full nominal function: “all the skillful work.”

[4:4]  ⁷ tn The phrase “nothing more than” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity.

[4:4]  ⁸ tn The noun קִנְאַה (qin’ah, “competition”) has a wide range of meanings: “zeal; jealousy; envy; rivalry; competition; suffering; animosity; anger; wrath” (HALOT 1110 s.v.; BDB 888 s.v.). Here, as in 9:6, it denotes “rivalry” (BDB 888 s.v. 1) or “competitive spirit” (HALOT 1110 s.v. 1.b). The LXX rendered it ζῆλος (zhlos, “envy; jealousy”). The English versions reflect this broad range: “rivalry” (NEB, NAB, NASB), “envy” (KJV, ASV, RSV, NRSV, MLB, NIV, NJPS), and “jealousy” (Moffatt).

[4:4]  ⁹ tn Heb “a man and his neighbor.”

[4:4]  ¹⁰ tn The word “like” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity.

[14:4]  ¹¹ tn The word “expensive” is not in the Greek text but has been included to suggest a connection to the lengthy phrase “costly aromatic oil from pure nard” occurring earlier in v. 3. The author of Mark shortened this long phrase to just one word in Greek when repeated here, and the phrase “expensive ointment” used in the translation is intended as an abbreviated paraphrase.

[12:4]  ¹² sn This is a parenthetical note by the author.

[12:5]  ¹³ tn Grk “three hundred denarii.” The denarius was a silver coin worth a standard day’s wage, so the value exceeded what a laborer could earn in a year (taking into account Sabbaths and feast days when no work was done).

[12:5]  ¹⁴ tn The words “the money” are not in the Greek text, but are implied (as the proceeds from the sale of the perfumed oil).

[12:6]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Judas) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[12:6]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “a thief, and having the money box.” Dividing the single Greek sentence improves the English style.

[12:6]  ¹⁷ sn This is a parenthetical note by the author. This is one of the indications in the gospels that Judas was of bad character before the betrayal of Jesus. John states that he was a thief and had responsibility for the finances of the group. More than being simply a derogatory note about Judas’ character, the inclusion of the note at this particular point in the narrative may be intended to link the frustrated greed of Judas here with his subsequent decision to betray Jesus for money. The parallel accounts in Matthew and Mark seem to indicate that after this incident Judas went away immediately and made his deal with the Jewish authorities to deliver up Jesus. Losing out on one source of sordid gain, he immediately went out and set up another.