1 Samuel 18:12

18:12 So Saul feared David, because the Lord was with him but had departed from Saul.

1 Samuel 18:15

18:15 When Saul saw how very successful he was, he was afraid of him.

Psalms 37:12-14

37:12 Evil men plot against the godly ¹ 

and viciously attack them. ² 

37:13 The Lord laughs in disgust ³  at them,

for he knows that their day is coming. ⁴ 

37:14 Evil men draw their swords

and prepare their bows,

to bring down ⁵  the oppressed and needy,

and to slaughter those who are godly. ⁶ 

Ecclesiastes 4:4

Labor Motivated by Envy

4:4 Then I considered ⁷  all the skillful work ⁸  that is done:

Surely it is nothing more than ⁹  competition ¹⁰  between one person and another. ¹¹ 

This also is profitless – like ¹²  chasing the wind.

James 2:19

2:19 You believe that God is one; well and good. ¹³  Even the demons believe that – and tremble with fear. ¹⁴ 

[37:12]  ¹ tn Or “innocent.” The singular is used here in a representative sense; the typical evildoer and the typical godly individual are in view.

[37:12]  ² tn Heb “and gnashes at him with his teeth” (see Ps 35:16). The language may picture the evil men as wild animals. The active participles in v. 12 are used for purposes of dramatic description.

[37:13]  ³ tn Heb “laughs.” As the next line indicates, this refers to derisive laughter (see 2:4). The Hebrew imperfect verbal form describes the action from the perspective of an eye-witness who is watching the divine response as it unfolds before his eyes.

[37:13]  ⁴ tn Heb “for he sees that his day is coming.” As the following context makes clear (vv. 15, 17, 19-20), “his day” refers to the time when God will destroy evildoers.

[37:14]  ⁵ tn Heb “to cause to fall.”

[37:14]  ⁶ tn Heb “the upright in way,” i.e., those who lead godly lives.

[4:4]  ⁷ tn Heb “saw.”

[4:4]  ⁸ 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]  ⁹ tn The phrase “nothing more than” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity.

[4:4]  ¹⁰ 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]  ¹¹ tn Heb “a man and his neighbor.”

[4:4]  ¹² tn The word “like” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity.

[2:19]  ¹³ tn Grk “you do well.”

[2:19]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “believe and tremble.” The words “with fear” are implied.