Ecclesiastes 8:11

8:11 When ¹  a sentence ²  is not executed ³  at once against a crime, ⁴ 

the human heart ⁵  is encouraged to do evil. ⁶ 

Ezekiel 7:2-7

7:2 “You, son of man – this is what the sovereign Lord says to the land of Israel: An end! The end is coming on the four corners of the land! ⁷  7:3 The end is now upon you, and I will release my anger against you; I will judge ⁸  you according to your behavior, ⁹  I will hold you accountable for ¹⁰  all your abominable practices. 7:4 My eye will not pity you; I will not spare ¹¹  you. ¹²  For I will hold you responsible for your behavior, ¹³  and you will suffer the consequences of your abominable practices. ¹⁴  Then you will know that I am the Lord!

7:5 “This is what the sovereign Lord says: A disaster ¹⁵  – a one-of-a-kind ¹⁶  disaster – is coming! 7:6 An end comes ¹⁷  – the end comes! ¹⁸  It has awakened against you ¹⁹  – the end is upon you! Look, it is coming! ²⁰  7:7 Doom is coming upon you who live in the land! The time is coming, the day ²¹  is near. There are sounds of tumult, not shouts of joy, on the mountains. ²² 

Ezekiel 12:22-28

12:22 “Son of man, what is this proverb you have in the land of Israel, ‘The days pass slowly, and every vision fails’? 12:23 Therefore tell them, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: I hereby end this proverb; they will not recite it in Israel any longer.’ But say to them, ‘The days are at hand when every vision will be fulfilled. ²³  12:24 For there will no longer be any false visions or flattering omens amidst the house of Israel. 12:25 For I, the Lord, will speak. Whatever word I speak will be accomplished. It will not be delayed any longer. Indeed in your days, O rebellious house, I will speak the word and accomplish it, declares the sovereign Lord.’”

12:26 The word of the Lord came to me: 12:27 “Take note, son of man, the house of Israel is saying, ‘The vision that he sees is for distant days; he is prophesying about the far future.’ 12:28 Therefore say to them, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: None of my words will be delayed any longer! The word I speak will come to pass, declares the sovereign Lord.’”

James 5:9

5:9 Do not grumble against one another, brothers and sisters, ²⁴  so that you may not be judged. See, the judge stands before the gates! ²⁵ 

James 5:2

5:2 Your riches have rotted and your clothing has become moth-eaten.

James 2:3

2:3 do you pay attention to the one who is finely dressed and say, ²⁶  “You sit here in a good place,” ²⁷  and to the poor person, “You stand over there,” or “Sit on the floor”? ²⁸ 

[8:11]  ¹ tn The particle אֲשֶׁר (’asher) is used as a conjunction in a conditional/temporal clause to introduce the protasis (“when” or “if”), and עַל־כֵּן (’al-ken) introduces the apodosis (“then”); cf. BDB 83 s.v. אֲשֶׁר 8.d.

[8:11]  ² tn The noun פִתְגָם (fitgam, “decision; announcement; edict; decree”) is a loanword from Persian patigama (HALOT 984 s.v. פִּתְגָם; BDB 834 s.v. פִּתְגָם). The Hebrew noun occurs twice in the OT (Eccl 8:11; Esth 1:20), twice in the Apocrypha (Sir 5:11; 8:9), and five times in Qumran (11QtgJob 9:2; 29:4; 30:1; 34:3; 1QapGen 22:27). The English versions consistently nuance this as a judicial sentence against a crime: “sentence” (KJV, NEB, NAB, ASV, NASB, RSV, NRSV, MLB, YLT), “sentence for a crime” (NIV), “sentence imposed” (NJPS), “sentence on a crime” (Moffatt).

[8:11]  ³ tn Heb “is not done.” The verb עָשַׂה (’asah, “to do”) refers to a judicial sentence being carried out (HALOT 892 s.v. 2). The Niphal can denote “be executed; be carried out” of a sentence (Eccl 8:11) or royal decree (Esth 9:1; BDB 795 s.v. 1.a). Similarly, the Qal can denote “to execute” vengeance (Judg 11:36) or judgment (1 Sam 28:18; Isa 48:14; Ezek 25:11; 28:26; Ps 149:7, 9; BDB 794 s.v.).

[8:11]  ⁴ tn Heb “the evil.”

[8:11]  ⁵ tn Heb “the heart of the sons of man.” The singular noun לֵב (lev, “heart”) is used collectively. The term לֵב is often used figuratively (metonymy) in reference to inclinations and determinations of the will (BDB 525 s.v. 4), moral character (BDB 525 s.v. 6), and as a synecdoche for the man himself (BDB 525 s.v. 7).

[8:11]  ⁶ tn Heb “is full to do evil.” The verb מָלֵא (male’, “to fill”) is used figuratively (metonymy): the lack of swift judicial punishment only emboldens the wicked to commit more crimes without fear of retribution. Most English versions translate the term literally: “are filled” (NIV, MLB, YLT), “is fully set” (KJV, ASV, RSV, NRSV). However, several versions nuance it figuratively: “emboldened” (ASV, NJPS) and “boldly” (NEB). Moffatt renders the line, “Because sentence on a crime is not executed at once, the mind of man is prone to evil practices.”

[7:2]  ⁷ tn Or “earth.” Elsewhere the expression “four corners of the earth” figuratively refers to the whole earth (Isa 11:12).

[7:3]  ⁸ tn Or “punish” (cf. BDB 1047 s.v. שָׁפַט 3.c).

[7:3]  ⁹ tn Heb “ways.”

[7:3]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “I will place on you.”

[7:4]  ¹¹ tn The meaning of the Hebrew term is primarily emotional: “to pity,” which in context implies an action, as in being moved by pity in order to spare them from the horror of their punishment.

[7:4]  ¹² tn The pronoun “you” is not in the Hebrew text, but is implied.

[7:4]  ¹³ tn “I will set your behavior on your head.”

[7:4]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “and your abominable practices will be among you.”

[7:5]  ¹⁵ tn The Hebrew term often refers to moral evil (see Ezek 6:10; 14:22), but in many contexts it refers to calamity or disaster, sometimes as punishment for evil behavior.

[7:5]  ¹⁶ tc So most Hebrew mss; many Hebrew mss read “disaster after disaster” (cf. NAB, NCV, NRSV, NLT).

[7:6]  ¹⁷ tn Or “has come.”

[7:6]  ¹⁸ tn Or “has come.”

[7:6]  ¹⁹ tc With different vowels the verb rendered “it has awakened” would be the noun “the end,” as in “the end is upon you.” The verb would represent a phonetic wordplay. The noun by virtue of repetition would continue to reinforce the idea of the end. Whether verb or noun, this is the only instance to occur with this preposition.

[7:6]  ²⁰ tc For this entire verse, the LXX has only “the end is come.”

[7:7]  ²¹ sn The day refers to the day of the Lord, a concept which, beginning in Amos 5:18-20, became a common theme in the OT prophetic books. It refers to a time when the Lord intervenes in human affairs as warrior and judge.

[7:7]  ²² tc The LXX reads “neither tumult nor birth pains.” The LXX varies at many points from the MT in this chapter. The context suggests that one or both of these would be present on a day of judgment, thus favoring the MT. Perhaps more significant is the absence of “the mountains” in the LXX. If the ר (resh) in הָרִים (harim, “the mountains” not “on the mountains”) were a ד (dalet), which is a common letter confusion, then it could be from the same root as the previous word, הֵד (hed), meaning “the day is near – with destruction, not joyful shouting.”

[12:23]  ²³ tn Heb “the days draw near and the word of every vision (draws near).”

[5:9]  ²⁴ tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:2.

[5:9]  ²⁵ sn The term gates is used metaphorically here. The physical referent would be the entrances to the city, but the author uses the term to emphasize the imminence of the judge’s approach.

[2:3]  ²⁶ tn Grk “and you pay attention…and say,” continuing the “if” clauses from v. 2. In the Greek text, vv. 2-4 form one long sentence.

[2:3]  ²⁷ tn Or “sit here, please.”

[2:3]  ²⁸ tn Grk “sit under my footstool.” The words “on the floor” have been supplied in the translation to clarify for the modern reader the undesirability of this seating arrangement (so also TEV, NIV, CEV, NLT). Another option followed by a number of translations is to replace “under my footstool” with “at my feet” (NAB, NIV, NRSV).