Ecclesiastes 9:10

9:10 Whatever you find to do with your hands, ¹ 

do it with all your might,

because there is neither work nor planning nor knowledge nor wisdom in the grave, ² 

the place where you will eventually go. ³ 

Haggai 1:4

1:4 “Is it right for you to live in richly paneled houses ⁴  while my temple is in ruins? ⁵ 

Matthew 6:33

6:33 But above all pursue his kingdom ⁶  and righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

[9:10]  ¹ tn Heb “Whatever your hand finds to do.”

[9:10]  ² tn Heb “Sheol.”

[9:10]  ³ tn Or “where you are about to go.”

[1:4]  ⁴ sn Richly paneled houses. Paneling is otherwise known in the OT only in connection with the temple (1 Kgs 6:9) and the royal palace (2 Kgs 7:3, 7). It implies decoration and luxury (cf. NCV “fancy houses”; TEV “well-built houses”; NLT “luxurious houses”). The impropriety of the people living in such lavish accommodations while the temple lay unfinished is striking.

[1:4]  ⁵ tn Heb “Is it time for you, [yes] you, to live in paneled houses, while this house is in ruins”; NASB “lies desolate”; NIV “remains a ruin.”

[6:33]  ⁶ tc ‡ Most mss (L W Θ 0233 Ë^1,13 33 Ï lat sy mae) read τὴν βασιλείαν τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ τὴν δικαιοσύνην αὐτοῦ (thn basileian tou qeou kai thn dikaiosunhn aujtou, “the kingdom of God and his righteousness”) here, but the words “of God” are lacking in א B pc sa bo Eus. On the one hand, there is the possibility of accidental omission on the part of these Alexandrian witnesses, but it seems unlikely that the scribe’s eye would skip over both words (especially since τοῦ θεοῦ is bracketed by first declension nouns). Intrinsically, the author generally has a genitive modifier with βασιλεία – especially θεοῦ or οὐρανῶν (ouranwn) – but this argument cuts both ways: Although he might be expected to use such an adjunct here, scribes might also be familiar with his practice and would thus naturally insert it if it were missing in their copy of Matthew. Although a decision is difficult, the omission of τοῦ θεοῦ is considered most likely to be original. NA²⁷ includes the words in brackets, indicating doubt as to their authenticity.