Ecclesiastes 10:19

10:19 Feasts ¹  are made ²  for laughter,

and wine makes life merry, ³ 

but money is the answer ⁴  for everything.

Ecclesiastes 3:22

3:22 So I perceived there is nothing better than for people ⁵  to enjoy their work, ⁶ 

because that is their ⁷  reward;

for who can show them what the future holds? ⁸ 

Ecclesiastes 11:8

11:8 So, if a man lives many years, let him rejoice in them all,

but let him remember that the days of darkness ⁹  will be many – all that is about to come is obscure. ¹⁰ 

[10:19]  ¹ tn Heb “bread.” The term לֶחֶם (lekhem) is used literally of “bread” and figuratively (i.e., by metonymy) for a “feast” (BDB 536–37 s.v. לֶחֶם). BDB suggests that עֹשִׂיה לֶחֶם (’osih lekhem) in Eccl 10:19 means “make a feast” (BDB 537 s.v. לֶחֶם 1.a). This obscure line has occasioned numerous proposals: “a feast is made for laughter” (KJV, ASV, NIV); “feasts are made for laughter” (NRSV); “men feast for merrymaking” (Moffatt); “men prepare a meal for enjoyment” (NASB); “the table has its pleasures” (NEB); “they [i.e., rulers of v. 16] make a banquet for revelry” (NJPS); “people prepare a banquet for enjoyment” (MLB); “for laughter they make bread and wine, that the living may feast” (Douay); “bread is made for laughter” (RSV); “bread [and oil] call forth merriment” (NAB).

[10:19]  ² tn The subject of the verb is not specified. When active verbs have an unspecified subject, they are often used in a passive sense: “Bread [feasts] are made….”

[10:19]  ³ tn Heb “and wine gladdens life.”

[10:19]  ⁴ tn Or “and [they think that] money is the answer for everything.”

[3:22]  ⁵ tn Heb “man.”

[3:22]  ⁶ tn Heb “his works.”

[3:22]  ⁷ tn Heb “his.”

[3:22]  ⁸ tn Heb “what will be after him” (cf. KJV, NASB, NIV) or “afterward” (cf. NJPS).

[11:8]  ⁹ tn The phrase “the days of darkness” refers to the onset of old age (Eccl 12:1-5) and the inevitable experience of death (Eccl 11:7-8; 12:6-7). Elsewhere, “darkness” is a figure of speech (metonymy of association) for death (Job 10:21-22; 17:13; 18:18).

[11:8]  ¹⁰ tn The term הֶבֶל (hevel) here means “obscure,” that is, unknown. This sense is derived from the literal concept of breath, vapor or wind that cannot be seen; thus, the idea of “obscure; dark; difficult to understand; enigmatic” (see HALOT 236–37 s.v. I הֶבֶל; BDB 210–11 s.v. I הֶבֶל). It is used in this sense in reference to enigmas in life (6:2; 8:10, 14) and the future which is obscure (11:8).