Ecclesiastes 10:3

10:3 Even when a fool walks along the road he lacks sense, ¹ 

and shows ²  everyone what a fool he is. ³ 

Ecclesiastes 10:10

10:10 If an iron axhead ⁴  is blunt and a workman ⁵  does not sharpen ⁶  its edge, ⁷ 

he must exert a great deal of effort; ⁸ 

so wisdom has the advantage of giving success.

Isaiah 44:12-17

44:12 A blacksmith works with his tool ⁹ 

and forges metal over the coals.

He forms it ¹⁰  with hammers;

he makes it with his strong arm.

He gets hungry and loses his energy; ¹¹ 

he drinks no water and gets tired.

44:13 A carpenter takes measurements; ¹² 

he marks out an outline of its form; ¹³ 

he scrapes ¹⁴  it with chisels,

and marks it with a compass.

He patterns it after the human form, ¹⁵ 

like a well-built human being,

and puts it in a shrine. ¹⁶ 

44:14 He cuts down cedars

and acquires a cypress ¹⁷  or an oak.

He gets ¹⁸  trees from the forest;

he plants a cedar ¹⁹  and the rain makes it grow.

44:15 A man uses it to make a fire; ²⁰ 

he takes some of it and warms himself.

Yes, he kindles a fire and bakes bread.

Then he makes a god and worships it;

he makes an idol and bows down to it. ²¹ 

44:16 Half of it he burns in the fire –

over that half he cooks ²²  meat;

he roasts a meal and fills himself.

Yes, he warms himself and says,

‘Ah! I am warm as I look at the fire.’

44:17 With the rest of it he makes a god, his idol;

he bows down to it and worships it.

He prays to it, saying,

‘Rescue me, for you are my god!’

Isaiah 47:12-13

47:12 Persist ²³  in trusting ²⁴  your amulets

and your many incantations,

which you have faithfully recited ²⁵  since your youth!

Maybe you will be successful ²⁶  –

maybe you will scare away disaster. ²⁷ 

47:13 You are tired out from listening to so much advice. ²⁸ 

Let them take their stand –

the ones who see omens in the sky,

who gaze at the stars,

who make monthly predictions –

let them rescue you from the disaster that is about to overtake you! ²⁹ 

Isaiah 55:2

55:2 Why pay money for something that will not nourish you? ³⁰ 

Why spend ³¹  your hard-earned money ³²  on something that will not satisfy?

Listen carefully ³³  to me and eat what is nourishing! ³⁴ 

Enjoy fine food! ³⁵ 

Isaiah 57:1

57:1 The godly ³⁶  perish,

but no one cares. ³⁷ 

Honest people disappear, ³⁸ 

when no one ³⁹  minds ⁴⁰ 

that the godly ⁴¹  disappear ⁴²  because of ⁴³  evil. ⁴⁴ 

Habakkuk 2:6

The Proud Babylonians are as Good as Dead

2:6 “But all these nations will someday taunt him ⁴⁵ 

and ridicule him with proverbial sayings: ⁴⁶ 

‘The one who accumulates what does not belong to him is as good as dead ⁴⁷ 

(How long will this go on?) ⁴⁸  –

he who gets rich by extortion!’ ⁴⁹ 

Matthew 11:28-30

11:28 Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 11:29 Take my yoke ⁵⁰  on you and learn from me, because I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 11:30 For my yoke is easy to bear, and my load is not hard to carry.”

[10:3]  ¹ tn Heb “he lacks his heart.”

[10:3]  ² tn Heb “he tells everyone.”

[10:3]  ³ sn A fool’s lack of wisdom is obvious to everyone, even when he is engaged in the simple, ordinary actions of life.

[10:10]  ⁴ tn The term “ax head” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity. The preceding noun “iron” functions as a metonymy of material (i.e., iron) for the object with which it is associated (i.e., ax head).

[10:10]  ⁵ tn Heb “he”; the referent (the workman) is implied, and has been specified in the translation for clarity

[10:10]  ⁶ tn The verb קלל in the Pilpel means “to sharpen; to make a blade sharp” (HALOT 1104 s.v. קלל 1).This denominative verb is derived from the rare noun II קָלַל “smooth; shiny” (referring to bronze; Ezek 1:7; Dan 10:6; HALOT 1105 s.v.). Sharpening the blade or head of a bronze ax will make it smooth and shiny. It is not derived from I קָלַל (qalal) “to treat light” or the noun I קְלָלָה (qÿlalah) “curse.” Nor is it related to I קָלַל “to shake” (Ezek 21:26); cf. HALOT 1104. BDB 886 s.v. קָלַל 2 erroneously relates it to I קָלַל, suggesting “to whet” or “to move quickly to and fro.”

[10:10]  ⁷ tn Heb “face.”

[10:10]  ⁸ tn Heb “strength.” The term וַחֲיָלִים (vakhayalim, conjunction + plural noun from חַיִל, khayil, “strength; efficiency”) is an example of a plural of intensification (GKC 397-98 §124.e). The point is that it is a waste of a great deal of strength and energy. If a person is not smart, he will have to use a lot of energy and waste his efficiency.

[44:12]  ⁹ tn The noun מַעֲצָד (ma’atsad), which refers to some type of tool used for cutting, occurs only here and in Jer 10:3. See HALOT 615 s.v. מַעֲצָד.

[44:12]  ¹⁰ tn Some English versions take the pronoun “it” to refer to an idol being fashioned by the blacksmith (cf. NIV, NCV, CEV). NLT understands the referent to be “a sharp tool,” which is then used by the carpenter in the following verse to carve an idol from wood.

[44:12]  ¹¹ tn Heb “and there is no strength”; NASB “his strength fails.”

[44:13]  ¹² tn Heb “stretches out a line” (ASV similar); NIV “measures with a line.”

[44:13]  ¹³ tn Heb “he makes an outline with the [?].” The noun שֶׂרֶד (shered) occurs only here; it apparently refers to some type of tool or marker. Cf. KJV “with a line”; ASV “with a pencil”; NAB, NRSV “with a stylus”; NASB “with red chalk”; NIV “with a marker.”

[44:13]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “works” (so NASB) or “fashions” (so NRSV); NIV “he roughs it out.”

[44:13]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “he makes it like the pattern of a man”; NAB “like a man in appearance.”

[44:13]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “like the glory of man to sit [in] a house”; NIV “that it may dwell in a shrine.”

[44:14]  ¹⁷ tn It is not certain what type of tree this otherwise unattested noun refers to. Cf. ASV “a holm-tree” (NRSV similar).

[44:14]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “strengthens for himself,” i.e., “secures for himself” (see BDB 55 s.v. אָמֵץ Pi.2).

[44:14]  ¹⁹ tn Some prefer to emend אֹרֶן (’oren) to אֶרֶז (’erez, “cedar”), but the otherwise unattested noun appears to have an Akkadian cognate, meaning “cedar.” See H. R. Cohen, Biblical Hapax Legomena (SBLDS), 44-45. HALOT 90 s.v. I אֹרֶן offers the meaning “laurel.”

[44:15]  ²⁰ tn Heb “and it becomes burning [i.e., firewood] for a man”; NAB “to serve man for fuel.”

[44:15]  ²¹ tn Or perhaps, “them.”

[44:16]  ²² tn Heb “eats” (so NASB); NAB, NRSV “roasts.”

[47:12]  ²³ tn Heb “stand” (so KJV, ASV); NASB, NRSV “Stand fast.”

[47:12]  ²⁴ tn The word “trusting” is supplied in the translation for clarification. See v. 9.

[47:12]  ²⁵ tn Heb “in that which you have toiled.”

[47:12]  ²⁶ tn Heb “maybe you will be able to profit.”

[47:12]  ²⁷ tn Heb “maybe you will cause to tremble.” The object “disaster” is supplied in the translation for clarification. See the note at v. 9.

[47:13]  ²⁸ tn Heb “you are tired because of the abundance of your advice.”

[47:13]  ²⁹ tn Heb “let them stand and rescue you – the ones who see omens in the sky, who gaze at the stars, who make known by months – from those things which are coming upon you.”

[55:2]  ³⁰ tn Heb “for what is not food.”

[55:2]  ³¹ tn The interrogative particle and the verb “spend” are understood here by ellipsis (note the preceding line).

[55:2]  ³² tn Heb “your labor,” which stands by metonymy for that which one earns.

[55:2]  ³³ tn The infinitive absolute follows the imperative and lends emphasis to the exhortation.

[55:2]  ³⁴ tn Heb “good” (so NASB, NIV, NRSV).

[55:2]  ³⁵ tn Heb “Let your appetite delight in fine food.”

[57:1]  ³⁶ tn Or “righteous” (KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT); NAB “the just man”; TEV “Good people.”

[57:1]  ³⁷ tn Or perhaps, “understands.” Heb “and there is no man who sets [it] upon [his] heart.”

[57:1]  ³⁸ tn Heb “Men of loyalty are taken away.” The Niphal of אָסַף (’asaf) here means “to die.”

[57:1]  ³⁹ tn The Hebrew term בְּאֵין (bÿ’en) often has the nuance “when there is no.” See Prov 8:24; 11;14; 14:4; 15:22; 26:20; 29:18.

[57:1]  ⁴⁰ tn Or “realizes”; Heb “understands” (so NASB, NIV, NRSV).

[57:1]  ⁴¹ tn Or “righteous” (KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT); NAB “the just man.”

[57:1]  ⁴² tn Heb “are taken away.” The Niphal of אָסַף (’asaf) here means “to die.”

[57:1]  ⁴³ tn The term מִפְּנֵי (mippÿne, “from the face of”) often has a causal nuance. It also appears with the Niphal of אָסַף (’asaph, “gather”) in 2 Chr 12:5: אֲשֶׁר־נֶאֶסְפוּ אֶל־יְרוּשָׁלַם מִפְּנֵי שִׁישָׁק (’asher-ne’esphu ’el-yÿrushalam mippÿney shishaq, “who had gathered at Jerusalem because of [i.e., due to fear of] Shishak”).

[57:1]  ⁴⁴ tn The translation assumes that this verse, in proverbial fashion, laments society’s apathy over the persecution of the godly. The second half of the verse observes that such apathy results in more widespread oppression. Since the next verse pictures the godly being taken to a place of rest, some interpret the second half of v. 1 in a more positive vein. According to proponents of this view, God removes the godly so that they might be spared suffering and calamity, a fact which the general populace fails to realize.

[2:6]  ⁴⁵ tn Heb “Will not these, all of them, take up a taunt against him…?” The rhetorical question assumes the response, “Yes, they will.” The present translation brings out the rhetorical force of the question by rendering it as an affirmation.

[2:6]  ⁴⁶ tn Heb “and a mocking song, riddles, against him? And one will say.”

[2:6]  ⁴⁷ tn Heb “Woe [to] the one who increases [what is] not his.” The Hebrew term הוֹי (hoy, “woe,” “ah”) was used in funeral laments and carries the connotation of death.

[2:6]  ⁴⁸ tn This question is interjected parenthetically, perhaps to express rhetorically the pain and despair felt by the Babylonians’ victims.

[2:6]  ⁴⁹ tn Heb “and the one who makes himself heavy [i.e., wealthy] [by] debts.” Though only appearing in the first line, the term הוֹי (hoy) is to be understood as elliptical in the second line.

[11:29]  ⁵⁰ sn A yoke is a wooden bar or frame that joins two animals like oxen or horses so that they can pull a wagon, plow, etc. together. Here it is used figuratively of the restrictions that a teacher or rabbi would place on his followers.