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 ¹  will be many – all that is about to come is obscure. ² 

Job 30:2

30:2 Moreover, the strength of their ³  hands –

what use was it to me?

Men whose strength ⁴  had perished;

Psalms 90:10

90:10 The days of our lives add up to seventy years, ⁵ 

or eighty, if one is especially strong. ⁶ 

But even one’s best years are marred by trouble and oppression. ⁷ 

Yes, ⁸  they pass quickly ⁹  and we fly away. ¹⁰ 

Hosea 7:9

7:9 Foreigners are consuming what his strenuous labor produced, ¹¹ 

but he does not recognize it!

His head is filled with gray hair,

but he does not realize it!

[11:8]  ¹ 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]  ² 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).

[30:2]  ³ tn The reference is to the fathers of the scorners, who are here regarded as weak and worthless.

[30:2]  ⁴ tn The word כֶּלַח (kelakh) only occurs in Job 5:26; but the Arabic cognate gives this meaning “strength.” Others suggest כָּלַח (kalakh, “old age”), ֹכּל־חַיִל (kol-khayil, “all vigor”), כֹּל־לֵחַ (kol-leakh, “all freshness”), and the like. But there is no reason for such emendation.

[90:10]  ⁵ tn Heb “the days of our years, in them [are] seventy years.”

[90:10]  ⁶ tn Heb “or if [there is] strength, eighty years.”

[90:10]  ⁷ tn Heb “and their pride [is] destruction and wickedness.” The Hebrew noun רֹהַב (rohav) occurs only here. BDB 923 s.v. assigns the meaning “pride,” deriving the noun from the verbal root רהב (“to act stormily [boisterously, arrogantly]”). Here the “pride” of one’s days (see v. 9) probably refers to one’s most productive years in the prime of life. The words translated “destruction and wickedness” are also paired in Ps 10:7. They also appear in proximity in Pss 7:14 and 55:10. The oppressive and abusive actions of evil men are probably in view (see Job 4:8; 5:6; 15:35; Isa 10:1; 59:4).

[90:10]  ⁸ tn or “for.”

[90:10]  ⁹ tn Heb “it passes quickly.” The subject of the verb is probably “their pride” (see the preceding line). The verb גּוּז (guz) means “to pass” here; it occurs only here and in Num 11:31.

[90:10]  ¹⁰ sn We fly away. The psalmist compares life to a bird that quickly flies off (see Job 20:8).

[7:9]  ¹¹ tn Heb “foreigners consume his strength”; NRSV “devour (sap NIV) his strength.”