Ecclesiastes 2:2

2:2 I said of partying, ¹  “It is folly,”

and of self-indulgent pleasure, ²  “It accomplishes nothing!” ³ 

Psalms 58:9

58:9 Before the kindling is even placed under your pots, ⁴ 

he ⁵  will sweep it away along with both the raw and cooked meat. ⁶ 

Psalms 118:12

118:12 They surrounded me like bees.

But they disappeared as quickly ⁷  as a fire among thorns. ⁸ 

Indeed, in the name of the Lord I pushed them away.

Isaiah 65:13-15

65:13 So this is what the sovereign Lord says:

“Look, my servants will eat, but you will be hungry!

Look, my servants will drink, but you will be thirsty!

Look, my servants will rejoice, but you will be humiliated!

65:14 Look, my servants will shout for joy as happiness fills their hearts! ⁹ 

But you will cry out as sorrow fills your hearts; ¹⁰ 

you will wail because your spirits will be crushed. ¹¹ 

65:15 Your names will live on in the curse formulas of my chosen ones. ¹² 

The sovereign Lord will kill you,

but he will give his servants another name.

Amos 8:10

8:10 I will turn your festivals into funerals, ¹³ 

and all your songs into funeral dirges.

I will make everyone wear funeral clothes ¹⁴ 

and cause every head to be shaved bald. ¹⁵ 

I will make you mourn as if you had lost your only son; ¹⁶ 

when it ends it will indeed have been a bitter day. ¹⁷ 

Luke 6:25

6:25 “Woe to you who are well satisfied with food ¹⁸  now, for you will be hungry.

“Woe to you ¹⁹  who laugh ²⁰  now, for you will mourn and weep.

Luke 16:25

16:25 But Abraham said, ‘Child, ²¹  remember that in your lifetime you received your good things and Lazarus likewise bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in anguish. ²² 

Luke 16:2

16:2 So ²³  he called the manager ²⁴  in and said to him, ‘What is this I hear about you? ²⁵  Turn in the account of your administration, ²⁶  because you can no longer be my manager.’

Luke 2:13-17

2:13 Suddenly ²⁷  a vast, heavenly army ²⁸  appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,

2:14 “Glory ²⁹  to God in the highest,

and on earth peace among people ³⁰  with whom he is pleased!” ³¹ 

2:15 When ³²  the angels left them and went back to heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go over to Bethlehem ³³  and see this thing that has taken place, that the Lord ³⁴  has made known to us.” 2:16 So they hurried off and located Mary and Joseph, and found the baby lying in a manger. ³⁵  2:17 When ³⁶  they saw him, ³⁷  they related what they had been told ³⁸  about this child,

Jude 1:12-13

1:12 These men are ³⁹  dangerous reefs ⁴⁰  at your love feasts, ⁴¹  feasting without reverence, ⁴²  feeding only themselves. ⁴³  They are ⁴⁴  waterless ⁴⁵  clouds, carried along by the winds; autumn trees without fruit ⁴⁶  – twice dead, ⁴⁷  uprooted; 1:13 wild sea waves, ⁴⁸  spewing out the foam of ⁴⁹  their shame; ⁵⁰  wayward stars ⁵¹  for whom the utter depths of eternal darkness ⁵²  have been reserved.

[2:2]  ¹ tn Heb “laughter.” The term שְׂחוֹק (sÿkhoq, “laughter”) has a fourfold range of meanings: (1) “joyful laughter” (Ps 126:2; Prov 14:13; Job 8:21); (2) “frivolous laughter, merrymaking” (Eccl 2:2; 7:3, 6); (3) “pleasure, sport” (Prov 10:23; Eccl 10:19); and (4) “derision, mockery, laughingstock” (Jer 20:7; 48:26, 27, 39; Job 12:4; Lam 3:14). See HALOT 1315 s.v שְׂחוֹק; BDB 966 s.v. שְׂחֹק. In Ecclesiastes, שְׂחוֹק is always used in contexts of self-indulgent banqueting, drinking, frivolous partying and merrymaking (Eccl 2:2; 7:3, 6; 10:19). It is distinct from “healthy” joy and laughter (Ps 126:2; Job 8:21). The connotation of “frivolous merrymaking” fits this context best.

[2:2]  ² tn The term שִׂמְחָה (simkhah, “pleasure”) has a two-fold range of meanings in Ecclesiastes: (1) it can refer to the enjoyment of life that Qoheleth affirms is good (5:17; 8:15; 9:7; 11:8, 9) and that God gives to those who are pleasing to him (2:26; 5:19); and (2) it can refer to foolish pleasure, that is, frivolous merrymaking (2:1, 2; 7:4). The parallelism between שִׂמְחָה and שְׂחוֹק (sÿkhoq, “laughter, frivolous merrymaking”) in 2:2 suggests that the pejorative sense is in view here.

[2:2]  ³ tn Heb “What does it accomplish?” The rhetorical question “What does it accomplish?” expects a negative answer: “It accomplishes nothing!” (see E. W. Bullinger, Figures of Speech, 949–51). See, e.g., Gen 1:19; 18:14, 17; Deut 7:17; 1 Sam 2:25; Job 40:2; Pss 56:7[8]; 90:11; 94:16; 106:2; Eccl 3:21.

[58:9]  ⁴ tn Heb “before your pots perceive thorns.”

[58:9]  ⁵ tn Apparently God (v. 6) is the subject of the verb here.

[58:9]  ⁶ tn Heb “like living, like burning anger he will sweep it away.” The meaning of the text is unclear. The translation assumes that within the cooking metaphor (see the previous line) חַי (khay, “living”) refers here to raw meat (as in 1 Sam 2:15, where it modifies בָּשָׂר, basar, “flesh”) and that חָרוּן (kharun; which always refers to God’s “burning anger” elsewhere) here refers to food that is cooked. The pronominal suffix on the verb “sweep away” apparently refers back to the “thorns” of the preceding line. The image depicts swift and sudden judgment. Before the fire has been adequately kindled and all the meat cooked, the winds of judgment will sweep away everything in their path.

[118:12]  ⁷ tn Heb “were extinguished.”

[118:12]  ⁸ tn The point seems to be that the hostility of the nations (v. 10) is short-lived, like a fire that quickly devours thorns and then burns out. Some, attempting to create a better parallel with the preceding line, emend דֹּעֲכוּ (do’akhu, “they were extinguished”) to בָּעֲרוּ (ba’aru, “they burned”). In this case the statement emphasizes their hostility.

[65:14]  ⁹ tn Heb “from the good of the heart.”

[65:14]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “from the pain of the heart.”

[65:14]  ¹¹ tn Heb “from the breaking of the spirit.”

[65:15]  ¹² tn Heb “you will leave your name for an oath to my chosen ones.”

[8:10]  ¹³ tn Heb “mourning.”

[8:10]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “I will place sackcloth on all waists.”

[8:10]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “and make every head bald.” This could be understood in a variety of ways, while the ritual act of mourning typically involved shaving the head (although occasionally the hair could be torn out as a sign of mourning).

[8:10]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “I will make it like the mourning for an only son.”

[8:10]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “and its end will be like a bitter day.” The Hebrew preposition כְּ (kaf) sometimes carries the force of “in every respect,” indicating identity rather than mere comparison.

[6:25]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “who are filled.” See L&N 23.18 for the translation “well satisfied with food.”

[6:25]  ¹⁹ tc The wording “to you” (ὑμῖν, Jumin) is lacking in several witnesses (א B K L T W Θ Ξ 0147 Ë^1,13 579 700 892 1241 2542 al), though found in most (Ì⁷⁵ A D Q Ψ 33 Ï lat co). The longer reading looks to be a clarifying addition; nevertheless, “to you” is included in the translation because of English requirements.

[6:25]  ²⁰ sn That is, laugh with happiness and joy.

[16:25]  ²¹ tn The Greek term here is τέκνον (teknon), which could be understood as a term of endearment.

[16:25]  ²² tn Or “in terrible pain” (L&N 24.92). Here is the reversal Jesus mentioned in Luke 6:20-26.

[16:2]  ²³ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the result of the reports the man received about his manager.

[16:2]  ²⁴ tn Grk “him”; the referent (the manager) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[16:2]  ²⁵ sn Although phrased as a question, the charges were believed by the owner, as his dismissal of the manager implies.

[16:2]  ²⁶ tn Or “stewardship”; the Greek word οἰκονομία (oikonomia) is cognate with the noun for the manager (οἰκονόμος, oikonomo").

[2:13]  ²⁷ tn Grk “And suddenly.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[2:13]  ²⁸ tn Grk “a multitude of the armies of heaven.”

[2:14]  ²⁹ sn Glory here refers to giving honor to God.

[2:14]  ³⁰ tn This is a generic use of ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpo") referring to both males and females.

[2:14]  ³¹ tc Most witnesses (א² B² L Θ Ξ Ψ Ë^1,13 Ï sy bo) have ἐν ἀνθρώποις εὐδοκία (en anqrwpoi" eudokia, “good will among people”) instead of ἐν ἀνθρώποις εὐδοκίας (en anqrwpoi" eudokia", “among people with whom he is pleased”), a reading attested by א* A B* D W pc (sa). Most of the Itala witnesses and some other versional witnesses reflect a Greek text which has the genitive εὐδοκίας but drops the preposition ἐν. Not only is the genitive reading better attested, but it is more difficult than the nominative. “The meaning seems to be, not that divine peace can be bestowed only where human good will is already present, but that at the birth of the Saviour God’s peace rests on those whom he has chosen in accord with his good pleasure” (TCGNT 111).

[2:15]  ³² tn Grk “And it happened that when.” The introductory phrase ἐγένετο (egeneto, “it happened that”), common in Luke (69 times) and Acts (54 times), is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated. Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[2:15]  ³³ map For location see Map5 B1; Map7 E2; Map8 E2; Map10 B4.

[2:15]  ³⁴ sn Note how although angels delivered the message, it was the Lord whose message is made known, coming through them.

[2:16]  ³⁵ tn Or “a feeding trough.”

[2:17]  ³⁶ tn Grk “And when.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[2:17]  ³⁷ tn The word “him” is not in the Greek text, but is implied. Direct objects were frequently omitted in Greek when clear from the context.

[2:17]  ³⁸ tn Grk “the word which had been spoken to them.”

[1:12]  ³⁹ tn Grk “these are the men who are.”

[1:12]  ⁴⁰ tn Though σπιλάδες (spilades) is frequently translated “blemishes” or “stains,” such is actually a translation of the Greek word σπίλοι (spiloi). The two words are quite similar, especially in their root or lexical forms (σπιλάς [spila"] and σπίλος [spilos] respectively). Some scholars have suggested that σπιλάδες in this context means the same thing as σπίλοι. But such could be the case only by a stretch of the imagination (see BDAG 938 s.v. σπιλάς for discussion). Others suggest that Jude’s spelling was in error (which also is doubtful). One reason for the tension is that in the parallel passage, 2 Pet 2:13, the term used is indeed σπίλος. And if either Jude used 2 Peter or 2 Peter used Jude, one would expect to see the same word. Jude, however, may have changed the wording for the sake of a subtle wordplay. The word σπιλάς was often used of a mere rock, though it normally was associated with a rock along the shore or one jutting out in the water. Thus, the false teachers would appear as “rocks” – as pillars in the community (cf. Matt 16:18; Gal 2:9), when in reality if a believer got too close to them his faith would get shipwrecked. Some suggest that σπιλάδες here means “hidden rocks.” Though this meaning is attested for the word, it is inappropriate in this context, since these false teachers are anything but hidden. They are dangerous because undiscerning folks get close to them, thinking they are rocks and pillars, when they are really dangerous reefs.

[1:12]  ⁴¹ tc Several witnesses (A C^vid 1243 1846 al), influenced by the parallel in 2 Pet 2:13, read ἀπάταις (apatai", “deceptions”) for ἀγάπαις (agapai", “love-feasts”) in v. 12. However, ἀγάπαις has much stronger and earlier support and should therefore be considered original.

[1:12]  ⁴² tn Or “fearlessly.” The term in this context, however, is decidedly negative. The implication is that these false teachers ate the Lord’s Supper without regarding the sanctity of the meal. Cf. 1 Cor 11:17-22.

[1:12]  ⁴³ tn Grk “shepherding themselves.” The verb ποιμαίνω (poimainw) means “shepherd, nurture [the flock].” But these men, rather than tending to the flock of God, nurture only themselves. They thus fall under the condemnation Paul uttered when writing to the Corinthians: “For when it comes time to eat [the Lord’s Supper,] each one goes ahead with his own meal” (1 Cor 11:21). Above all, the love-feast was intended to be a shared meal in which all ate and all felt welcome.

[1:12]  ⁴⁴ tn “They are” is not in Greek, but resumes the thought begun at the front of v. 12. There is no period before “They are.” English usage requires breaking this into more than one sentence.

[1:12]  ⁴⁵ tn Cf. 2 Pet 2:17. Jude’s emphasis is slightly different (instead of waterless springs, they are waterless clouds).

[1:12]  ⁴⁶ sn The imagery portraying the false teachers as autumn trees without fruit has to do with their lack of productivity. Recall the statement to the same effect by Jesus in Matt 7:16-20, in which false prophets will be known by their fruits. Like waterless clouds full of false hope, these trees do not yield any harvest even though it is expected.

[1:12]  ⁴⁷ tn Grk “having died twice.”

[1:13]  ⁴⁸ tn Grk “wild waves of the sea.”

[1:13]  ⁴⁹ tn Grk “foaming, causing to foam.” The verb form is intensive and causative. BDAG 360 s.v. ἐπαφρίζω suggests the meaning “to cause to splash up like froth, cause to foam,” or, in this context, “waves casting up their own shameless deeds like (dirty) foam.”

[1:13]  ⁵⁰ tn Grk “shames, shameful things.” It is uncertain whether shameful deeds or shameful words are in view. Either way, the picture has taken a decided turn: Though waterless clouds and fruitless trees may promise good things, but deliver nothing, wild sea-waves are portents of filth spewed forth from the belly of the sea.

[1:13]  ⁵¹ sn The imagery of a star seems to fit the nautical theme that Jude is developing. Stars were of course the guides to sailors at night, just as teachers are responsible to lead the flock through a benighted world. But false teachers, as wayward stars, are not fixed and hence offer unreliable, even disastrous guidance. They are thus both the dangerous reefs on which the ships could be destroyed and the false guides, leading them into these rocks. There is a special irony that these lights will be snuffed out, reserved for the darkest depths of eternal darkness.

[1:13]  ⁵² tn Grk “utter darkness of darkness for eternity.” See note on the word “utter” in v. 6.