Ecclesiastes 3:13

3:13 and also that everyone should eat and drink, and find enjoyment in all his toil,

for these things ¹  are a gift from God.

Ecclesiastes 5:19

5:19 To every man whom God has given wealth, and possessions,

he has also given him the ability ² 

to eat from them, to receive his reward and to find enjoyment in his toil;

these things ³  are the gift of God.

Ecclesiastes 6:2

6:2 God gives a man riches, property, and wealth

so that he lacks nothing that his heart ⁴  desires, ⁵ 

yet God does not enable ⁶  him to enjoy ⁷  the fruit of his labor ⁸  –

instead, someone else ⁹  enjoys ¹⁰  it! ¹¹ 

This is fruitless and a grave misfortune. ¹² 

Malachi 2:2

2:2 If you do not listen and take seriously ¹³  the need to honor my name,” says the Lord who rules over all, “I will send judgment ¹⁴  on you and turn your blessings into curses – indeed, I have already done so because you are not taking it to heart.

Luke 12:19-20

12:19 And I will say to myself, ¹⁵  “You have plenty of goods stored up for many years; relax, eat, drink, celebrate!”’ 12:20 But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life ¹⁶  will be demanded back from ¹⁷  you, but who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’ ¹⁸ 

[3:13]  ¹ tn Heb “for it.” The referent of the 3rd person feminine singular independent person pronoun (“it”) is probably the preceding statement: “to eat, drink, and find satisfaction.” This would be an example of an anacoluthon (GKC 505-6 §167.b). Thus the present translation uses “these things” to indicate the reference back to the preceding.

[5:19]  ² tn The syntax of this verse is difficult. The best approach is to view הִשְׁלִיטוֹ (hishlito, “he has given him the ability”) as governing the three following infinitives: לֶאֱכֹל (le’ekhol, “to eat”), וְלָשֵׂאת (vÿlase’t, “and to lift” = “to accept [or receive]”), and וְלִשְׂמֹחַ (vÿlismoakh, “and to rejoice”). This statement parallels 2:24-26 which states that no one can find enjoyment in life unless God gives him the ability to do so.

[5:19]  ³ tn Heb “this.” The feminine singular demonstrative pronoun זֹה (zoh, “this”) refers back to all that preceded it in the verse (e.g., GKC 440-41 §135.p), that is, the ability to enjoy the fruit of one’s labor is the gift of God (e.g., Eccl 2:24-26). The phrase “these things” is used in the translation for clarity.

[6:2]  ⁴ tn Heb “his appetite.”

[6:2]  ⁵ tn Heb “There is no lack in respect to his appetite”; or “his desire lacks nothing.”

[6:2]  ⁶ tn The verb שָׁלַט (shalat) in the Qal stem means “to domineer; to dominate; to lord it over; to be master of” and in the Hiphil stem “to give power to” (BDB 1020 s.v. שָׁלַט) and “to grant” (HALOT 1522 s.v. שׁלט). God must grant a person the ability to enjoy the fruit of his labor, otherwise a person will not be able to enjoy his possessions and wealth. The ability to partake of the fruit of one’s labor and to find satisfaction and joy in it is a gift from God (e.g., Eccl 2:24-26; 3:13; 5:18 [19]; 9:7).

[6:2]  ⁷ tn Heb “to eat of it.” The verb אָכַל (’akhal, “to eat”) functions as a metonymy of association, that is, the action of eating is associated with the enjoyment of the fruit of one’s labor (e.g., Eccl 2:24-26; 3:12-13, 22; 5:17-19; 8:15; 9:9).

[6:2]  ⁸ tn The phrase “the fruit of his labor” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity.

[6:2]  ⁹ tn Heb “a stranger.” The Hebrew expression אִיש נָכְרִי (’ish nokhri, “stranger”) sometimes refers not to a foreigner or someone that the person does not know, but simply to someone else other than the subject (e.g., Prov 27:2). In the light of 6:3-6, it might even refer to the man’s own heirs. The term is used as a synecdoche of species (foreigner for stranger) in the sense of someone else other than the subject: “someone else” (BDB 649 s.v. נָכְרִי 3).

[6:2]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “eats.”

[6:2]  ¹¹ sn Instead, someone else enjoys it. A person may be unable to enjoy the fruit of his/her labor due to an unfortunate turn of events that robs a person of his possessions (5:13-14) or a miserly, lifelong hoarding of one’s wealth that robs him of the ability to enjoy what he has worked so hard to acquire (5:15-17). Qoheleth recommends the enjoyment of life and the fruit of one’s labor, as God enables (5:18-20). Unfortunately, the ability to enjoy the fruits of one’s labor is often thwarted by the obstacles described in 6:1-2 and 6:3-9.

[6:2]  ¹² tn Heb “an evil sickness.”

[2:2]  ¹³ tn Heb “and if you do not place upon [the] heart”; KJV, NAB, NRSV “lay it to heart.”

[2:2]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “the curse” (so NASB, NRSV); NLT “a terrible curse.”

[12:19]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “to my soul,” which is repeated as a vocative in the following statement, but is left untranslated as redundant.

[12:20]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “your soul,” but ψυχή (yuch) is frequently used of one’s physical life. It clearly has that meaning in this context.

[12:20]  ¹⁷ tn Or “required back.” This term, ἀπαιτέω (apaitew), has an economic feel to it and is often used of a debt being called in for repayment (BDAG 96 s.v. 1).

[12:20]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “the things you have prepared, whose will they be?” The words “for yourself” are not in the Greek text, but are implied.