Ecclesiastes 4:6

4:6 Better is one handful with some rest

than two hands full of toil ¹  and chasing the wind.

Ecclesiastes 4:8

4:8 A man who is all alone with no companion, ² 

he has no children nor siblings; ³ 

yet there is no end to all his toil,

and he ⁴  is never satisfied with riches.

He laments, ⁵  “For whom am I toiling and depriving myself ⁶  of pleasure?” ⁷ 

This also is futile and a burdensome task! ⁸ 

Psalms 127:2

127:2 It is vain for you to rise early, come home late,

and work so hard for your food. ⁹ 

Yes, ¹⁰  he can provide for those whom he loves even when they sleep. ¹¹ 

Matthew 6:11

6:11 Give us today our daily bread, ¹² 

Matthew 6:25

Do Not Worry

6:25 “Therefore I tell you, do not worry ¹³  about your life, what you will eat or drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Isn’t there more to life than food and more to the body than clothing?

Matthew 6:34

6:34 So then, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Today has enough trouble of its own. ¹⁴ 

Matthew 16:26

16:26 For what does it benefit a person ¹⁵  if he gains the whole world but forfeits his life? Or what can a person give in exchange for his life?

Luke 12:22

Exhortation Not to Worry

12:22 Then ¹⁶  Jesus ¹⁷  said to his ¹⁸  disciples, “Therefore I tell you, do not worry ¹⁹  about your ²⁰  life, what you will eat, or about your ²¹  body, what you will wear.

Luke 12:29

12:29 So ²²  do not be overly concerned about ²³  what you will eat and what you will drink, and do not worry about such things. ²⁴ 

Philippians 4:6

4:6 Do not be anxious about anything. Instead, in every situation, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, tell your requests to God.

Philippians 4:1

Christian Practices

4:1 So then, my brothers and sisters, ²⁵  dear friends whom I long to see, my joy and crown, stand in the Lord in this way, my dear friends!

Philippians 1:7

1:7 For ²⁶  it is right for me to think this about all of you, because I have you in my heart, ²⁷  since both in my imprisonment ²⁸  and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel all of you became partners in God’s grace ²⁹  together with me.

[4:6]  ¹ sn Qoheleth lists three approaches to labor: (1) the competitive workaholic in 4:4, (2) the impoverished sluggard in 4:5, and (3) the contented laborer in 4:6. The balanced approach rebukes the two extremes.

[4:8]  ² tn Heb “There is one and there is not a second.”

[4:8]  ³ tn Heb “son nor brother.” The terms “son” and “brother” are examples of synecdoche of specific (species) for the general (genus). The term “son” is put for offspring, and “brother” for siblings (e.g., Prov 10:1).

[4:8]  ⁴ tn Heb “his eye.” The term “eye” is a synecdoche of part (i.e., the eye) for the whole (i.e., the whole person); see E. W. Bullinger, Figures of Speech, 647.

[4:8]  ⁵ tn The phrase “he laments” is not in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity. The direct discourse (“For whom am I toiling and depriving myself of pleasure?”) is not introduced with an introductory structure. As in the LXX, some translations suggest that these words are spoken by a lonely workaholic, e.g., “He says…” (NAB, NEB, ASV, NIV, NRSV). Others suggest that this is a question that he never asks himself, e.g., “Yet he never asks himself…” (KJV, RSV, MLB, YLT, Douay, NASB, Moffatt).

[4:8]  ⁶ tn Heb “my soul.”

[4:8]  ⁷ tn This rhetorical question is an example of negative affirmation, that is, it expects a negative answer: “No one!” (see E. W. Bullinger, Figures of Speech, 949-51).

[4:8]  ⁸ tn The adjective רָע (ra’, “evil”) here means “misfortune” (HALOT 1263 s.v. רָעָה 4) or “injustice, wrong” (HALOT 1262 s.v. רָעָה 2.b). The phrase עִנְיַן רָע (’inyan ra’, “unhappy business; rotten business; grievous task”) is used only in Ecclesiastes (1:13; 2:23, 26; 3:10; 4:8; 5:2, 13; 8:16). It is parallel with הֶבֶל (hevel, “futile”) in 4:8, and describes a “grave misfortune” in 5:13. The noun עִנְיַן (’inyan, “business”) refers to something that keeps a person occupied or busy: “business; affair; task; occupation” (HALOT 857 s.v. עִנְיָן; BDB 775 s.v. עִנְיָן). The related verb עָנָה (’anah) means “to be occupied; to be busy with (בְּ, bet),” e.g., Eccl 1:13; 3:10; 5:19 (HALOT 854 s.v. III עָנָה; BDB 775 s.v. II עָנָה). The noun is from the Aramaic loanword עִנְיָנָא (’inyana’, “concern; care.” The verb is related to the Aramaic verb “to try hard,” the Arabic verb “to be busily occupied; to worry; to be a matter of concern,” and the Old South Arabic root “to be troubled; to strive with” (HALOT 854 s.v. III ענה). HALOT 857 s.v. עִנְיָן renders the phrase as “unhappy business” here. The phrase עִנְיַן רָע, is treated creatively by English versions: KJV, ASV “sore travail”; YLT “sad travail”; Douay “grievous vexation”; RSV, NRSV, NJPS “unhappy business”; NEB, Moffatt “sorry business”; NIV “miserable business”; NAB “worthless task”; NASB “grievous task”; MLB “sorry situation”; NLT “depressing.”

[127:2]  ⁹ tn Heb “[it is] vain for you, you who are early to rise, who delay sitting, who eat the food of hard work.” The three substantival participles are parallel and stand in apposition to the pronominal suffix on the preposition. See לָכֶם (lakhem, “for you”).

[127:2]  ¹⁰ tn Here the Hebrew particle כֵּן (ken) is used to stress the following affirmation (see Josh 2:4; Ps 63:2).

[127:2]  ¹¹ tn Heb “he gives to his beloved, sleep.” The translation assumes that the Hebrew term שֵׁנָא (shena’, “sleep,” an alternate form of שֵׁנָה, shenah) is an adverbial accusative. The point seems to be this: Hard work by itself is not what counts, but one’s relationship to God, for God is able to bless an individual even while he sleeps. (There may even be a subtle allusion to the miracle of conception following sexual intercourse; see the reference to the gift of sons in the following verse.) The statement is not advocating laziness, but utilizing hyperbole to give perspective and to remind the addressees that God must be one’s first priority. Another option is to take “sleep” as the direct object: “yes, he gives sleep to his beloved” (cf. NIV, NRSV). In this case the point is this: Hard work by itself is futile, for only God is able to bless one with sleep, which metonymically refers to having one’s needs met. He blesses on the basis of one’s relationship to him, not on the basis of physical energy expended.

[6:11]  ¹² tn Or “Give us bread today for the coming day,” or “Give us today the bread we need for today.” The term ἐπιούσιος (epiousio") does not occur outside of early Christian literature (other occurrences are in Luke 11:3 and Didache 8:2), so its meaning is difficult to determine. Various suggestions include “daily,” “the coming day,” and “for existence.” See BDAG 376-77 s.v.; L&N 67:183, 206.

[6:25]  ¹³ tn Or “do not be anxious,” and so throughout the rest of this paragraph.

[6:34]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “Sufficient for the day is its evil.”

[16:26]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “a man,” but ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpo") is used in a generic sense here to refer to both men and women.

[12:22]  ¹⁶ tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative. Jesus’ remarks to the disciples are an application of the point made in the previous parable.

[12:22]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[12:22]  ¹⁸ tc αὐτοῦ (autou, “his”) is lacking in Ì^45vid,75 B 1241 c e. Although the addition of clarifying pronouns is a known scribal alteration, in this case it is probably better to view the dropping of the pronoun as the alteration in light of its minimal attestation.

[12:22]  ¹⁹ tn Or “do not be anxious.”

[12:22]  ²⁰ tc Most mss (Ì⁴⁵ Ψ 070 ˹³ 33 Ï) supply the pronoun ὑμῶν (Jumwn, “your”) here, although several important and early witnesses omit it (Ì⁷⁵ א A B D L Q W Θ Ë¹ 700 2542 al lat). Externally, the shorter reading is superior. Internally, the pronoun looks to be a scribal clarification. In context the article can be translated as a possessive pronoun anyway (ExSyn 215), as it has been done for this translation.

[12:22]  ²¹ tc Some mss (B 070 ˹³ 33 1424 al) supply the pronoun ὑμῶν (Jumwn, “your”) here, although the witnesses for the omission are early, important, and varied (Ì^45vid,75 א A D L Q W Θ Ψ Ë¹ Ï lat). See previous tc note for more discussion.

[12:29]  ²² tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate a conclusion drawn from the previous illustrations.

[12:29]  ²³ tn Grk “do not seek,” but this could be misunderstood to mean that people should make no attempt to obtain their food. The translation “do not be overly concerned” attempts to reflect the force of the original.

[12:29]  ²⁴ tn The words “about such things” have been supplied to qualify the meaning; the phrase relates to obtaining food and drink mentioned in the previous clause.

[4:1]  ²⁵ tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:12.

[1:7]  ²⁶ tn Grk “Just as.” The sense here is probably, “So I give thanks (v. 3) just as it is right for me…”

[1:7]  ²⁷ tn Or possibly “because you have me in your heart.”

[1:7]  ²⁸ tn Grk “in my bonds.” The meaning “imprisonment” derives from a figurative extension of the literal meaning (“bonds,” “fetters,” “chains”), L&N 37.115.

[1:7]  ²⁹ tn The word “God’s” is supplied from the context (v. 2) to clarify the meaning.