Ecclesiastes 5:10

Covetousness

5:10 The one who loves money ¹  will never be satisfied with money, ² 

he who loves wealth ³  will never be satisfied ⁴  with his ⁵  income.

This also is futile.

Ecclesiastes 3:8

3:8 A time to love, and a time to hate;

a time for war, and a time for peace.

Ecclesiastes 9:9

9:9 Enjoy ⁶  life with your beloved wife ⁷  during all the days of your fleeting ⁸  life

that God ⁹  has given you on earth ¹⁰  during all your fleeting days; ¹¹ 

for that is your reward in life and in your burdensome work ¹²  on earth. ¹³ 

[5:10]  ¹ tn Heb “silver.” The Hebrew term כֶּסֶף (kesef, “silver”) refers to “money” (HALOT 490–91 s.v. כֶּסֶף 3). It is a synecdoche of specific (i.e., silver) for the general (i.e., money); see E. W. Bullinger, Figures of Speech, 625-29.

[5:10]  ² sn The Hebrew term “silver” (translated “money”) is repeated twice in this line for rhetorical emphasis.

[5:10]  ³ tn The term הָמוֹן (hamon, “abundance; wealth”) has a wide range of meanings: (1) agitation; (2) turmoil; (3) noise; (4) pomp; (5) multitude; crowd = noisy crowd; and (6) abundance; wealth (HALOT 250 s.v. הָמוֹן 1–6). Here, it refers to abundant wealth (related to “pomp”); cf. HALOT 250 s.v. הָמוֹן 6, that is, lavish abundant wealth (Ezek 29:19; 30:4; 1 Chr 29:16).

[5:10]  ⁴ tn The phrase “will never be satisfied” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity. Note the previous line.

[5:10]  ⁵ tn The word “his” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity.

[9:9]  ⁶ tn Heb “see.”

[9:9]  ⁷ tn Heb “the wife whom you love.”

[9:9]  ⁸ tn As discussed in the note on the word “futile” in 1:2, the term הֶבֶל (hevel) has a wide range of meanings, and should not be translated the same in every place (see HALOT 236–37 s.v. I הֶבֶל; BDB 210–11 s.v. I הבֶל). The term is used in two basic ways in OT, literally and figuratively. The literal, concrete sense is used in reference to the wind, man’s transitory breath, evanescent vapor (Isa 57:13; Pss 62:10; 144:4; Prov 21:6; Job 7:16). In this sense, it is often a synonym for “breath; wind” (Eccl 1:14; Isa 57:13; Jer 10:14). The literal sense lent itself to the metaphorical sense. Because breath/vapor/wind is transitory and fleeting, the figurative connotation “fleeting; transitory” arose (e.g., Prov 31:30; Eccl 6:12; 7:15; 9:9; 11:10; Job 7:16). In this sense, it is parallel to “few days” and “[days] which he passes like a shadow” (Eccl 6:12). It is used in reference to youth and vigor (11:10) or life (6:12; 7:15; 9:9) which are “transitory” or “fleeting.” In this context, the most appropriate meaning is “fleeting.”

[9:9]  ⁹ tn Heb “he”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[9:9]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “under the sun”

[9:9]  ¹¹ tc The phrase כָּל יְמֵי הֶבְלֶךָ (kol yÿme hevlekha, “all your fleeting days”) is present in the MT, but absent in the Greek versions, other medieval Hebrew mss, and the Targum. Its appearance in the MT may be due to dittography (repetition: the scribe wrote twice what should have been written once) from כָּל יְמֵי חַיֵּי הֶבְלֶךָ (kol yÿme khayye hevlekha, “all the days of your fleeting life”) which appears in the preceding line. On the other hand, its omission in the alternate textual tradition may be due to haplography (accidental omission of repeated words) with the earlier line.

[9:9]  ¹² tn Heb “in your toil in which you toil.”

[9:9]  ¹³ tn Heb “under the sun.”