Ecclesiastes 5:12

5:12 The sleep of the laborer is pleasant – whether he eats little or much –

but the wealth of the rich will not allow him to sleep.

Ecclesiastes 8:16

Limitations of Human Wisdom

8:16 When I tried ¹  to gain ²  wisdom

and to observe the activity ³  on earth –

even though it prevents anyone from sleeping day or night ⁴  –

Ecclesiastes 4:11

4:11 Furthermore, if two lie down together, they can keep each other warm,

but how can one person keep warm by himself?

Ecclesiastes 10:20

10:20 Do not curse a king even in your thoughts,

and do not curse the rich ⁵  while in your bedroom; ⁶ 

for a bird ⁷  might report what you are thinking, ⁸ 

or some winged creature ⁹  might repeat your ¹⁰  words. ¹¹ 

[8:16]  ¹ tn Heb “I applied my heart.”

[8:16]  ² tn Heb “to know.”

[8:16]  ³ tn Heb “and to see the business which is done.”

[8:16]  ⁴ tn Heb “for no one sees sleep with their eyes either day or night.” The construction גַם …כִּי (ki… gam) expresses a concessive sense: “even though” (e.g., Ps 23:4; Prov 22:6; Eccl 4:14; Isa 1:15; Lam 3:8; Hos 8:10; 9:16); cf. HALOT 196 s.v. גַּם 9; BDB 169 s.v. גַּם 6; 473 s.v. כִּי 2.c.

[10:20]  ¹ tn Perhaps the referent is people who are in authority because of their wealth.

[10:20]  ² tn Heb “in chambers of your bedroom.”

[10:20]  ³ tn Heb “a bird of the air.”

[10:20]  ⁴ tn Heb “might carry the voice.” The article is used here with the force of a possessive pronoun.

[10:20]  ⁵ tn The Hebrew phrase בַּעַל הַכְּנָפַיִם (ba’al hakkÿnafayim, “possessor of wings”) is an idiom for a winged creature, that is, a bird (e.g., Prov 1:17; see HALOT 143 s.v. בַּעַל A.6; BDB 127 s.v. בַּעַל 5.a). The term בַּעַל (“master; possessor”) is the construct governing the attributive genitive הַכְּנָפַיִם (“wings”); see IBHS 149-51 §9.5.3b.

[10:20]  ⁶ tn The term “your” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for smoothness.

[10:20]  ⁷ tn Heb “tell the matter.”