Ecclesiastes 5:18

Enjoy the Fruit of Your Labor

5:18 I have seen personally what is the only beneficial and appropriate course of action for people: ¹ 

to eat and drink, ²  and find enjoyment in all their ³  hard work ⁴  on earth ⁵ 

during the few days of their life which God has given them,

for this is their reward. ⁶ 

Ecclesiastes 8:12

8:12 Even though a sinner might commit a hundred crimes ⁷  and still live a long time, ⁸ 

yet I know that it will go well with God-fearing people ⁹  – for they stand in fear ¹⁰  before him.

Ecclesiastes 8:14

8:14 Here is ¹¹  another ¹²  enigma ¹³  that occurs on earth:

Sometimes there are righteous people who get what the wicked deserve, ¹⁴ 

and sometimes there are wicked people who get what the righteous deserve. ¹⁵ 

I said, “This also is an enigma.”

Ecclesiastes 9:9

9:9 Enjoy ¹⁶  life with your beloved wife ¹⁷  during all the days of your fleeting ¹⁸  life

that God ¹⁹  has given you on earth ²⁰  during all your fleeting days; ²¹ 

for that is your reward in life and in your burdensome work ²²  on earth. ²³ 

[5:18]  ¹ tn Heb “Behold, that which I have seen, I, good which is beautiful.” The phrase “for people” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity.

[5:18]  ² sn The phrase “to eat and to drink” is a common idiom in Ecclesiastes for a person enjoying the fruit of his labor (e.g., 2:24; 3:13).

[5:18]  ³ tn Heb “his,” and three times later in the verse.

[5:18]  ⁴ tn Heb “the toil which one toils.”

[5:18]  ⁵ tn Heb “under the sun.”

[5:18]  ⁶ tn The term חֵלֶק (kheleq, “lot”) has a wide range of meanings: (1) “share of spoils” (Gen 14:24; Num 31:36; 1 Sam 30:24), (2) “portion of food” (Lev 6:10; Deut 18:8; Hab 1:16), (3) “portion [or tract] of land” (Deut 10:9; 12:12; Josh 19:9), (4) “portion” or “possession” (Num 18:20; Deut 32:9), (5) “inheritance” (2 Kgs 9:10; Amos 7:4), (6) “portion” or “award” (Job 20:29; 27:13; 31:2; Isa 17:14) or “profit; reward” (Eccl 2:10, 21; 3:22; 5:17-18; 9:6, 9); see HALOT 323 s.v. II חֵלֶק; BDB 324 s.v. חֵלֶק. Throughout Ecclesiastes, the term is used in reference to man’s temporal profit from his labor and his reward from God (e.g., Eccl 3:22; 9:9).

[8:12]  ⁷ tn Heb “does evil one hundred [times].”

[8:12]  ⁸ tn Heb “and prolongs his [life].”

[8:12]  ⁹ tn Heb “those who fear God.”

[8:12]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “they fear.”

[8:14]  ¹³ tn Heb “there is.” The term יֶשׁ (yesh, “there is”) is often used in aphorisms to assert the existence of a particular situation that occurs sometimes. It may indicate that the situation is not the rule but that it does occur on occasion, and may be nuanced “sometimes” (Prov 11:24; 13:7, 23; 14:12; 16:25; 18:24; 20:15; Eccl 2:21; 4:8; 5:12; 6:1; 7:15 [2x]; 8:14 [3x]).

[8:14]  ¹⁴ tn The word “another” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity and smoothness.

[8:14]  ¹⁵ tn Or “vanity” (again at the end of this verse). The Hebrew term הֶבֶל (hevel) here denotes “enigma,” that is, something that is difficult to understand. This sense is derived from the literal referent of breath, vapor or wind that cannot be seen; thus, “obscure; dark; difficult to understand; enigmatic” (see HALOT 236–37 s.v. I הֶבֶל; BDB 210–11 s.v. I הֶבֶל). It is used in this sense in reference to enigmas in life (6:2; 8:10, 14) and the future which is obscure (11:8, 10).

[8:14]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “to whom it happens according to the deeds of the wicked”; or “who are punished for the deeds of the wicked.”

[8:14]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “to whom it happens according to the deeds of the righteous”; or “who are rewarded for the deeds of the righteous.”

[9:9]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “see.”

[9:9]  ²⁰ tn Heb “the wife whom you love.”

[9:9]  ²¹ 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]  ²² tn Heb “he”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[9:9]  ²³ tn Heb “under the sun”

[9:9]  ²⁴ 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]  ²⁵ tn Heb “in your toil in which you toil.”

[9:9]  ²⁶ tn Heb “under the sun.”