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 8:14

8:14 Here is ⁷  another ⁸  enigma ⁹  that occurs on earth:

Sometimes there are righteous people who get what the wicked deserve, ¹⁰ 

and sometimes there are wicked people who get what the righteous deserve. ¹¹ 

I said, “This also is an enigma.”

[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).

[8:14]  ⁷ 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]  ⁸ tn The word “another” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity and smoothness.

[8:14]  ⁹ 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]  ¹⁰ 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]  ¹¹ tn Heb “to whom it happens according to the deeds of the righteous”; or “who are rewarded for the deeds of the righteous.”