Ecclesiastes 7:18

7:18 It is best to take hold of one warning ¹  without letting go of the other warning; ² 

for the one who fears God will follow ³  both warnings. ⁴ 

Ecclesiastes 8:12

8:12 Even though a sinner might commit a hundred crimes ⁵  and still live a long time, ⁶ 

yet I know that it will go well with God-fearing people ⁷  – for they stand in fear ⁸  before him.

Ecclesiastes 12:13

12:13 Having heard everything, I have reached this conclusion: ⁹ 

Fear God and keep his commandments,

because this is the whole duty ¹⁰  of man.

Proverbs 23:17

23:17 Do not let your heart envy ¹¹  sinners,

but rather be zealous in fearing the Lord ¹²  all the time.

Isaiah 50:10-11

50:10 Who among you fears the Lord?

Who obeys ¹³  his servant?

Whoever walks in deep darkness, ¹⁴ 

without light,

should trust in the name of the Lord

and rely on his God.

50:11 Look, all of you who start a fire

and who equip yourselves with ¹⁵  flaming arrows, ¹⁶ 

walk ¹⁷  in the light ¹⁸  of the fire you started

and among the flaming arrows you ignited! ¹⁹ 

This is what you will receive from me: ²⁰ 

you will lie down in a place of pain. ²¹ 

[7:18]  ¹ tn The word “warning” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation two times in this line for clarity.

[7:18]  ² sn The other warning. Qoheleth is referring to the two words of advice in 7:16-17. He is not, as some suggest, urging his readers to grasp righteousness without letting go of wickedness. His point is not that people should live their lives with a balance of modest righteousness and modest wickedness. Because he urges the fear of God in 7:18b, he cannot be inconsistent in suggesting that his readers offend the fear of God by indulging in some degree of sin in order to counterbalance an overly righteous life. Rather, the proper fear of God will prevent a person from trusting in righteousness and wisdom alone for his security, and it will also prevent indulgence in wickedness and folly.

[7:18]  ³ tn Or “will escape both”; or “will go forth in both.” The Hebrew phrase יֵצֵא אֶת־כֻּלָּם (yetse’ ’et-kullam, “he will follow both of them”) has been interpreted in several ways: (1) To adopt a balanced lifestyle that is moderately righteous while allowing for self-indulgence in moderate wickedness (“to follow both of them,” that is, to follow both righteousness and wickedness). However, this seems to unnecessarily encourage an antinomian rationalization of sin and moral compromise. (2) To avoid the two extremes of being over-righteous and over-wicked. This takes יֵצֵא in the sense of “to escape,” e.g., Gen 39:12, 15; 1 Sam 14:14; Jer 11:11; 48:9; cf. HALOT 426 s.v. יצא 6.c; BDB 423 s.v. יָצָא 1.d. (3) To follow both of the warnings given in 7:16-17. This approach finds parallels in postbiblical rabbinic literature denoting the action of discharging one’s duty of obedience and complying with instruction. In postbiblical rabbinic literature the phrase יַדֵי יֵצֵא (yetse’ yade, “to go out of the hands”) is an idiom meaning “to comply with the requirements of the law” (Jastrow 587 s.v. יָצָא Hif.5.a). This fits nicely with the context of 7:16-17 in which Qoheleth issued two warnings. In 7:18a Qoheleth exhorted his readers to follow both of his warnings: “It is best to grasp the first warning without letting go of the second warning.” The person who fears God will heed both warnings. He will not depend upon his own righteousness and wisdom, but upon God’s sovereign bestowal of blessings. Likewise, he will not exploit the exceptions to the doctrine of retribution to indulge in sin, rationalizing sin away just because the wicked sometimes do not get what they deserve.

[7:18]  ⁴ tn Heb “both.” The term “warnings” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity. Alternately, “both [extremes]” or “both [fates].” The point of this expression is either (1) “ he achieves both things,” (2) “he escapes all these misfortunes,” (3) “he does his duty by both,” or (4) “he avoids both extremes.” See D. Barthélemy, ed., Preliminary and Interim Report on the Hebrew Old Testament Text Project, 3:580–81.

[8:12]  ⁵ tn Heb “does evil one hundred [times].”

[8:12]  ⁶ tn Heb “and prolongs his [life].”

[8:12]  ⁷ tn Heb “those who fear God.”

[8:12]  ⁸ tn Heb “they fear.”

[12:13]  ⁹ tn Heb “The end of the matter, everything having been heard.”

[12:13]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “This is all men”; or “This is the whole of man.” The phrase זֶה כָּל־הָאָדָם (zeh kol-ha’adam, “this is all men”) features rhetorical elision of a key word. The ambiguity over the elided word has led to no less than five basic approaches: (1) “this is the whole duty of man” (KJV, ASV, RSV, NAB, NIV); (2) “this is the duty of all men” (MLB, ASV margin, RSV margin); (3) “this applies to all men” (NASB, NJPS); (4) “this is the whole duty of all men” (NRSV, Moffatt); and (5) “there is no more to man than this” (NEB). The four-fold repetition of כֹּל (kol, “all”) in 12:13-14 suggests that Qoheleth is emphasizing the “bottom line,” that is, the basic duty of man is simply to fear and obey God: After “all” (כֹּל) has been heard in the book, his conclusion is that the “whole” (כֹּל) duty of man is to obey God because God will bring “all” (כֹּל) acts into judgment, including “all” (כֹּל) that is hidden, whether good or bad. See D. Barthélemy, ed., Preliminary and Interim Report on the Hebrew Old Testament Text Project, 3:596.

[23:17]  ¹¹ tn The verb in this line is אַל־יְקַנֵּא (’al-yÿqanne’), the Piel jussive negated. The verb means “to be jealous, to be zealous”; it describes passionate intensity for something. In English, if the object is illegitimate, it is called “envy”; if it is correct, it is called “zeal.” Here the warning is not to envy the sinners. The second colon could use the verb in the positive sense to mean “but rather let your passion burn for the fear of the Lord.”

[23:17]  ¹² tn Heb “the fear of the Lord.” This expression features an objective genitive: “fearing the Lord.”

[50:10]  ¹³ tn Heb “[who] listens to the voice of his servant?” The interrogative is understood by ellipsis (note the preceding line).

[50:10]  ¹⁴ tn The plural indicates degree. Darkness may refer to exile and/or moral evil.

[50:11]  ¹⁵ tc Several more recent commentators have proposed an emendation of מְאַזְּרֵי (mÿ’azzÿre, “who put on”) to מְאִירִי (mÿ’iri, “who light”). However, both Qumran scrolls of Isaiah and the Vulgate support the MT reading (cf. NIV, ESV).

[50:11]  ¹⁶ tn On the meaning of זִיקוֹת (ziqot, “flaming arrows”), see HALOT 268 s.v. זִיקוֹת.

[50:11]  ¹⁷ tn The imperative is probably rhetorical and has a predictive force.

[50:11]  ¹⁸ tn Or perhaps, “flame” (so ASV).

[50:11]  ¹⁹ sn Perhaps the servant here speaks to his enemies and warns them that they will self-destruct.

[50:11]  ²⁰ tn Heb “from my hand” (so NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV).

[50:11]  ²¹ sn The imagery may be that of a person who becomes ill and is forced to lie down in pain on a sickbed. Some see this as an allusion to a fiery place of damnation because of the imagery employed earlier in the verse.