Ecclesiastes 7:21-22

7:21 Also, do not pay attention to everything that people ¹  say;

otherwise, ²  you might even hear ³  your servant cursing you.

7:22 For you know in your own heart ⁴ 

that you also have cursed others many times.

Luke 19:40

19:40 He answered, ⁵  “I tell you, if they ⁶  keep silent, the very stones ⁷  will cry out!”

[7:21]  ¹ tn Heb “they”; the referent (people) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[7:21]  ² tn Heb “so that you do not hear…”; or “lest you hear….”

[7:21]  ³ tn The imperfect tense verb תִשְׁמַע (tishma’; from שָׁמַע [shama’, “to hear”]) functions in a modal sense, denoting possibility: “you might hear” (see IBHS 508 §31.4e).

[7:22]  ⁴ tn Heb “your heart knows.”

[19:40]  ⁵ tn Grk “and answering, he said.” This has been simplified in the translation to “He answered.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[19:40]  ⁶ tn Grk “these.”

[19:40]  ⁷ sn This statement amounts to a rebuke. The idiom of creation speaking means that even creation knows what is taking place, yet the Pharisees miss it. On this idiom, see Gen 4:10 and Hab 2:11.