Ecclesiastes 8:15

Enjoy Life In Spite of Its Injustices

8:15 So I recommend the enjoyment of life, ¹ 

for there is nothing better on earth ²  for a person to do ³  except ⁴  to eat, drink, and enjoy ⁵  life. ⁶ 

So ⁷  joy ⁸  will accompany him in his toil

during the days of his life which God gives him on earth. ⁹ 

Ecclesiastes 11:9

Enjoy Life to the Fullest under the Fear of God

11:9 Rejoice, young man, while you are young, ¹⁰ 

and let your heart cheer you in the days of your youth.

Follow the impulses ¹¹  of your heart and the desires ¹²  of your eyes,

but know that God will judge your motives and actions. ¹³ 

Isaiah 50:5

50:5 The sovereign Lord has spoken to me clearly; ¹⁴ 

I have not rebelled,

I have not turned back.

Isaiah 50:11

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 

Luke 16:19

The Rich Man and Lazarus

16:19 “There was a rich man who dressed in purple ²²  and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously ²³  every day.

Luke 16:23

16:23 And in hell, ²⁴  as he was in torment, ²⁵  he looked up ²⁶  and saw Abraham far off with Lazarus at his side. ²⁷ 

James 5:5

5:5 You have lived indulgently and luxuriously on the earth. You have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter. ²⁸ 

Titus 3:3

3:3 For we too were once foolish, disobedient, misled, enslaved to various passions and desires, spending our lives in evil and envy, hateful and hating one another.

Revelation 18:7-8

18:7 As much as ²⁹  she exalted herself and lived in sensual luxury, ³⁰  to this extent give her torment and grief because she said to herself, ³¹  ‘I rule as queen and am no widow; I will never experience grief!’ 18:8 For this reason, she will experience her plagues ³²  in a single day: disease, ³³  mourning, ³⁴  and famine, and she will be burned down ³⁵  with fire, because the Lord God who judges her is powerful!”

[8:15]  ¹ tn Heb “the enjoyment.” The phrase “of life” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity.

[8:15]  ² tn Heb “under the sun.”

[8:15]  ³ tn The phrase “to do” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for smoothness.

[8:15]  ⁴ tn The construction אִם…כִּי (ki…’im) is used as a particle of exception to limit the preceding clause (“except; nothing but”). See, e.g., Gen 28:17; 39:9; Lev 21:2; Num 14:30; Deut 10:12; 1 Sam 30:22; 2 Kgs 4:2; 5:15; 2 Chr 21:17; Esth 2:15; 5:12; Eccl 3:12; Isa 42:19; Dan 10:21; Mic 6:8 (cf. HALOT 471 s.v. אִם כִּי B.2; BDB 474 s.v. אִם כִּי 2.a).

[8:15]  ⁵ sn Except to eat, drink, and enjoy life. Qoheleth is not commending a self-indulgent lifestyle of Epicurean hedonism. Nor is he lamenting the absolute futility of life and the lack of eternal retribution. He is submitting to the reality that in a sin-cursed world there is much of human existence marked by relative futility. Since the righteous man cannot assume that he will automatically experience temporal prosperity and blessings on this earth, he should – at the very least – enjoy each day to its fullest as a gift from God. D. R. Glenn (“Ecclesiastes,” BKCOT, 997) notes, “Each day’s joys should be received as gifts from God’s hands and be savored as God permits (3:13; 5:19).”

[8:15]  ⁶ tn The term “life” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity and smoothness.

[8:15]  ⁷ tn The vav introduces a logical conclusion.

[8:15]  ⁸ tn Heb “it”; the referent (enjoyment of life) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[8:15]  ⁹ tn Heb “under the sun.”

[11:9]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “in your youth”; or “in your childhood.”

[11:9]  ¹¹ tn Heb “walk in the ways of your heart.”

[11:9]  ¹² tn Heb “the sight.”

[11:9]  ¹³ tn Heb “and know that concerning all these God will bring you into judgment.” The point is not that following one’s impulses and desires is inherently bad and will bring condemnation from God. Rather the point seems to be: As you follow your impulses and desires, realize that all you think and do will eventually be evaluated by God. So one must seek joy within the boundaries of God’s moral standards.

[50:5]  ¹⁴ tn Or perhaps, “makes me obedient.” The text reads literally, “has opened for me an ear.”

[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.

[16:19]  ²² sn Purple describes a fine, expensive dye used on luxurious clothing, and by metonymy, refers to clothing colored with that dye. It pictures someone of great wealth.

[16:19]  ²³ tn Or “celebrated with ostentation” (L&N 88.255), that is, with showing off. Here was the original conspicuous consumer.

[16:23]  ²⁴ sn The Greek term Hades stands for the Hebrew concept of Sheol. It is what is called hell today. This is where the dead were gathered (Ps 16:10; 86:13). In the NT Hades has an additional negative force of awaiting judgment (Rev 20:13).

[16:23]  ²⁵ sn Hades is a place of torment, especially as one knows that he is separated from God.

[16:23]  ²⁶ tn Grk “he lifted up his eyes” (an idiom).

[16:23]  ²⁷ tn Grk “in his bosom,” the same phrase used in 16:22. This idiom refers to heaven and/or participation in the eschatological banquet. An appropriate modern equivalent is “at Abraham’s side.”

[5:5]  ²⁸ sn James’ point seems to be that instead of seeking deliverance from condemnation, they have defied God’s law (fattened your hearts) and made themselves more likely objects of his judgment (in a day of slaughter).

[18:7]  ²⁹ tn “As much as” is the translation of ὅσα (Josa).

[18:7]  ³⁰ tn On the term ἐστρηνίασεν (estrhniasen) BDAG 949 s.v. στρηνιάω states, “live in luxury, live sensually Rv 18:7. W. πορνεύειν vs. 9.”

[18:7]  ³¹ tn Grk “said in her heart,” an idiom for saying something to oneself.

[18:8]  ³² tn Grk “For this reason, her plagues will come.”

[18:8]  ³³ tn Grk “death.” θάνατος (qanatos) can in particular contexts refer to a manner of death, specifically a contagious disease (see BDAG 443 s.v. 3; L&N 23.158).

[18:8]  ³⁴ tn This is the same Greek word (πένθος, penqo") translated “grief” in vv. 7-8.

[18:8]  ³⁵ tn Here “burned down” was used to translate κατακαυθήσεται (katakauqhsetai) because a city is in view.