Judges 8:1-2

8:1 The Ephraimites said to him, “Why have you done such a thing to us? You did not summon us ¹  when you went to fight the Midianites!” They argued vehemently with him. 8:2 He said to them, “Now what have I accomplished compared to you? Even Ephraim’s leftover grapes ²  are better quality than Abiezer’s harvest! ³ 

Judges 19:1

Sodom and Gomorrah Revisited

19:1 In those days Israel had no king. There was a Levite ⁴  living temporarily in the remote region of the Ephraimite hill country. He acquired a concubine ⁵  from Bethlehem ⁶  in Judah.

Psalms 109:4

109:4 They repay my love with accusations, ⁷ 

but I continue to pray. ⁸ 

Ecclesiastes 4:4

Labor Motivated by Envy

4:4 Then I considered ⁹  all the skillful work ¹⁰  that is done:

Surely it is nothing more than ¹¹  competition ¹²  between one person and another. ¹³ 

This also is profitless – like ¹⁴  chasing the wind.

John 10:32

10:32 Jesus said to them, ¹⁵  “I have shown you many good deeds ¹⁶  from the Father. For which one of them are you going to stone me?”

[8:1]  ¹ tn Heb “by not summoning us.”

[8:2]  ² tn Heb “gleanings.”

[8:2]  ³ sn Ephraim’s leftover grapes are better quality than Abiezer’s harvest. Gideon employs an agricultural metaphor. He argues that Ephraim’s mopping up operations, though seemingly like the inferior grapes which are missed initially by the harvesters or left for the poor, are actually more noteworthy than the military efforts of Gideon’s family.

[19:1]  ³ tn Heb “a man, a Levite.”

[19:1]  ⁴ sn See the note on the word “concubine” in 8:31.

[19:1]  ⁵ map For location see Map5 B1; Map7 E2; Map8 E2; Map10 B4.

[109:4]  ⁴ tn Heb “in place of my love they oppose me.”

[109:4]  ⁵ tn Heb “and I, prayer.”

[4:4]  ⁵ tn Heb “saw.”

[4:4]  ⁶ tn Heb “all the toil and all the skill.” This Hebrew clause (אֶת־כָּל־עָמָל וְאֵת כָּל־כִּשְׁרוֹן, ’et-kol-’amal vÿ’et kol-kishron) is a nominal hendiadys (a figurative expression in which two independent phrases are used to connote the same thing). The second functions adverbially, modifying the first, which retains its full nominal function: “all the skillful work.”

[4:4]  ⁷ tn The phrase “nothing more than” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity.

[4:4]  ⁸ tn The noun קִנְאַה (qin’ah, “competition”) has a wide range of meanings: “zeal; jealousy; envy; rivalry; competition; suffering; animosity; anger; wrath” (HALOT 1110 s.v.; BDB 888 s.v.). Here, as in 9:6, it denotes “rivalry” (BDB 888 s.v. 1) or “competitive spirit” (HALOT 1110 s.v. 1.b). The LXX rendered it ζῆλος (zhlos, “envy; jealousy”). The English versions reflect this broad range: “rivalry” (NEB, NAB, NASB), “envy” (KJV, ASV, RSV, NRSV, MLB, NIV, NJPS), and “jealousy” (Moffatt).

[4:4]  ⁹ tn Heb “a man and his neighbor.”

[4:4]  ¹⁰ tn The word “like” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity.

[10:32]  ⁶ tn Grk “Jesus answered them.”

[10:32]  ⁷ tn Or “good works.”