Ecclesiastes 4:2-4

New English Translation

Footnotes

1. Ecclesiastes 4:2 tn The verb שָׁבַח (shavakh) has a two-fold range of meaning: (1) “to praise; to laud”; and (2) “to congratulate” (HALOT 1387 s.v. I שׁבח; BDB 986 s.v. II שָׁבַח). The LXX translated it as ἐπῄνεσα (epēnesa, “I praised”). The English versions reflect the range of possible meanings: “praised” (KJV, ASV, Douay); “congratulated” (MLB, NASB); “declared/judged/accounted/thought…fortunate/happy” (NJPS, NEB, NIV, RSV, NRSV, NAB).
2. Ecclesiastes 4:2 tn Heb “the dead who had already died.”
3. Ecclesiastes 4:2 tn Heb “the living who are alive.”
4. Ecclesiastes 4:3 tn The word “born” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity.
5. Ecclesiastes 4:3 tn Heb “under the sun.”
6. Ecclesiastes 4:4 tn Heb “saw.”
7. Ecclesiastes 4:4 tn Heb “all the toil and all the skill.” This Hebrew clause (אֶת־כָּל־עָמָל וְאֵת כָּל־כִּשְׁרוֹן, ʾet kol ʿamal v^eʾet 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.”
8. Ecclesiastes 4:4 tn The phrase “nothing more than” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity.
9. Ecclesiastes 4:4 tn The noun קִנְאַה (qinʾah, “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 (zēlos, “envy; jealousy”). The English versions reflect this broad range: “rivalry” (NEB, NAB, NASB), “envy” (KJV, ASV, RSV, NRSV, MLB, NIV, NJPS), and “jealousy” (Moffatt).
10. Ecclesiastes 4:4 tn Heb “a man above his neighbor.”
11. Ecclesiastes 4:4 tn The word “like” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity.