Footnotes

1. Ecclesiastes 8:14 tn Heb “there is.” The term יֶשׁ (yesh, “there is”) is often used in aphorisms to assert the existence of a particular situation that occurs sometimes. It may indicate that the situation is not the rule but that it does occur on occasion, and may be nuanced “sometimes” (Prov 11:24; 13:7, 23; 14:12; 16:25; 18:24; 20:15; Eccl 2:21; 4:8; 5:12; 6:1; 7:15 [2x]; 8:14 [3x]).
2. Ecclesiastes 8:14 tn The word “another” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity and smoothness.
3. Ecclesiastes 8:14 tn Or “vanity” (again at the end of this verse). The Hebrew term הֶבֶל (hevel) here denotes “enigma,” that is, something that is difficult to understand. This sense is derived from the literal referent of breath, vapor or wind that cannot be seen; thus, “obscure; dark; difficult to understand; enigmatic” (see HALOT 236-37 s.v. I הֶבֶל; BDB 210-11 s.v. I הֶבֶל). It is used in this sense in reference to enigmas in life (6:2; 8:10, 14) and the future which is obscure (11:8, 10).
4. Ecclesiastes 8:14 tn Heb “to whom it happens according to the deeds of the wicked”; or “who are punished for the deeds of the wicked.”
5. Ecclesiastes 8:14 tn Heb “to whom it happens according to the deeds of the righteous”; or “who are rewarded for the deeds of the righteous.”
6. Ecclesiastes 8:15 tn Heb “the enjoyment.” The phrase “of life” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity.
7. Ecclesiastes 8:15 tn Heb “under the sun.”
8. Ecclesiastes 8:15 tn The phrase “to do” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for smoothness.
9. Ecclesiastes 8:15 tn The construction אִםכִּי (ki ʾim) 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).
10. Ecclesiastes 8:15 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).”
11. Ecclesiastes 8:15 tn The term “life” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity and smoothness.
12. Ecclesiastes 8:15 tn The vav introduces a logical conclusion.
13. Ecclesiastes 8:15 tn Heb “it”; the referent (enjoyment of life) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
14. Ecclesiastes 8:15 tn Heb “under the sun.”