Ecclesiastes 8

Ecclesiastes 8:1

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Ecclesiastes 8:2

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Ecclesiastes 8:3

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Ecclesiastes 8:4

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Ecclesiastes 8:5

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Ecclesiastes 8:6

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Ecclesiastes 8:7

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Ecclesiastes 8:8

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Ecclesiastes 8:9

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Ecclesiastes 8:10

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Ecclesiastes 8:11

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Ecclesiastes 8:12

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Ecclesiastes 8:13

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Ecclesiastes 8:15

1 tn Heb “soft answer.” The adjective רַּךְ (rakh, “soft; tender; gentle”; BDB 940 s.v.) is more than a mild response; it is conciliatory, an answer that restores good temper and reasonableness (W. McKane, Proverbs [OTL], 477). Gideon illustrates this kind of answer (Judges 8:1-3) that brings peace.

2 tn Heb “word of harshness”; KJV “grievous words.” The noun עֶצֶב (’etsev, “pain, hurt”) functions as an attributive genitive. The term עֶצֶב refers to something that causes pain (BDB 780 s.v. I עֶצֶב). For example, Jephthah’s harsh answer led to war (Judges 12:1-6).

3 tn Heb “raises anger.” A common response to painful words is to let one’s temper flare up.

Ecclesiastes 8:16

4 sn The contrast is between the “tongue of the wise” and the “mouth of the fool.” Both expressions are metonymies of cause; the subject matter is what they say. How wise people are can be determined from what they say.

5 tn Or “makes knowledge acceptable” (so NASB). The verb תֵּיטִיב (tetiv, Hiphil imperfect of יָטַב [yatav, “to be good”]) can be translated “to make good” or “to treat in a good [or, excellent] way” (C. H. Toy, Proverbs [ICC], 303). M. Dahood, however, suggests emending the text to תֵּיטִיף (tetif) which is a cognate of נָטַף (nataf, “drip”), and translates “tongues of the sages drip with knowledge” (Proverbs and Northwest Semitic Philology, 32-33). But this change is gratuitous and unnecessary.

6 sn The Hiphil verb יַבִּיעַ (yabia’) means “to pour out; to emit; to cause to bubble; to belch forth.” The fool bursts out with reckless utterances (cf. TEV “spout nonsense”).

Ecclesiastes 8:17

7 sn The proverb uses anthropomorphic language to describe God’s exacting and evaluating knowledge of all people.

8 tn The form צֹפוֹת (tsofot, “watching”) is a feminine plural participle agreeing with “eyes.” God’s watching eyes comfort good people but convict evil.