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Ecclesiastes 10:20
New English Translation
Ecclesiastes 10:20
New English Translation
20 Do not curse a king even in your thoughts,
and do not curse the rich[a] while in your bedroom;[b]
for a bird[c] might report what you are thinking,[d]
or some winged creature[e] might repeat your[f] words.[g]
Footnotes
- Ecclesiastes 10:20 tn Perhaps the referent is people who are in authority because of their wealth.
- Ecclesiastes 10:20 tn Heb “in chambers of your bedroom.”
- Ecclesiastes 10:20 tn Heb “a bird of the air.”
- Ecclesiastes 10:20 tn Heb “might carry the voice.” The article is used here with the force of a possessive pronoun.
- Ecclesiastes 10:20 tn The Hebrew phrase בַּעַל הַכְּנָפַיִם (baʿal hakkenafayim, “possessor of wings”) is an idiom for a winged creature, that is, a bird (e.g., Prov 1:17; see HALOT 143 s.v. בַּעַל A.6; BDB 127 s.v. בַּעַל 5.a). The term בַּעַל (“master; possessor”) is the construct governing the attributive genitive הַכְּנָפַיִם (“wings”); see IBHS 149-51 §9.5.3b.
- Ecclesiastes 10:20 tn The term “your” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for smoothness.
- Ecclesiastes 10:20 tn Heb “tell the matter.”
New English Translation (NET)
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