6:9 It is better to be content with382 tn The phrase “to be content with” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity. what the eyes can see383 tn The expression מַרְאֵה עֵינַיִם (mar’eh ’enayim, “the seeing of the eyes”) is a metonymy of cause (i.e., seeing an object) for effect (i.e., being content with what the eyes can see); see E. W. Bullinger, Figures of Speech, 552-54.
than for one’s heart always to crave more.384 tn Heb “the roaming of the soul.” The expression מֵהֲלָךְ־נָפֶשׁ (mehalakh-nafesh, “the roaming of the soul”) is a metonymy for unfulfilled desires. The term “soul” (נֶפֶשׁ, nefesh) is used as a metonymy of association for man’s desires and appetites (BDB 660 s.v. נֶפֶשׁ 5.c; 6.a). This also involves the personification of the roving appetite as “roving” (מֵהֲלָךְ); see BDB 235 s.v. הָלַךְ II.3.f; 232 I.3.
This continual longing385 tn The phrase “continual longing” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity. is futile – like386 tn The term “like” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity and smoothness. chasing the wind.
The Futile Way Life Works
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