Ecclesiastes 10:20

tn Perhaps the referent is people who are in authority because of their wealth.

tn Heb “in chambers of your bedroom.”

tn Heb “a bird of the air.”

tn Heb “might carry the voice.” The article is used here with the force of a possessive pronoun.

tn The Hebrew phrase בַּעַל הַכְּנָפַיִם (ba’al hakkénafayim, “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.

tn The term “your” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for smoothness.

tn Heb “tell the matter.”