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Monday, July 21st, 2025
the Week of Proper 11 / Ordinary 16
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Chinese NCV (Simplified)

传道书 2:7

我買了僕婢,也有生在家中的奴僕;又擁有大群牛羊,勝過任何比我先在耶路撒冷的人所擁有的。

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Epicureans;   Investigation;   Pleasure;   Servant;   Vanity;   Wisdom;   Worldliness;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Servants;   Vanity;  

Dictionaries:

- American Tract Society Bible Dictionary - Ecclesiastes;   Bridgeway Bible Dictionary - Joy;   Fausset Bible Dictionary - Ecclesiastes, the Book of;   Solomon;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Ecclesiastes, Book of;   Israel, History of;   Jewels, Jewelry;   Joy;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Cattle;   Ecclesiastes;   Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament - Winter ;   Morrish Bible Dictionary - Cattle;   People's Dictionary of the Bible - Servant;   Smith Bible Dictionary - Slave;  

Encyclopedias:

- International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Ecclesiastes, or the Preacher;   Get;   Mad;   Maid;   The Jewish Encyclopedia - Ḳohelet (Ecclesiastes) Rabbah;   Patriotism;   Sheep;  

Devotionals:

- Every Day Light - Devotion for October 1;  

Parallel Translations

Chinese Union (Simplified)
我 买 了 仆 婢 , 也 有 生 在 家 中 的 仆 婢 ; 又 有 许 多 牛 群 羊 群 , 胜 过 以 前 在 耶 路 撒 冷 众 人 所 有 的 。

Contextual Overview

1 I said to myself, "I will try having fun. I will enjoy myself." But I found that this is also useless. 2 It is foolish to laugh all the time, and having fun doesn't accomplish anything. 3 I decided to cheer myself up with wine while my mind was still thinking wisely. I wanted to find a way to enjoy myself and see what was good for people to do during their few days of life. 4 Then I did great things: I built houses and planted vineyards for myself. 5 I made gardens and parks, and I planted all kinds of fruit trees in them. 6 I made pools of water for myself and used them to water my growing trees. 7 I bought male and female slaves, and slaves were also born in my house. I had large herds and flocks, more than anyone in Jerusalem had ever had before. 8 I also gathered silver and gold for myself, treasures from kings and other areas. I had male and female singers and all the women a man could ever want. 9 I became very famous, even greater than anyone who had lived in Jerusalem before me. My wisdom helped me in all this. 10 Anything I saw and wanted, I got for myself; I did not miss any pleasure I desired. I was pleased with everything I did, and this pleasure was the reward for all my hard work.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

servants: 1 Kings 9:20-22, Ezra 2:58, Nehemiah 7:57

and had: Genesis 17:12, Genesis 17:13

servants born in my house: Heb. sons of my house

also: Genesis 13:2, 2 Kings 3:4, 1 Chronicles 27:29-31, 2 Chronicles 26:10, 2 Chronicles 32:27-29, Job 1:3, Job 42:12

Reciprocal: Genesis 14:14 - born Genesis 15:3 - born Genesis 30:43 - General Exodus 21:4 - shall be her Jeremiah 2:14 - he a homeborn

Cross-References

Genesis 2:14
The third river, named Tigris, flows out of Assyria toward the east. The fourth river is the Euphrates.
Genesis 2:15
The Lord God put the man in the garden of Eden to care for it and work it.
Genesis 2:20
The man gave names to all the tame animals, to the birds in the sky, and to all the wild animals. But Adam did not find a helper that was right for him.
Genesis 2:21
So the Lord God caused the man to sleep very deeply, and while he was asleep, God removed one of the man's ribs. Then God closed up the man's skin at the place where he took the rib.
Genesis 3:23
So the Lord God forced Adam out of the garden of Eden to work the ground from which he was taken.
Genesis 7:22
So everything on dry land that had the breath of life in it died.
Numbers 16:22
But Moses and Aaron bowed facedown and cried out, "God, you are the God over the spirits of all people. Please don't be angry with this whole group. Only one man has really sinned."
Numbers 27:16
"The Lord is the God of the spirits of all people. May he choose a leader for these people,
Job 4:19
So he puts even more blame on people who live in clay houses, whose foundations are made of dust, who can be crushed like a moth.
Job 27:3
as long as I am alive and God's breath of life is in my nose,

Gill's Notes on the Bible

I got [me] servants and maidens,.... Menservants, and maidservants; the Targum adds,

"of the children of Ham, and of the rest of the strange people;''

these were such as he hired, or bought with his money;

and had servants born in my house; and these were all employed by him; either as his retinue and equipage, his attendants and bodyguards; or to take care of his household, his gardens, and pools; or for his horses and chariots, and for various offices; see 1 Kings 4:26 Ezra 2:58. Villalpandus computes the number of his servants to be forty eight thousand; if there were any pleasure and happiness in such a numerous attendance, Solomon had it;

also I had great possessions of great and small cattle above all that were in Jerusalem before me; oxen, cows, horses, asses, camels, mules, c. also sheep and goats which, as they were profitable, so it was pleasant to see them grazing on the hills and valleys, in the fields, mountains, and meadows.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

I got - Rather, I bought, in distinction from those born in the house. The “children of Solomon’s servants” (compare Ezra 2:55, Ezra 2:58) were more probably of Canaanite origin 1 Kings 9:20-21; 1 Kings 5:15 than Hebrews 1 Kings 9:22.

Possessions of great and small cattle - Rather, herds of oxen and sheep.

All ... before me - King David’s herds and flocks are mentioned in 1 Chronicles 27:29, 1 Chronicles 27:31 : but we have no specific account of the wealth of other Canaanite or Hebrew inhabitants of Jerusalem before Solomon.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Ecclesiastes 2:7. Servants and maidens — For my works, fields, folds, and various domestic labors.

Servants born in any house — Besides those hired from without, he had married couples in the precincts of his grounds, palaces, etc., who, when their children grew up, got them employment with themselves.

Great and small cattleOxen, neat, horses, asses, mules, camels, and such like; with sheep and goats. And multitudes of most of these he needed, when we are told that his household consumed daily ten stall-fed oxen, with twenty from the pasture, with a hundred sheep; besides harts, roebucks, fallow deer, fatted fowls, and other kinds of provision. Probably, such another court for splendor and expense was not in the universe.


 
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