ma.khakh denotes sinking or being brought down, of a rafter and of people’s lowered condition.

The attested use most often concerns people being brought down or sinking in a diminished condition: those in Job 24:24 are brought low, and those in Psalm 106:43 sink in their iniquity. Ecclesiastes 10:18 applies the same downward outcome to a rafter that sinks because of sloth.

1. Being brought down or sinking in condition · dominant

   In Job 24:24, the Hophal sequential perfect occurs in the clause where those briefly exalted are then brought low and gathered up. In Psalm 106:43, the Qal sequential imperfect stands in the clause where repeated rebellion is followed by sinking in iniquity; the APB renders the verse with “sank in their iniquity.”

   Job 24:24Psalm 106:43
2. Sinking of a structural part · occasional

   In Ecclesiastes 10:18, the Niphal imperfect occurs in the clause linking sloth with a rafter’s downward failure. The APB renders the clause, “Through sloth the rafter sinks in,” while the next clause describes the house leaking through idle hands.

   Ecclesiastes 10:18

In the Anselm Project Bible: The APB presents the term with downward language: a rafter “sinks in” in Ecclesiastes 10:18, people are “brought low” in Job 24:24, and they “sank in their iniquity” in Psalm 106:43. These renderings confirm the clauses’ overall downward movement rather than isolate an exact English equivalent in every verse.