Mention of the king reminds us that this term serves as an inclusion or linking term for the subsection, since it appears also in verses 16-17. Furthermore, reference to a bird demonstrates how the passage is linked with the rest of the chapter It completes the pattern in verses 1 and 8-11, in which small insects or animals threaten things of value.
This verse is very neatly constructed. The first two clauses are exactly parallel; a prepositional phrase beginning with “in” starts each clause, followed by a negative imperative. The first clause gives the extreme case, while the parallel clause extends the meaning beyond the “king” to the “rich,” or the “nobleman,” and beyond “secret thoughts” to the secret place, “the bedroom.”
After these two parallel imperatives there is a clause explaining why such behavior is important. This explanatory clause is itself broken into two parallel lines.
Even in your thought is an emphatic expression because of the introductory particle “Even,” “Also.” The position of this clause at the beginning of the verse also means that it is a point of focus or special attention. The translator should determine where this phrase will be most effective. In some languages it will have more impact after the imperative: “Don’t curse the king—not even in your thoughts!” Whatever the circumstances, Qoheleth says, you should be very careful.
In your thought renders a rare form derived from the Hebrew verb “to know.” Various suggestions have been made for rendering this word. New Jerusalem Bible interprets it as referring to people we know, our “intimates.” Because it does not form a strict parallel with the following phrase, which uses the word “bedroom,” some scholars have suggested we change the Hebrew text to make it say something closer to “bedroom.” However, there is no evidence for the change, and furthermore the purpose of the verse is to advise against secretly criticizing people in power. Thus in your thought or “in your mind” is acceptable. The translator can adopt any expression that refers to inner reflection, such as “in your heart” or “in your stomach.” We may even alter it to a verbal form “[Do not] think to….” Good News Translation translates this prepositional phrase as an adverb “silently.” Jerusalem Bible suggests “in your sleep,” trying to link it closely with the following saying, but this seems far-fetched and should not serve as a model here.
Do not curse the king: the imperative do not curse is emphasized because it appears twice in the verse. Not cursing in your thoughts can also be expressed as “do not think evil of…” or, as in Good News Translation, “Don’t criticize.”
Nor in your bedchamber … identifies another secret or very private place. Just as our thoughts are private matters that we keep to ourselves, so what happens in the bedroom is considered private, and not for others to know. The sense of the verse is brought out clearly by Good News Translation, “in the privacy of your bedroom.” The translator will have to look for a natural equivalent. Various expressions will exist such as “sleeping place” or “where you sleep.” However, in some cultures the relationship between a sleeping place and privacy will not be obvious. If this is the case, the “bedroom” image may have to be sacrificed or changed to make the meaning clear; for example, “Don’t criticize the king even in the place that seems the safest,” or “Don’t criticize the king even when you are alone.”
Nor … curse the rich preserves the repeated imperative. Parallel to king in the first part of the verse is the term rich. See comments on 10.6.
For a bird of the air will carry your voice: this saying gives Qoheleth’s reason for advising caution; those in positions of power and authority have ways of finding out what people think about them, so even our secrets may become known to them. With this kind of exaggerated example, Qoheleth warns the wise person to greater caution. Bird of the air (literally “of the skies”), or more simply “bird,” is part of the special feature of this chapter, namely, that it uses small animals to illustrate possible danger. The metaphor of birds or other small creatures telling our secrets is common in many cultures. An indigenous saying that expresses the thought of the illustration may be acceptable in translation. In English we say “The walls have ears”; in many African languages the equivalent is “The bush has ears.” These proverbs carry the meaning but lose the reference to a small animal. Because of this the point that a small act can destroy something important does not come across as forcefully. Translators should be very careful, then, about using local idioms.
The phrase will carry your voice describes the bird bringing a message to its master in a way similar to the carrier pigeons known in many cultures. Your voice identifies what a person says or thinks; here it refers back to criticism of the ruler. When Revised Standard Version uses will carry, it can be misunderstood as meaning that this will always happen. In verses 8-11 we saw how that the potential or possible outcome should be conveyed in English by the auxiliary verb “may,” “might,” “could,” rather than “will.” This aspect is recognized here also, so we best give Qoheleth’s sense if we say “a bird might tell…” or something similar.
Or some winged creature tell the matter parallels the previous statement. The Hebrew is literally “master of the wings” and is an unusual expression for a bird, but it is found also in Pro 1.17. Like the previous statement, this too calls for the wise person to be cautious. Otherwise what a person says in private will also be discovered by the authorities. In translation this can be “or a winged creature [or, bird] might tell them what you said.”
The translator will have to think how to deal with the parallelism especially in this second part of the verse. Good News Translation “A bird might carry the message and tell them what you said” does not preserve the parallelism in the second half of this verse but combines both sayings into one. This is a possible way of treating the expression, even though it loses some of its force in the process.
The whole verse can be rendered:
• Don’t criticize the king—not even in your thoughts! Don’t criticize a noble person either—not even in the privacy of your bedroom. A little bird may hear you and report all you say!
The theme of a little folly or an indiscrete action being able to undermine wisdom, the theme noted in 9.18, has appeared again to close the chapter. It warns wise people to be careful in everything, even in those areas where they may think they are safe from discovery.
Quoted with permission from Ogden, Graham S. and Zogbo, Lynell. A Handbook on the Book of Ecclesiates. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1997. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .