This note at the beginning of the book was probably added by an editor shortly after the book was finished. It is similar to the kind of note that comes at the start of many of the books in the Old Testament, for example, most prophetic books and many individual psalms.

The words of the Preacher: this phrase identifies the discussion that follows as coming from a person known to us only by his “pen name,” Preacher. Translating the name “Qoheleth” has been discussed in comments above, page 17. The Jerusalem Bible (Jerusalem Bible), the New American Bible (New American Bible), Moffatt, New International Version, New English Bible, and others use a different term to translate “Qoheleth” in this verse than they do when translating the book title. Good News Translation also follows this practice, but a translator is free to use “Qoheleth” or its translation in both text and title. (“Joshua” is both a book title and also the name of the key figure in the book.) The Good News Translation term “the Philosopher” may not be able to convey the fact that in Israel the wise man was a deeply religious person. Hence “sage” or “wise man” may be a better choice because it is more neutral. In any event a footnote with some brief explanation of the name or term will assist the reader.

In translating The words of it is important to bear in mind the nature of the material in the book. Much of what this book contains are the “thoughts” of Qoheleth, his views about certain life questions, the human issues he pondered. The Hebrew original can also be translated as “matters.” So a translation that combines these ideas may be able to introduce the reader to the content of the book in a straightforward manner. Although in Hebrew the term words is plural, it also may have a collective sense, and some languages will prefer to express it as such. Language style may also require that we provide an introductory phrase like “Here are…” or “These are….”

Some possible renderings may be “The questions that concerned Qoheleth,” “This is what Qoheleth thought about,” “Here is what Qoheleth pondered.”

The son of David: Hebrew has no way of indicating whether this compound form is definite or indefinite, whether it is “a son of David” or “the son of David.” Additionally son can have several meanings. Besides its literal meaning it can refer to any (normally male) descendant (Gen 10.21), a young friend (1 Sam 3.6), or even a student (Pro 2.1). In this case son of David is almost certainly intended to refer to Solomon, because he also speaks of himself as “king in Jerusalem” in 1.12. We know, however, that Qoheleth is not written by Solomon (see “Translating Ecclesiastes,” page 6), and so this very figurative way of referring to the author has another purpose. Solomon was Israel’s most famous wise king (1 Kgs 3; 4.29). The following phrase “king in Jerusalem” links Qoheleth with that tradition; he is a truly wise man like Solomon. It is therefore best if the translator can preserve the indirect reference to Qoheleth and use an expression like “a descendant of David.” Many languages can use a phrase similar to the Hebrew “son of David” with this same broad meaning. The mention of “Solomon” by name in the Living Bible (Living Bible) should not be followed by translators because the Hebrew text does not say this. It was common to attribute authorship of books to great men. For example, all Psalms were linked with David even though the book itself identifies many psalms as written by others such as Ethan (Psalm 89) and Moses (Psalm 90). Hebrew readers were well aware that this was the case here also.

King in Jerusalem: the structure of the Hebrew sentence means that this phrase can describe either David or Qoheleth. However, in view of verse 12 we may assume that it intends to point to Qoheleth as a royal person. The Hebrew lacks the definite article, so he is literally “A king in Jerusalem.” Some societies have a different pattern of organization, in which case they may not have a word for “king.” In a case like this a functional substitute may be used, such as “[paramount] ruler,” “chief,” or even the phrase “he was the leader of the people.”

There is no verb in this first verse; it is made up of three noun phrases, a form that may be retained in translation in some languages (as in Revised Standard Version, Jerusalem Bible, New International Version, New American Bible). Most languages will need to insert one or more verbal phrases to ensure naturalness. Good News Translation offers one form, but other expansions can serve as a model:

• These are the matters of which Qoheleth spoke. He was a descendant of David, king in Jerusalem.

• Here are the words of Qoheleth. He was a son [descendant] of David who ruled in Jerusalem.

If the translator’s language prefers to put familiar information first, then a different word order may result. For example, we can also say:

• Qoheleth who is a descendant of David, king in Jerusalem, these are his words.

• Qoheleth, a descendent of David, king in Jerusalem, it is he who is talking like this.

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 .