The introductory poem comes to an end with this verse. It affirms what the entire poem has illustrated, namely, that everything on earth goes in cycles. But here Qoheleth adds the thought that people do not often recognize this fact, especially in the human domain. They forget that they are just one generation following another, that they are merely repeating something the past generations did. In some sense the final verse of the poem repeats the idea of the first line (verse 4): “one age [generation] follows another.”

This final verse is linked particularly to verses 9 and 10 by the alternating “there is no…” (verse 9), “there is…” (verse 10), and again “there is no…” (verse 11). The verb “be,” which figures prominently in verses 9, 10, and 11, further provides a link between these verses.

There is no remembrance is an impersonal expression preserving the form of the original. The translator must first solve the problem of who it is who does the remembering. In 2.16 “remembrance” or “memorial” refers to a person who has died being remembered by those still living. Since the form and structure in this verse are the same as in 2.16, the meaning “there is no memorial for” is probably the same in both places. Thus Good News Translation “no one remembers…” seems correct.

The second problem of interpretation has to do with the word that Revised Standard Version renders as former things coming from the Hebrew rishonim. Both Revised Standard Version and Good News Translation interpret the word as referring to events or times in the past, but this does not seem to be the most logical solution. Normally it is the feminine form rishonoth that speaks of events, objects, or times in the past. But in the masculine plural used here, it is more personal, describing people. Therefore “former generations of people” is more the sense rather than “former things”; that is, those who have died are no longer remembered. Note Revised English Bible “those who have lived in the past,” New International Version “men of old,” and New Revised Standard Version “people of long ago.” Again we should not forget that Qoheleth is making generalizations, so we should not interpret them as rigid statements of changeless truth. Obviously many people are remembered, but Qoheleth is simply noting that people usually are not remembered, and their life has little if any impact on future generations. Only on rare occasions do some people have an impact on the future course of society, and so are remembered. It does not happen to everyone.

Taking these facts into consideration, a good translation may say “There is no memorial for past generations” or “Nobody remembers those who lived before.”

Nor will there be any remembrance of later things yet to happen: here again Revised Standard Version and Good News Translation seem to understand this verse in terms of events, though the Hebrew more likely refers to people rather than “things.” Literally this part of the verse reads something like “and even those who are to come after, there will not be a memorial [for them], by those who come after [them].”

Models for translation for verse 11 may be:

• There is no memorial for past generations. Even future generations will not be remembered by the generations who follow them.

• People now do not remember those who lived before them. And people who are yet to be born will not be remembered by those who come after them!

Where the preference is for active verb forms rather than passive ones, we can say:

• There is no memorial for people who lived before us. Those coming after us will not remember the ones who preceded them either.

Note that this last line breaks into three parts, marking the end of the poem.
Those coming after // will not be remembered // by those coming after them.

This brings us to the end of the opening poem. Its purpose is clear—it gives us the context in which Qoheleth wishes to discuss the question of mankind’s “lasting benefit” here on this earth (verse 3). The particular context, then, is the created world with its cyclic flow and its permanence. In this kind of world people must work out what their place is. Each generation must ask the question about the “lasting benefit” a person can gain. This cannot be the same as the “memorial” people expect to leave behind, says Qoheleth, because a person is very quickly forgotten (2.16). In the past it was thought that a person’s memorial was enough (2 Sam 18.18; Job 18.17; Pro 9.7). Qoheleth thinks differently.

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 .