In 11.9 Qoheleth spoke of divine judgment, and the phrase used here is almost identical to that. This indicates that the editor is in agreement with Qoheleth about that. The verse provides another reason for obeying God. Again this can be brought out with a conjunction like “because.”

Every deed: this expression occurs in 7.13 (“work”); 8.17 (“all the work”); see comments there. Its construction is unusual but its meaning is not in dispute. We can use the Revised Standard Version form or say “everything a person does.”

Will bring … into judgment repeats Qoheleth’s formula from 11.9 (see comments there). Render as “God will judge everything you do.”

With every secret thing: the secret thing is a passive participle from a root meaning “conceal,” so it marks what is hidden, or things we do secretly. New American Bible sees it as referring to the hidden “quality” of something, but this seems hardly likely. Jerusalem Bible thinks it functions as an adjective describing “deeds” and says “[God will call] all hidden deeds [to judgment].” The Hebrew of this phrase begins with a preposition that can mean many things, such as “on the basis of” or “together with,” as well as “on,” “above,” “over,” “concerning.” Thus this phrase may narrow the wider sense of “deeds” by confining it to what we do secretly, or it may enlarge it by adding on all those things we do and think without others knowing. Because every deed already includes things done openly as well as secretly, our view is that the preposition (Revised Standard Version with) should be rendered as “including” (as New Revised Standard Version) or “even.”

Whether good or evil probably refers to “secret things,” but if “every deed” includes those latter, then Good News Translation is correct to have it refer back to “deeds.” Here good or evil appears to have a regular moral value. If so it is different from the way Qoheleth uses the terms in the main part of the book.

We can give as a meaning for this part of the verse “… including every secret thing we do, whether it be good or evil,” or “even every secret act, whether good or bad.”

The entire verse can be rendered:

• Because God will judge everything you do, even what you do secretly, whether good or bad.

• Because everything we do—including every secret thing, good or bad—will be judged by God.

In this Handbook we have assumed that Qoheleth was an honest scholar who observed life very carefully and thoroughly. We see a person who believed firmly in God’s control over the universe and human lives, but also someone who experienced much pain when confronted with the injustices and unanswered questions in life. He worked within the framework of the wisdom school and the traditional beliefs of his time, yet he saw their limitations. However, Qoheleth never renounced his faith. His continual advice to enjoy the good things in life—eating, drinking, and working—affirms his belief that God is in control and life is worth living.

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 .