And I commend enjoyment: this call to enjoyment begins with a conjunction followed by a verbal form that is emphatic. Though Revised Standard Version translates the connector as And, it may be better to use a conjunction indicating that what follows is not what might be expected; for example, “But”: “But as for me, I praise….”

Commend: some translations (Jerusalem Bible, for instance) and commentators reflect the verb’s primary meaning “praise,” but we must admit that in many languages “praising” something abstract like “enjoyment” is not very natural. Others (for example New American Bible, New English Bible) suggest the verb’s secondary meaning, “commend,” as in Revised Standard Version. The relationship between the two senses is close; both identify an attitude in which something is honored for itself or is commended to someone else as the best possible example. Qoheleth is urging others to give the same high value to enjoyment that they would give to other worthy practices. “I recommend highly” or “I strongly suggest” are good translation possibilities rather than the verb “praise.”

Enjoyment is the term used regularly in the book—see comments on 2.1, where it is translated “pleasure,” and 3.12, where it is rendered by “be happy.” When New American Bible uses “mirth” here it seems to lack depth. What a person is urged to enjoy may need to be spelled out more clearly in some languages, so we can add the phrase “of life” to make its sense clear. Thus “enjoyment of life” or the verbal phrase “to enjoy life,” “to find pleasure in living,” are possible translations. The translator may also have to identify who is to enjoy life; so we may say “I highly recommend that people find enjoyment in life,” or possibly “I believe wholeheartedly that you should enjoy being alive.”

For man has no good thing under the sun: once again we meet the relative marker functioning as the connective “because.” It offers justification for the advice just given. Man has no good thing uses the “there is nothing better” form first seen in 2.24. Here in 8.15 we have the final example of the form used by Qoheleth. For meaning and translation see comments on 2.24. The phrase “there is no…” makes a sharp contrast with the “there are…” statements in the previous verse.

Under the sun: see comments on 1.14.

But to eat and drink, and enjoy himself: the initial but can also be given as “except” if we translate the “there is nothing better” form more or less literally. Alternatively we can use “only” and render it as “there is only one way….” The three verbs eat, drink, and enjoy himself are basic to Qoheleth’s call to enjoyment. See the discussion in 2.24. Literal translation of the three verbs is acceptable.

For this will go with him in his toil: again we find Qoheleth linking pleasure with work. He reminds the reader that pleasure is not simply a denial of the difficulties and pain of human existence. The Hebrew verb that lies behind the clause this will go with him is rarely used in the Old Testament and means “accompany.” The subject of the verb is this, pointing to the three activities of eating, drinking, and enjoying. Qoheleth is saying that these activities should accompany, or be a part of, a person’s toil. The imperfect verb form can be rendered better as “should accompany.” We can also use a verbal clause to render toil and a time phrase to render the idea of “accompany,” and say “at the same time, we should labor….” The Jerusalem Bible translation seems to overinterpret the phrase, with “this is his standby in his toil.” New English Bible suggests that enjoyment is “to reward his toil,” but this fails to put the two activities on an equal footing. It is obvious again how much Qoheleth wishes to hold in balance the ideas of enjoyment and toil, as in 2.10, 24 and other places. We can say “for these pleasures should be part of all the work he does…,” or more literally “this can accompany him as he labors….”

Through the days of his life is obviously a time phrase, though the Hebrew omits the time preposition. Days indicates the length of a person’s life. See comment on verse 13.

Which God gives him under the sun: this relative clause occurs in each of the calls to enjoyment. It makes the important statement that life, its pleasures and toil, are all gifts of God. See comments on 1.13; 2.24-25. For under the sun see comments on 1.14.

For translation of the whole verse we may say:

• So I recommend that a person enjoy life, for there is only one way to live here on earth: eat, drink, and enjoy yourself. These pleasures should be part of all you do in this life God gives you here on earth.

• But I believe people should enjoy life, because eating, drinking and enjoying life are the best thing to do in this world. We should take advantage of these things as we work [and toil] during the life that God gives us on this earth.

This closes the section that began in 6.11-12. It also represents the close of the fourth and final section in which the question-answer-advice format occurs. As the earlier sections did, so this one closes with the call to enjoyment, the advice that life in this world is God-given and should be enjoyed. Wisdom is the only avenue to yithron, the “lasting benefit,” here and in the life beyond. So within a world marked by mystery and injustice, the only sensible and wise thing is to honor wisdom, and to live in its light.

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 .