And who knows whether he will be a wise man or a fool?: Qoheleth knew from early on that material goods were always inherited by someone, so that in itself was not the problem. The issue was that he could not guarantee that his heir would be wise or foolish. The rhetorical question who knows …? actually affirms that nobody knows. It may be translated either as in Revised Standard Version or as in Good News Translation. Some alternatives are “Can anyone guarantee that my heir will be wise and not foolish?” or “Nobody knows whether my heir will act wisely or foolishly.”

Qoheleth continues to lament over the problem with the words Yet he will be master of all for which I toiled and used my wisdom under the sun. The reason for this anguish is that he is helpless to determine what the heir will be like. A conjunction like Revised Standard Version Yet, or “But it’s he who will…” may help to convey this emotion. The Hebrew verb translated be master of is a word found mostly in the books written in the later Hebrew period (Esther, Nehemiah, and Ecclesiastes). Some languages may express this as “have control over” or “take charge of.” In others there may be a special idiom such as “he will eat all….” The phrase all for which I toiled can be given as “the fruit of all my labor” or as in Good News Translation, “everything I have worked for.”

The phrase and used my wisdom is an adverbial expression telling us that Qoheleth worked according to wisdom principles, as he mentioned in 2.3, 9. We may use the adverb “wisely” to modify the verb “toil” for a smoother translation, “which I labored wisely to achieve,” or “which my wisdom helped me achieve.”

This also is vanity: the demonstrative pronoun This refers to the issue just described, namely, that a fool may be his heir. This is the core of the problem. It is not hevel (“useless”) to leave your goods behind at death; that happens to everyone. It is hevel that your goods may be inherited by a fool. Qoheleth cries in frustration because this is a situation beyond his control. “How frustrating!” or “What a waste!” is the sense.

For verse 19, then, we can propose:

• No one knows whether this man will be wise or foolish. And yet, it’s he who will take charge of everything I worked so hard and wisely for! This, too, is a mystery!

• Who knows whether my heir will be a wise person or a fool? Yet, he’ll be in control of everything I worked so wisely to achieve. What a frustrating situation!

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 .

Verse 1 presented Qoheleth’s observation, and verse 2 issued a temporary conclusion; but in verse 3 we now are given Qoheleth’s own and final conclusion with respect to the problem in verse 1.

Although death may be the only escape from oppression and to that extent may be preferable to life under those circumstances, Qoheleth now takes the matter further. His suggestion is that not to be born is an even better alternative to death. To express this idea he uses a “better” saying, the first of many in this book.

But better than both …: the “better” sayings are a special literary feature of this book, which contains almost half of all Old Testament examples of this form. In many cases it serves to conclude a section, summarizing Qoheleth’s thought on the subject treated in that section. Although it is a comparative expression in form, its meaning is usually best regarded as superlative; that is to say, it suggests what is best, not what is simply relatively good.

In verse 2 Qoheleth compared people who had died with those who were still living under oppression. He now adds a third possibility, and so the translation can use a form similar to Good News Translation, “even better off,” or “even more fortunate than….” Revised Standard Version better than can be misunderstood as making some kind of moral judgment. Comparison of people facing an oppressive world suggests that “fortunate,” “happier,” or even “luckier,” are good terms to replace RSV’s very general term better.

In dealing with these comparative and superlative forms, translators will need to use forms appropriate to their own languages. Some may need to use expressions like “the dead are fortunate, but the truly fortunate ones are….”

Both (literally “the two of them”) refers to the two kinds of persons mentioned in verse 2. If necessary this fact can be expressed clearly, citing “the dead and those living under oppression.”

He who has not yet been refers to persons who have not yet come into existence, so we can use the verb “born” to clarify its sense. The Revised Standard Version singular form follows the Hebrew, while Good News Translation uses the plural. Both are attempts to express something very general, so the pronoun “anyone” or “everyone” is acceptable. To express the idea of “not yet been,” an expression like “those not yet living,” or even “those who have not yet come into this world,” can be used. Qoheleth suggests in this conclusion that the unborn are more fortunate than the dead or the living, and his reasons for thinking this way follow.

And has not seen the evil deeds that are done under the sun: this is a clause justifying Qoheleth’s evaluation. The unborn have not experienced human oppression themselves, nor have they had to witness it (see Revised English Bible). Both these meanings are present in the verb “seen.” Qoheleth represents the wise person; his is perhaps a privileged position, but nevertheless it is a painful one. Every wise person had the responsibility to reflect on human existence, and then to advise people how they might best live in light of life’s many problems. This role of the wise is almost as painful as that of the person who is being oppressed.

Evil deeds that are done can be expressed by “evil that takes place” or “evil events that occur.” However, here again is a passive verb whose agent or subject may need to be identified: “who has not seen the evil things that people do [to each other] on this earth.” Though a more general term is used here, the context of this discussion indicates that evil refers primarily to oppression.

Under the sun: see comments on 1.3.

In some languages turning the verse around will give a smoother sentence:

• But the person who has not yet been born, who has not seen what evil things people do to each other in this world, is even better off than these two.

Other possible translations include:

• More fortunate than either the dead or those still living under oppression are the unborn. They have not witnessed the evil done on earth.

• But those who have not yet been born are even luckier than these two. They have not seen the evil people do to one another in this world.

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 .

Our first question regarding this verse has to do with its relationship to the preceding verse 19. This question arises because the two clauses each begin with ki, which often means either “for, because” or “surely, indeed.” Thus it may seem that verse 20 is formed of two reason clauses, and neither of them can be easily related to what goes before it. This confusion leads to a variety of interpretations and thus to different translations. For example:

Good News Translation “Since God has allowed us to be happy, we will not worry too much about how short life is.”

Jerusalem Bible “He will not need to brood, at least, over the duration of his life so long as God keeps his heart occupied with joy.”

New English Bible “He will not dwell overmuch on the passing years, for God fills his time with joy of heart.”

These examples demonstrate that the initial clause is usually translated as a statement and so is disconnected from verse 19.

We note that verse 20a picks up the phrase “days of his life” from verse 18, and verse 20b repeats the Hebrew verb for “rejoice” from verse 19, “find enjoyment.” Gordis suggests that verse 20a provides the motive for verse 18, and verse 20b justifies verse 19. However, close examination makes this view unlikely, for there seems no logical connection between them. We shall probably not be able to do better than to treat these two clauses as an independent statement, in which case the Hebrew particle with which the verse opens is best regarded as an emphatic “Indeed.”

For he will not much remember the days of his life: the pronoun he definitely refers back to the person in the previous verse. A smoother transition may be “This person” or “The person just talked about.” The verb remember generally looks backward, recalling the past. However, in 11.8 Qoheleth uses it with a future reference, “be mindful of,” so it is also possible that here too Qoheleth uses it in that manner. Hebrew verbs are not primarily time-oriented, and so the imperfect in this case has the broad sense of “thinking about,” “meditating on.” Qoheleth points to the fact that people will have no time to think about what is happening to them or in life generally, because they will be busy with other things. Much is an adverb and modifies the verb remember. If we accept the suggestion that Qoheleth is talking about time to reflect on what happens during our working life, then he will not much remember can be rendered as “He will have little time to think about…” or “This person will not spend a lot of time reflecting on his life.”

On days of his life see comments on verse 18. It is better in our opinion to use a neutral phrase than to say that life is short. The phrase may not refer to time at all but to the quality of a person’s life.

Because God keeps him occupied with joy in his heart: this clause provides the motive or reason for the previous statement. Keeps him occupied is a problem phrase because the verb in question has a variety of meanings: “answer,” “afflict,” “occupy.” In 1.13 and 3.10 we find this verb used also (“to be busy”). With these uses as guides to its possible meaning here, we advise following the Revised Standard Version rendering. This means that God constantly provides the power or ability to enjoy life. The gift of enjoyment is ongoing. Qoheleth suggests that this is the reason a person has little time to reflect on his life; he is too busy enjoying it.

With joy in his heart is what God provides. Qoheleth is talking of a deep and enduring joy welling up within each person who has the gift of enjoying all that God has provided.

Keeps him occupied with joy is not an easy expression to translate. “God fills him with joy” is a good suggestion. “God keeps him busy enjoying life” may also be possible.

Some models for translation are:

• Indeed, a person will have little time to reflect, because God will constantly fill his life with joy.

• Indeed, God gives a person so much joy that there is no time to think about life.

• Truly, God keeps us so busy enjoying what we have, that we have little time to think about life.

This concludes the third major division of the book, in which Qoheleth has asked the question about yithron, “lasting advantage.” For the third time he offers the advice that people should enjoy the life and work that God provides. As we move on we find, however, that the question of wealth and its enjoyment continues to occupy Qoheleth’s mind. The next chapter 6 opens with this same theme.

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 .

This verse is closely linked to the clause before it, with repetition of the word “heart” (“do not give your heart”). Although Revised Standard Version does not translate it, the verse opens with the ki particle. This shows that it gives the reason for the previous command. The reason why we should not take insults seriously is that we ourselves have probably insulted others. The sense intended is that we probably didn’t mean what we said, or what we said didn’t have any damaging effect, so it was not important. A conjunction showing the link between the two verses (“because” or “for”) would be appropriate here.

Your heart knows: as in verse 21, heart refers to a person’s inner being rather than the body part. Here we can also say “you yourself.”

Many times is the introductory phrase in Hebrew and so probably is to be given emphasis. The Hebrew expression is not itself a time word but is a noun meaning “beat,” “measure.” “Occasion” is a good translation: “On many occasions.” Jerusalem Bible “how often” is also acceptable.

You have yourself cursed others represents the object of the verb knows. The separate pronoun “you” before the verb you have … cursed in Hebrew adds emphasis. This is brought out clearly in Revised Standard Version you … yourself. For cursed see comments above on verse 21. The object of the verb “curse” is others; it is quite general. However, we can personalize it by saying “other people.”

The saying therefore appears to argue that insulting or speaking ill of others is so common, that we should not take it too seriously when we find that others are saying things about us. Lacking context, it is difficult to determine exactly what the saying intends here, but certainly we can say that the wise person works on this principle. Our view is that this saying is intended merely as one illustration of how a wise person acts.

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 .

Enjoy life is literally “See life.” Qoheleth has used the verb “see” on several occasions in combination with the word “good” to express the idea of enjoyment (2.1; 3.13).

With the wife whom you love may also be rendered “[the] woman you love.” Hebrew along with many other languages uses the same word for “woman” and for “wife,” with the precise sense depending on context or the attachment of a pronoun suffix. However, this advice certainly does not suggest fickle love affairs with a variety of women. The verb love uses a Hebrew verb form implying a steady state. In the interests of inclusive language, some translators may be tempted to use a wider term that can apply to both a wife or husband, such as “spouse.” While we sympathize with the intent of such a solution, it will be truer to the Hebrew culture to translate the verse as it stands, that is, as addressed to a man.

With the phrase all the days of your vain life we again encounter the word hevel, rendered here as vain. Throughout this Handbook we have suggested that hevel does not mean worthless or meaningless (see Good News Translation “useless”) but rather “enigmatic,” “mysterious,” or “difficult to understand.” We suggest such a translation here. Alternatively we can follow New Jerusalem Bible or Bible en français courant, which highlight the fleeting nature, or brief span, of our existence on earth.

At first glance the time phrase all the days of your vain life seems to be modifying the verb love: “… whom you love all the days of your vain life.” However, it is also possible that it modifies the first clause, “enjoy life.” We can say “Enjoy life in this enigmatic world with the woman you love.”

Which he has given you under the sun: see comments on 8.15. This relative clause appears to connect with the previous phrase, all the days … life. That is a possible interpretation and seems to be the one generally held by most scholars and translations. There is, however, another possibility, one made more obvious if we link the time phrase all … life with the verb enjoy. If we follow this understanding, the second relative clause, which … under the sun, is an additional description of the woman. The first relative clause described her as “the one you love.” This second clause provides the additional information that she is given by God. This means that the woman is to be loved and cherished because she is God’s gift, in the same way that other things, like food and drink, are also God’s gifts and so to be enjoyed.

If we are to translate in accord with this interpretation, we almost certainly will need to use an independent sentence and indicate that it is God who is the subject of the verb give, as in 2.25-25 and 3.13. Thus “she is God’s gift to you for your life in this [enigmatic] world.”

Because that is your portion: justification for the advice follows the command, in the same manner as in verse 7 above. That is masculine and so probably points back to the entire call to enjoy life, not to the woman. There is some textual evidence that the feminine form should be read, in which case the woman would be indicated. To make it clearer what that refers to, we can say “such pleasure [or, enjoyment].”

Portion is Qoheleth’s term for the material benefits a person gets from work and for the pleasure that it gives (“reward” in 2.10; “lot” in 3.22; 5.18). Each previous call to enjoyment says that the portion we get is to enjoy all God’s gifts. It is the same term that Revised Standard Version renders as “share” in verse 6. It is parallel with “this is what God gives you” earlier in this verse. If the idea of “portion” is difficult to convey in this context, a phrase similar to “what God gives you” will serve well.

In life and in your toil at which you toil under the sun: see comments on 1.3. The first preposition in carries the sense of “during.” A model for translation is: “Such pleasure is the portion you get during [or, in] life from all your earthly labor.”

The entire verse can be translated:

• Enjoy life with the woman you love—the one God has given to live beside you—throughout your days in this enigmatic world. Such joy is what God provides in all the work you have to do here.

• In this world that is so hard to understand, each day God gives, make it a point to enjoy life with the woman you love, because this is God’s gift to you during your life of hard work on this earth.

There is a great deal of repetition in the Hebrew of this verse that is not reflected in Revised Standard Version, nor in most other versions. The text is literally “Enjoy life with the woman you love all the days of your enigmatic [hevel] lives that he gave to you under the sun, all the enigmatic [hevel] days; for this is your portion in the lives and in the work that you are working under the sun.” Translators should determine if such repetition will be effective in their language. In Hebrew the repetition of “lives of hevel” and “days of hevel” sounds a note of resignation and sadness. The translator may wish to render this emotion through some appropriate stylistic device.

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 .

Verses 16-18 form another short section. Qoheleth adds further statements about how wise and knowledgeable he became (verses 16-17a), and then concludes (verse 17b) that his research was fruitless; it was like trying to tell the wind where to blow (as in verse 14b). To support this conclusion he cites another proverb (verse 18), following the pattern in verses 13-15 above.

Verse 16 falls into two parts, both expressing Qoheleth’s vast store of wisdom.

I said to myself: when Qoheleth tells about his reflections on any matter, he often uses this phrase (see 2.1; 3.17, 18). The Hebrew says literally “I said in my heart.” The Hebrew idiom has a parallel in many languages; “I said in my liver,” for example. Others will prefer a verb of thinking or knowing, like “I thought to myself.”

The quote that follows opens with the hinneh particle (see comments in verse 14 above). Good News Translation, Revised Standard Version, Jerusalem Bible are typical of those translations that omit it in this case, but New Jerusalem Bible renders it “Here I….” In English it is possible to say “Look” or “Well now,” as when people reason with themselves.

Qoheleth recognized that he had been very successful, but we must wait until 2.4-11 before he gives us information about the ways he was successful. In verse 16 we simply have a summary of his life’s work. He describes his achievement by saying I have acquired great wisdom. In Hebrew two verbs are linked together here, “I became great” and “I increased [in wisdom].” Where a language permits serial constructions (two verbs within the same clause), the two verbs may be retained. Other languages will prefer one verb with adverbial or adjectival modifiers: “I increased greatly in wisdom,” “I became much wiser,” or “I acquired great wisdom.” We may even find it more natural to say “My wisdom increased greatly,” bringing the noun to the head of the clause. Good News Translation “I became a great man, far wiser than…” offers an alternative form with the same meaning.

Surpassing all who were over Jerusalem before me: Qoheleth claims that his wisdom was superior to that of all past kings of Jerusalem. All is used here in the collective and personal sense of “every person.” It is the addition of the phrase “over Jerusalem” that gives us the clue that these people were kings, and Good News Translation makes this clear. The full expression can be rendered then as “all previous kings in Jerusalem.”

And my mind has had great experience of wisdom and knowledge: Qoheleth uses the word “heart” where in English the word mind would be used to describe that part of the body where thinking takes place. Translators should use the appropriate body part (mind, insides, bile, liver) for a natural rendering. “My heart saw” is Qoheleth’s way of saying that he gained some insight. There is an emphasis in this part of the verse on Qoheleth’s intellectual achievement, so the verb “saw” means that he had a deep insight into things.

Qoheleth has used the word wisdom already (1.13), but here he joins it to the word knowledge. “Wisdom” is different from “knowledge” because “wisdom” can come only with maturity, broad experience, and thoughtful reflection. It also has the specialized meanings mentioned in the notes on verse 13 above. “Knowledge” can be gained by reading, listening, and so on, but it is only the starting point for becoming mature. Also “knowledge” can be of evil things, whereas “wisdom” can only describe some positive value. If the distinction between these two terms cannot be made using two nouns, a verbal clause may substitute; for example, “I came to know what it is to be wise, and I learned many things [about the world].” Idiomatic forms may also be available: “I got to the bottom of wisdom” or “I understood the inside of wisdom.”

Another possibility is that a language may prefer to reverse the order of the sentences here, such as “I thought to myself, … ‘I have found out what wisdom and knowledge really are. I have become very wise, more than all those who ruled as kings in Jerusalem before me.’ ”

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 .

A time to weep almost certainly means a time to weep in lamentation, hence Good News Translation “a time for sorrow.” Note, however, that this verb is set over against the verb “laugh.”

A time to laugh: although Qoheleth sometimes uses “laugh” with a negative meaning (as in 7.3), here it appears to be joyous laughter (Good News Translation “a time for joy”).

Suggestions for translation are:

• Sometimes it is right to weep [in mourning], sometimes it is right to laugh [for joy].

• We weep at certain times, and we laugh at certain times.

A time to mourn reminds us that we don’t always mourn, and that even for periods of mourning there are fixed limits.

A time to dance illustrates the opposite reaction to mourning. Dancing is usually associated with moments of great joy and thanksgiving, and may be for religious or other purposes. Whichever it is, the point Qoheleth stresses is that we do these things only when it is appropriate. So “there is a right time to mourn and a right time to dance.” Dancing may have different meanings and purposes in cultures other than the Israelite one, so it is possible that some clarification is called for. In many parts of Africa, for example, dancing is an inherent part of mourning. So the translator may find it necessary to use a term like “celebration” to show what the dancing expresses.

Two possible examples for translation are:

• There is a time to sit and mourn and a time to rise up and dance.

• There is a time to mourn in sorrow, and a time to dance for joy.

Translators should avoid the Good News Translation example “He sets the time for…,” which suggests that God is the one who determines the time. As explained above, this makes the translation go beyond the ideas expressed in the poem.

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 .