SIL Translator’s Notes on Ecclesiastes 2006

SIL Translator’s Notes on Ecclesiastes 1:8

1:8a All things are wearisome, more than one can describe;

This is all so tedious, more than anyone can express.
-or-
Life makes us tired. It makes us so tired that we could not tell anyone about it. (EASY2015)

1:8b the eye is not satisfied with seeing,

People are never satisfied with what they have seen,
-or-
We (incl.) may see ⌊many things⌋ , but we always want to see more.
-or-
We never see ⌊enough⌋

1:8c nor the ear content with hearing.

nor are they content with what they have heard.
-or-
We (incl.) may hear ⌊many things⌋ , but we always want to hear more.
-or-
or hear ⌊enough⌋ that we are satisfied.

1:8a-c (combined)

Everything is boring, completely boring, more than can be said. No one can find any meaning in it. ⌊It is⌋ boring to watch and boring to listen to.
-or-
All this activity is so tedious that one cannot describe it. People always want to see more and hear more.

© 2006 by SIL International®
Made available under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License (CC BY-SA) creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0.
All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible.
BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee.

SIL Translator’s Notes on Ecclesiastes 2:24

2:24a Nothing is better for a man than to eat and drink and enjoy his work.

So I decided that there was nothing better for a man to do than to enjoy his food and drink and his job. (TLB)
-or-
To eat, drink, and enjoy your work is the best approach to life.
-or-
The best that people can do is just to eat food, drink drinks, and enjoy their hard work.
-or-
We should eat and we should drink. And we should enjoy our work. There is nothing better that we can do than those things. (EASY2015)

2:24b I have also seen that this is from the hand of God.

I understood, that this too comes from God.
-or-
I realized that God gives people these things.

SIL Translator’s Notes on Ecclesiastes 4:8

4:8a There is a man all alone,

I saw a man who has no family, (English Easy-to-Read Version)
-or-
Some people are alone.

4:8b without even a son or brother.

not a son or even a brother. (English Easy-to-Read Version)
-or-
They have no children and no relatives.

4:8c And though there is no end to his labor,

But he continues to work very hard. (English Easy-to-Read Version)
-or-
And yet they work hard all the time,

4:8d his eyes are still not content with his wealth:

Whatever he has, it is never enough for him.
-or-
but they are never satisfied by ⌊gathering more and more⌋ wealth.

4:8e “For whom do I toil

And he works so hard that he never stops and asks himself, “Why am I working so hard? (English Easy-to-Read Version)
-or-
They don’t plan for their work to benefit anyone.
-or-
They don’t take the time to think about why they are working so hard.

4:8f and bereave my soul of enjoyment?”

Why do I not take ⌊time to enjoy⌋ good ⌊things in life⌋ ?”
-or-
They should plan that their hard work would make themselves happy.
-or-
They do not enjoy what they have.

4:8g This too is futile—a miserable task.

This is also a pointless and miserable task.
-or-

⌊But they don’t so,⌋ this too is pointless.
-or-
Their work has no purpose. It only brings trouble to their lives. (EEB)

4:8a-g (combined)

For example, some people don’t have friends or family. But they are never satisfied with what they own, and they never stop working to get more. They should ask themselves, “Why am I always working to have more? Who will get what I leave behind?” What a senseless and miserable life! (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
Some people live alone. They cannot give things to friends or to children because they have no friends or children. They are not happy with the things that they have. But they continue to work so that they can get more. They should ask themselves, “Whom are we working for?” They should ask themselves why they do not enjoy their life more. This is like sad work.

SIL Translator’s Notes on Ecclesiastes 6:4

6:4a For a stillborn child enters in futility and departs in darkness,

(Revised Standard Version🙂 For it comes into vanity and goes into darkness,

It is senseless when a baby is born dead. The baby is quickly buried in a dark grave. (English Easy-to-Read Version)
-or-
The ⌊dead⌋ child’s birth has no purpose. He immediately goes to a dark place. (EEB)

6:4b and his name is shrouded in obscurity.

And he would have died without even being named.
-or-
And no one would have known anything about him.

6:4a-b (combined)

It is senseless when a baby is born dead. The baby is quickly buried in a dark grave, without even a name. (English Easy-to-Read Version)
-or-
That kind of birth does not have any meaning. The baby dies in darkness and leaves this world. Nobody knows his name.

SIL Translator’s Notes on Ecclesiastes 7:24

7:24a What exists is out of reach and very deep.

I am so far from ⌊understanding⌋ everything. There is so very very much ⌊to know⌋ .
-or-
I cannot understand why things are as they are. (English Easy-to-Read Version)

7:24b Who can fathom it?

Who can find it? ⌊Nobody can!⌋
-or-
It is ⌊practically⌋ impossible to understand it all.
-or-
It is too hard for anyone to understand. (English Easy-to-Read Version)

SIL Translator’s Notes on Ecclesiastes 9:10

9:10a Whatever you find to do with your hands, do it with all your might,

Whatever you decide to do, do your absolute best,
-or-
Every time you find work to do, do it the best you can. (English Easy-to-Read Version)

9:10b for in Sheol, where you are going,

because you will ⌊eventually⌋ be in the grave.
-or-
One day you will die and you will go into your grave. (EEB)

9:10c there is no work or planning or knowledge or wisdom.

There you will not be able to work or plan ahead. Your knowledge and wisdom will not ⌊be useful to you then⌋ .
-or-
Then it will not be possible for you to work. You will not think about future events. You will not know anything. (EASY2015)

SIL Translator’s Notes on Ecclesiastes 11:4

11:4a He who watches the wind will fail to sow,

If someone keeps watching ⌊for perfect⌋ weather, then he will never plant his crops.
-or-
A farmer who waits for the right wind will never plant any seeds. (EEB)

11:4b and he who observes the clouds will fail to reap.

And if he thinks that each cloud ⌊will bring rain⌋ , then he will never harvest his crops.
-or-
If he is always looking at the clouds, he will never bring in his crops. (EEB)

11:4a-b (reordered)

But there are some things that you cannot be sure of. You must take a chance. If you wait for perfect weather, you will never plant your seeds. If you are afraid that every cloud will bring rain, you will never harvest your crops. (English Easy-to-Read Version)
-or-
If you wait for perfect conditions, you will never get anything done. (TLB)

SIL Translator’s Notes on Ecclesiastes 2:3

2:3a I sought to cheer my body with wine and to embrace folly—

I explored ways to make myself feel better by drinking wine. I also explored ways to do some foolish things. (God’s Word)
-or-
So I decided to drink wine to make myself happy. I wanted to understand how a fool thinks. (EASY2015)

2:3b my mind still guiding me with wisdom—

In all this I was still thinking like wise people do.
-or-
I continued to seek wisdom
-or-
But I did not want to be a fool myself. (EASY2015)

2:3c until I could see what was worthwhile for men to do

I wanted to discover what benefits people
-or-
until I could determine what was best for people to do

2:3d under heaven during the few days of their lives.

during their short lives here in this world.
-or-
in the brief time that we (incl.) live on earth.

2:3a-d (combined)

I wanted to find out what was best for us during the short time we have on this earth. So I decided to make myself happy with wine and find out what it means to be foolish, without really being foolish myself. (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
I drank wine in order to see, whether it would make me happy. But I ⌊did not drink too much and⌋ kept a clear mind. Next I tested foolishness. I wanted to know what is the best thing for people to do during their short lives on earth.

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Source: SIL Translator’s Notes on Ecclesiastes 2006