SIL Translator’s Notes on Ecclesiastes 2006 – Page 2

SIL Translator’s Notes on Ecclesiastes 3:21

3:21a Who knows

But no one really knows ⌊what happens after death⌋ .
-or-
Only God knows
-or-
Who knows what happens to a person’s spirit? (English Easy-to-Read Version)

3:21b if the spirit of man rises upward and the spirit of the animal descends into the earth?

Maybe a person’s spirit will go up ⌊to God after they die⌋ . And maybe the animal will just fall to the ground ⌊when it dies⌋ .
-or-

⌊whether⌋ the human spirit goes up ⌊to God⌋ , and the spirit of animals goes down into the earth.

3:21a-b (combined)

Nobody knows for sure if the human spirit rises to heaven or if the animal spirit sinks into the earth.
-or-
Do the spirits of humans go up into the sky when we die? Do the spirits of animals go down into the ground? Nobody really knows. (EEB)

© 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 5:15

5:15a As a man came from his mother’s womb, so he will depart again, naked as he arrived.

We had nothing when we were born, and we will have nothing when we die.
-or-
They were born with nothing. When they die, they will have nothing. (EASY2015)
-or-
People come into the world with nothing. And when they die, they leave with nothing. (English Easy-to-Read Version)

5:15b He takes nothing for his labor to carry in his hands.

We cannot take with us any ⌊reward⌋ for our hard work.
-or-
They cannot take anything with them when they leave this earth. They will have nothing for all their work. (Easy English Bible)
-or-
They might work hard to get things, but they cannot take anything with them when they die. (English Easy-to-Read Version)

SIL Translator’s Notes on Ecclesiastes 7:15

Section 7:15-8:1

No one can be completely wise

7:15a In my futile life I have seen both of these:

I have seen both extremes in my pointless life.
-or-
In my short life, I have seen everything. (English Easy-to-Read Version)
-or-
My life has been useless, but in it I have seen everything. (Good News Translation)

7:15b A righteous man perishing in his righteousness,

Some godly people do what is right, and yet they die ⌊while they are young⌋ .
-or-
Sometimes righteous people may die when they are still young. They did good things, but they died. (EEB)
-or-
I have seen good people die. Their good behavior didn’t mean that they would live long lives.

7:15c and a wicked man living long in his wickedness.

And some evil people do what is wrong, and yet they live long lives.
-or-
And sometimes wicked people continue to live for along time. They did evil things, but they continued to live. (EEB)
-or-
And ⌊I have seen⌋ bad people live a long time. Their evil behavior did not mean they would live short lives.

SIL Translator’s Notes on Ecclesiastes 9:1

Section 9:1-12

People don’t know what might happen to them

9:1a So I took all this to heart and concluded

Indeed I thought carefully about these things, exploring everything ⌊completely⌋ .
-or-
Now I thought about all these things deeply so that I could understand them.

9:1b that the righteous and the wise, as well as their deeds, are in God’s hands.

And ⌊I concluded that⌋ God controls the actions of godly and wise people.
-or-
I saw that God controls good people and wise people and what they do, (New Century Version)

9:1c Man does not know what lies ahead, whether love or hate.

No one knows ⌊who will⌋ love ⌊them⌋ and ⌊who will⌋ hate ⌊them⌋ .
-or-
but no one knows if they will experience love or hate. (New Century Version)
-or-
But no one knows if he will see good or bad times. (ICB).

SIL Translator’s Notes on Ecclesiastes 10:15

10:15a The toil of a fool wearies him,

The work foolish people do makes them tired. (New International Reader’s Version)
-or-
When a fool does any work, he quickly becomes tired. (EEB)

10:15b for he does not know the way to the city.

They donʼt even know the way to town. (New International Reader’s Version)
-or-
He is so tired that he forgets the way to town. (EEB)

SIL Translator’s Notes on Ecclesiastes 1:11

1:11a There is no remembrance of those who came before,

People do not remember what happened long ago.
-or-
People don’t remember what people who lived earlier did
-or-
The problem is we don’t remember people from the past, (FBV)

1:11b and those yet to come will not be remembered by those who follow after.

The following generations will not be remembered by those generations that are still to come.
-or-
and people who are born later, no one will remember what they will do either.
-or-
and people in the future won’t remember those who came before them. (FBV)
-or-
In the future, people will not remember what has happened before them either.

SIL Translator’s Notes on Ecclesiastes 2:26

2:26a To the man who is pleasing in His sight, He gives wisdom and knowledge and joy,

Some people please God. And He makes them wise, understanding, and happy.
-or-
To those who are good in God’s eyes, God gives wisdom, knowledge, and joy.
-or-
If we obey God, he will make us wise and understanding. And he will help us to enjoy our life,

2:26b but to the sinner He assigns the task of gathering and accumulating that which he will hand over to one who pleases God.

But God gives sinful people the task to gather and store wealth, which they then must give to those who please him.
-or-
But if we do not obey God, our lives will be difficult. God will cause us to give what we have accomplished to someone who obeys him.
-or-
but he makes sinners work, earning and saving, so that what they get can be given to those who please him. (Good News Translation)

2:26c This too is futile and a pursuit of the wind.

So the work ⌊of sinful people⌋ is pointless too, just like chasing the wind.
-or-
This too, is useless, like trying to control where the wind blows.

SIL Translator’s Notes on Ecclesiastes 4:10

4:10a For if one falls down, his companion can lift him up;

Also, if one person falls down, then his companion can help him get back up.
-or-
If you fall, a friend can help you. (Easy English Bible)

4:10b but pity the one who falls without another to help him up!

But those who are alone when they fall have no one to help them. (English Easy-to-Read Version)
-or-
You may fall when you are alone. If you do that, you really are in trouble. (EASY2015)

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Source: SIL Translator’s Notes on Ecclesiastes 2006