SIL Translator’s Notes on Ecclesiastes 2006 – Page 23

SIL Translator’s Notes on Ecclesiastes 8:8

8:8a As no man has power over the wind to contain it,

(Revised Standard Version🙂 No man has power to retain the spirit,

There is no one who can control the spirit’s departure.
-or-
There is no one with power to hold back ⌊his⌋ spirit from leaving ⌊his body⌋ .

8:8b so no one has authority over his day of death.

No one has control over the day of his own death. (God’s Word)
-or-
And no one has the power to decide when they will die. (New International Reader’s Version)

8:8c As no one can be discharged in wartime,

There is no escape from battle,
-or-
Just as no one can be released from fighting during a war,
-or-
No soldier is released in times of war, (New Century Version)

8:8d so wickedness will not release those who practice it.

and wickedness won’t save the person doing evil either.
-or-
so wickedness cannot save the one who does ⌊evil things⌋ .
-or-
also, if people do wicked things, that will not help them ⌊to avoid punishment⌋ .

8:8a-d (combined)

No one can control his own life-breath and no one can say when he will die. No one is dismissed when the battle’s raging and no evil person is saved by doing evil.
-or-
No one has the power to keep their spirit from leaving or to stop their death. During war, no soldier has the freedom to go wherever he wants. In the same way evil does not allow anyone who does wrong to go free. (English Easy-to-Read Version)

© 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 10:5

10:5a There is an evil I have seen under the sun—

I have observed something wrong in this world.
-or-
I have seen another terrible thing that happens on the earth. (EEB)

10:5b an error that proceeds from the ruler:

It is a typical mistake that rulers make.
-or-
It is the kind of mistake that rulers make. (English Easy-to-Read Version)

SIL Translator’s Notes on Ecclesiastes 12:7

12:7a before the dust returns to the ground from which it came

⌊Remember him before⌋ your body, that is made of dust, will become dust again.
-or-
Your body came from the earth. And when you die, it will return to the earth. (English Easy-to-Read Version)
-or-
Our bodies will be ⌊buried and decay to ⌋ dust of the earth, because that is what they are made of.

12:7b and the spirit returns to God who gave it.

And ⌊remember him before⌋ your spirit will return to God who gave it ⌊to you⌋ .
-or-
But your spirit came from God, and when you die, it will return to him. (English Easy-to-Read Version)
-or-
And the breath of life will go back to God, who gave it to us. (Good News Translation)

SIL Translator’s Notes on Ecclesiastes 2:16

2:16a For there is no lasting remembrance of the wise, just as with the fool,

This is so because no one remembers wise people or fools for very long.
-or-
Nobody remembers the wise or the fool for very long (FBV)
-or-
People soon forget the wise man just as they forget the fools.

2:16b seeing that both will be forgotten in the days to come.

It is already certain that in the future people will forget all about them.
-or-
In days to come, we will all be forgotten. (Good News Translation)
-or-
People will only too soon forget both, ⌊the wise and the foolish person, once they have died⌋ .

2:16c Alas, the wise man will die just like the fool!

How awful! Just like fools, wise people must die too.
-or-
Even wise men, like fools, must die in the end! (EASY2015)

2:16a-c (combined)

The wise person and the fool will both die, and no one will remember either one for long. In the future, both will be forgotten. (New Century Version)
-or-
Wise or foolish, we all die and are soon forgotten.” (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
Whether people are wise or foolish, they will still die, and no one will remember either one of them forever. In the future, people will forget everything both of them did. So the two are really the same. (English Easy-to-Read Version)

SIL Translator’s Notes on Ecclesiastes 3:22

3:22a I have seen that there is nothing better for a man than to enjoy his work,

So I realized that there is nothing better for people to do than to be satisfied with their work.
-or-
So a person should enjoy their work. I saw that thereʼs nothing better for them to do than that,

3:22b because that is his lot.

⌊I say that⌋ because that ⌊satisfaction⌋ is their reward ⌊for working⌋ .
-or-
because that is all they have.

3:22c For who can bring him to see what will come after him?

After all, who can show them what will happen after they are gone? (New International Reader’s Version) ⌊Nobody can.⌋
-or-

⌊No one⌋ can show them what will happen ⌊to them⌋ after ⌊they die⌋ .

3:22a-c (Reordered)

So I realized that people should enjoy the work that they do. That is the best thing for us to do. It is what God has provided for us. I think that is best, because nobody can show us what will finally happen to us. (EEB)
-or-
Who can bring them to see what will happen ⌊to them⌋ after they die? ⌊Nobody can.⌋ Therefore I saw that there is nothing better for people than to enjoy their work, because that is what God gave them.

SIL Translator’s Notes on Ecclesiastes 5:16

5:16a This too is a grievous evil:

This is also something bad which causes terrible suffering.
-or-
This also is a painful tragedy. (God’s Word)

5:16b Exactly as a man is born, so he will depart.

People are born ⌊having nothing⌋ , just like they die ⌊keeping nothing⌋ .
-or-
People leave this earth with nothing, as they came into it with nothing. (EEB)
-or-
People leave this world just as they came. (English Easy-to-Read Version)

5:16c What does he gain as he toils for the wind?

So they do not gain anything. They work hard for nothing.
-or-
They have worked hard, but they receive no lasting benefit. (Translation for Translators)
-or-
They live as if they were trying to catch the wind. But after all their work, they have nothing. (Easy English Bible)

SIL Translator’s Notes on Ecclesiastes 7:16

7:16a Do not be overly righteous,

Donʼt claim to be better than you are. (New International Reader’s Version)
-or-
So do not try to be too good (EEB)

7:16b and do not make yourself too wise.

And donʼt claim to be wiser than you are.
-or-
or too wise. (EEB)

7:16c Why should you destroy yourself?

Why make yourself miserable? (God’s Word) ⌊There is no point in it.⌋
-or-
You will only spoil your life.
-or-
That might cause you to have trouble. (EEB)

SIL Translator’s Notes on Ecclesiastes 9:2

9:2a It is the same for all: There is a common fate

Everyone shares the same fate. (NET Bible)
-or-
But, there is one thing that happens to everyone—we all die! (English Easy-to-Read Version)
-or-
But there is something which happens to everyone. (EEB)

9:2b for the righteous and the wicked,

Righteous and wicked people ⌊will die⌋ .
-or-

⌊It happens to⌋ righteous people and to evil people.
-or-
It happens to righteous people and it happens to wicked people. (EEB)

9:2c for the good and the bad,

The good people and the bad people ⌊will die⌋ .
-or-

⌊It happens to⌋ good ⌊and to⌋ bad people.
-or-
It happens to good people and it happens to bad people. (EEB)

9:2d for the clean and the unclean,

Clean people and unclean people ⌊will both die⌋ .
-or-

⌊It happens to⌋ ⌊ritually⌋ clean people and to ⌊ritually⌋ unclean people.
-or-
It happens to people who are clean in front of God and it happens to people who are unclean. (EEB)

9:2e for the one who sacrifices and the one who does not.

People who offer sacrifices and people who do not sacrifice ⌊will die⌋ .
-or-

⌊It happens to⌋ to those who bring sacrifices and to those who do not.
-or-
It happens to people who offer sacrifices to God and it happens to people who do not do that. (EEB)

9:2f As it is for the good, so it is for the sinner;

Good people ⌊will die⌋ just like sinful people ⌊will die⌋ .
-or-

⌊It happens to⌋ good people as well as to sinners.
-or-
It happens to good people and to people who turn away from God. (EEB)

9:2g as it is for the one who makes a vow, so it is for the one who refuses to take a vow.

People who ⌊easily⌋ make promises ⌊will die⌋ just like people who are reluctant to make promises ⌊will die⌋ .
-or-

⌊It happens to⌋ those who make vows and to those who are afraid to make vows.
-or-
It happens to people who make promises to God. It also happens to people who are afraid to do that. (EEB)

9:2a-g (combined)

Everyone will die someday. Death comes to godly and sinful people alike. It comes to good and bad people alike. It comes to “clean” and “unclean” people alike. Those who offer sacrifices and those who donʼt offer them also die. A good person dies, and so does a sinner. Those who make promises die. So do those who are afraid to make them. (New International Reader’s Version)
-or-
It makes no difference. The same fate comes to the righteous and the wicked, to the good and the bad, to those who are religious and those who are not, to those who offer sacrifices and those who do not. A good person is no better off than a sinner; one who takes an oath is no better off than one who does not. (Good News Translation)

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Source: SIL Translator’s Notes on Ecclesiastes 2006