SIL Translator’s Notes on Ecclesiastes 2006 – Page 24

SIL Translator’s Notes on Ecclesiastes 10:18

10:18a Through laziness the roof caves in,

Lazy people let the roofs of ⌊their own⌋ houses rot.
-or-
Lazy people let their roofs collapse, (FBV)

10:18b and in the hands of the idle, the house leaks.

And the roof leaks because they will not work.
-or-
idle people don’t repair their leaky houses. (FBV)
-or-
Because of hands that arenʼt busy, the house leaks. (New International Reader’s Version)

10:18a-b (combined)

Some people are too lazy to fix a leaky roof— then the house collapses. (EASY2015)
-or-
If a man is too lazy to work on his house, its roof will fall down. Rain will make his rooms wet. (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 1:14

1:14a I have seen all the things that are done under the sun,

I have watched everything going on in this world.
-or-
I have considered everything that people do in this world.

1:14b and have found them all to be futile, a pursuit of the wind.

Look! All those activities are pointless ⌊like⌋ trying to catch the wind.
-or-
Everything is as useless as trying to control where the wind blows.
-or-

⌊I want you (plur.) to know that⌋ everything ⌊that people do⌋ is as useless as ⌊people⌋ trying to control where the wind blows.

SIL Translator’s Notes on Ecclesiastes 3:3

3:3a a time to kill and a time to heal,

⌊There is⌋ a time for killing, and a time for healing.
-or-

⌊There is also⌋ a time ⌊when people⌋ kill ⌊others⌋ and a time ⌊when people⌋ heal ⌊others⌋ .
-or-

⌊People⌋ kill ⌊others⌋ at a certain time and ⌊people⌋ help ⌊others⌋ to get well at a certain time.

3:3b a time to break down and a time to build,

⌊There is⌋ a time for tearing down and a time for building up.
-or-
There is a time ⌊when people⌋ tear down ⌊houses⌋ and a time ⌊when people⌋ build up ⌊houses⌋ .
-or-

⌊People⌋ destroy ⌊things⌋ at a certain time and ⌊people⌋ build ⌊new things⌋ at a certain time.

SIL Translator’s Notes on Ecclesiastes 4:13

Section 4:13-16

Thinking you are very important is useless

4:13 Better is a poor but wise youth than an old but foolish king who no longer knows how to take a warning.

A poor young person who is wise is better ⌊able to rule⌋ than an old king who is foolish and no longer remembers how to listen to advice.
-or-
⌊There may be⌋ an old king, who doesn’t listen to people who warn him ⌊when he makes a bad decision⌋ . ⌊And there may be⌋ a young man, poor but wise. The young man is better than the old king.
-or-
You may be poor and you may be young. But anyway it is a good thing to be wise. A king will not always listen when people speak to him. If you are wise, you are better. You are better than that kind of king. He is a fool. (Easy English Bible)

SIL Translator’s Notes on Ecclesiastes 6:9

6:9a Better what the eye can see than the wandering of desire.

⌊Be content with⌋ what you have, rather than always wanting something different.
-or-
It is better to be happy with what you have than to always want more and more. (English Easy-to-Read Version)

6:9b This too is futile and a pursuit of the wind.

⌊Desiring what you do not have⌋ is pointless, just like chasing the wind.
-or-

⌊Always wanting more and more⌋ is useless. It is like trying to control where the wind blows.

6:9a-b (combined)

It is better to look at what is in front of you than to go looking for what you want. Even this is pointless. It’s like trying to catch the wind. (God’s Word)
-or-
It’s better to enjoy what we have than to always want something else, because that makes no more sense than chasing the wind. (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
It is good to enjoy the things that we have. That is better than to want more things all the time. If you always try to get more things, that has no purpose. It is like somebody who tries to catch the wind. (EEB)

SIL Translator’s Notes on Ecclesiastes 7:29

7:29a Only this have I found:

There is only one thing that I learned.
-or-
The only thing I did find was,

7:29b I have discovered that God made men upright,

God created people right in every way.
-or-
God made people to do what is right. (EEB)

7:29c but they have sought out many schemes.”

But theyʼve made many evil plans. (New International Reader’s Version)
-or-
But they are always inventing ⌊their own⌋ ways of doing things.

SIL Translator’s Notes on Ecclesiastes 9:15

9:15a Now a poor wise man was found in the city,

Now there was a poor wise man who lived in that town,
-or-
However, a poor but wise man lived in the city. (NET Bible)

9:15b and he saved the city by his wisdom.

who was wise enough to save the people in that city.
-or-
Using his wisdom, he saved the town ⌊from the enemies⌋ .

9:15c Yet no one remembered that poor man.

But after he saved it, nobody remembered that poor man. (EEB)
-or-
After everything was finished, the people forgot about the poor man. (English Easy-to-Read Version)

SIL Translator’s Notes on Ecclesiastes 11:9

11:9a Rejoice, O young man, while you are young,

So you young people should enjoy yourselves while you are ⌊still⌋ young.
-or-
Young people, enjoy your life while you are young. (EEB)

11:9b and let your heart be glad in the days of your youth.

Feel good about life while you are still young.
-or-
Enjoy every minute of it! (New Living Translation (2004))

11:9c Walk in the ways of your heart and in the sight of your eyes,

Do what you want and find pleasure in what you see. (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
Do what what interests you and enjoy what you see.

11:9d but know that for all these things God will bring you to judgment.

But remember that God will judge you for all your thoughts and actions. (FBV)
-or-
But I want you to know that God will judge you for everything you do. (New International Reader’s Version)

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Source: SIL Translator’s Notes on Ecclesiastes 2006