SIL Translator’s Notes on Ecclesiastes 2006 – Page 4

SIL Translator’s Notes on Ecclesiastes 8:6

8:6a For there is a right time and procedure to every purpose,

Everything ⌊happens⌋ according to the proper time and plan of action.
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For there is a time and a way for everything. (English Standard Version)
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Thereʼs a proper time and way for people to do everything. (New International Reader’s Version)

8:6b though a man’s misery weighs heavily upon him.

However, people are ⌊still⌋ oppressed by troubles.
-or-
Yet people often have many troubles.
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But trouble comes to people anyway. (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 10:3

10:3a Even as the fool walks along the road, his sense is lacking,

Also every fool has a lifelong habit of senseless ⌊behavior⌋ .
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Fools show how foolish they are, just walking down the road. (English Easy-to-Read Version)
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Fools show their stupidity by the way they live. (Contemporary English Version)

10:3b and he shows everyone that he is a fool.

Thus he shows everyone what a fool he is.
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They let everyone know that they are fools.
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They walk ⌊and live as if they are saying,⌋ “I am a fool!”

SIL Translator’s Notes on Ecclesiastes 12:5

12:5a when men fear the heights

⌊Remember him before⌋ you will be afraid of heights.
-or-
It is difficult for old people to go uphill,
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You will be afraid of high places, (Good News Translation)

12:5b and dangers of the road,

And ⌊remember him before⌋ you are afraid of dangers along the road.
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and they are terrified of being attacked in the street.
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and walking will be dangerous. (Good News Translation)

12:5a-b (combined)

⌊Remember your Creator before⌋ you will be afraid of heights and of dangers in the streets.
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You will be afraid to climb up a hill or walk down a road. (Contemporary English Version)

12:5c when the almond tree blossoms,

Remember your Creator before the almond trees have buds on them. (New International Reader’s Version)
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Your hair will turn white. (Good News Translation)
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When you are old, your hair will become white, like the flowers on an almond tree. (EEB)

12:5d the grasshopper loses its spring,

⌊Remember him before⌋ you feel lifeless and drag along like an old grasshopper.
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You will hardly be able to drag yourself along,
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You will feel too tired to move yourself, like an old grasshopper. (EEB)

12:5e and the caper berry shrivels—

(New American Standard Bible🙂 and the caper berry is ineffective.

⌊Remember him before⌋ you no longer have sexual desire.
-or-
with no appetite for anything.
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You will not want to have sex. (EEB)

12:5c-e (combined)

⌊Remember him before⌋ you are afraid to climb up a steep hill and to walk along a road. ⌊Remember him before⌋ your hair becomes white. It will be like white flowers on a bush. You will feel very tired all the time. And you will not want to have sex any longer.
-or-

⌊It is the time⌋ when people find it difficult to go uphill. They are afraid of dangers in the streets. Their hair turns white like flowers on a tree. They walk slowly like an ⌊old⌋ grasshopper and have no interest in anything anymore.

12:5f for then man goes to his eternal home

Everyone goes to their eternal dwelling
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You are going to your final resting place.
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Finally, we will all die and go to our home in the ground. (EEB)

12:5g and mourners walk the streets

and the mourners are assembling in the street.
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The mourners will gather in the streets as they carry your body to the grave. (English Easy-to-Read Version)
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Many people will weep at our funeral. (EEB)

SIL Translator’s Notes on Ecclesiastes 2:14

2:14a The wise man has eyes in his head, but the fool walks in darkness.

A wise person’s eyes guide him, but fools walk in darkness.
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Wise people use their minds like eyes to see where they are going. But for fools, it is as if they are walking in the dark. (English Easy-to-Read Version)
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Wisdom is like having two good eyes. Wise people see where they are going. The foolish, however, ⌊are like blind people. They stumble as if it is⌋ dark.

2:14b Yet I also came to realize that one fate overcomes them both.

And yet I also know that all of their lives will all end in the same way, ⌊in death⌋ .
-or-
But at the end of their lives, they both die. (EASY2015)
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But I also realized that they all come to the same end. (FBV)

SIL Translator’s Notes on Ecclesiastes 3:20

3:20a All go to one place;

All of them end up in the grave.
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All of them die.

3:20b all come from dust, and all return to dust.

⌊God made⌋ them from dust, and their ⌊bodies⌋ become dust ⌊after they die⌋ .
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They came from the earth, and, in the end, they will go back to the earth. (English Easy-to-Read Version)

3:20a-b (combined)

All are going to one place. All come from the dust, and all will return to the dust.
-or-
All living beings have the same end. They are all made from the dust and will all become dust again.

SIL Translator’s Notes on Ecclesiastes 5:14

5:14a or wealth lost in a failed venture,

Something may happen in the future that causes their money to disappear. (EEB)
-or-
These hoarded riches were then lost in bad business deals. (God’s Word)
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Then something bad happens and they lose everything. (English Easy-to-Read Version)

5:14b so when that man has a son there is nothing to pass on.

This would mean that they have nothing to leave their children ⌊when they die⌋ .
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The owners had children, but now they have nothing to give them. (God’s Word)
-or-
After they die, no money remains for their children. (EEB)

5:14a-b (combined)

There was a man who was guarding his riches against some misfortune. But he lost those riches through bad luck and there was nothing left for his children.
-or-
At a future time, they may discover that they have lost all their money. Then, after they die, there will be no money for their children. (EASY2015)

SIL Translator’s Notes on Ecclesiastes 7:14

7:14a In the day of prosperity, be joyful,

When life is good, enjoy it.
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When things are going well for you, be glad, (Good News Translation)

7:14b but in the day of adversity, consider this:

But when life is difficult, think:
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But when times are bad, remember:

7:14c God has made one of these along with the other,

God makes good times and bad times.
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God causes both joy and trouble in our lives. (EEB)

7:14d so that a man cannot discover anything that will come after him.

So no one can know anything about the future.
-or-
And no one knows what will happen in the future.

SIL Translator’s Notes on Ecclesiastes 8:17

8:17a I saw every work of God,

Next I thought about everything that God does.
-or-
Then I studied everything God does, (FBV)

8:17b and that a man is unable to comprehend the work that is done under the sun.

⌊And I realized⌋ that no one is able to completely understand the things that happen in this world.
-or-
and I realized that no one can fully understand what happens here. (FBV)
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Surely no one is able to ⌊completely⌋ understand what God does in this world.

8:17c Despite his efforts to search it out, he cannot find its meaning;

No matter how hard they try, they will never completely understand the reason ⌊why things happen the way they do⌋ .
-or-
Even if they try very much, they will not know everything. (EEB)

8:17d even if the wise man claims to know, he is unable to comprehend.

Wise people might claim they know. But they canʼt really understand it either. (New International Reader’s Version)
-or-
A wise person may say that he understands all these things. But really that is not possible. (EEB)
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And even though ⌊some⌋ wise people say that they understand ⌊everything⌋ , they still are not able to completely understand ⌊what happens⌋ .

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Source: SIL Translator’s Notes on Ecclesiastes 2006