Numerous problems face us in this verse, so suggestions for translation are given somewhat tentatively.

The Hebrew text itself is a problem, and it will be necessary in places to add footnotes to alert readers to this fact, stating that the translation is uncertain. The practice of adding footnotes on textual problems may not appeal to some translators and readers. However, it is important that we be honest and let readers know that occasionally the Hebrew text we have now is not always as complete as we may wish it to be. This verse is one of several in Qoheleth where the original text is uncertain.

The verse begins with an unusual Hebrew combination of the preposition b and the conjunction ken, forming an adverbial expression, “On this condition then.” Est 4.16 is the only other Old Testament example of its use. In that context it introduces a very emotional statement (“Then I will go to the king, though it is against the law; and if I perish, I perish”). Likewise in this passage we feel the emotional overtone as Qoheleth moves from thinking about how people “lord it over” each other, to how the wicked seem to triumph in life and death. Good News Translation uses an emphatic “Yes.” Translators can use a marker or term that continues the discussion, all the while marking a new subject for reflection.

I saw the wicked buried: once again Qoheleth describes something that caused him to think deeply. The situation is described very briefly as “the wicked [were] buried.” This is a brief noun phrase featuring the passive participle buried. On the term wicked see comments on 3.16-17; “corrupt persons,” or “those who disobey the Law,” are possible translations.

Problems in interpretation begin with this phrase because the following Hebrew term, which is literally “and they come,” has little meaning as it stands. Textual variants indicate that the problem with this word is a longstanding one. We summarize the two most logical solutions below.
(1) Some feel an m was mistakenly left off the beginning of this verb (since the preceding word “being buried” [qevurim] ends in m) This would change the verb “come” into a participle “coming.”
(2) Others suggest that the last letter of the previous word (qevurim) belongs with the verb “come,” making the word qever the place where the wicked were brought (muvaʾim). The text would then be “the wicked are brought to the grave.”

Both solutions have merit, but the second seems better, since this gives a meaning closer to the Septuagint and is more in line with Hebrew grammar. We propose, then, this second solution, with a translation “evil people were taken for burial.” A footnote will be required, however, to indicate that the translation depends on a textual adjustment.

A literal translation such as Revised Standard Version leaves several things unstated and probably unclear to the reader. When anyone dies they are normally taken for burial, so the phrase the wicked buried really means that they were buried with much show and ceremony. This would have been quite inappropriate in strict Israelite circles; rather, such persons would have been quietly disposed of in disgrace. The implicit meaning can be expressed in our translation, though we should be careful not to say more than is reasonable. Hence “evil persons buried with much ceremony,” or “wicked people given public funerals,” can be considered.

They used to go in and out: the phrase they used to go in is the Revised Standard Version rendering of the Hebrew verb wavaʾu. However, it is possible that the original text was different from the one that was handed down to us, and we should therefore change what we have. In combination with the following verb (yehalleku), the present text produces the idea of going in and out. The textual change removes that sense, so some adjustment to our translation will be required. Again a footnote will be necessary.

They used to go … out of the holy place: if we follow the probable Hebrew text we translate it as “they used to go from the holy place.” The holy place may refer to the Temple as well as to any other sacred space. The phrase concludes with the verb, which means literally “walk,” and would mean that the funeral procession set off from the holy place. Some have suggested that the term holy place has an Egyptian background and means “grave.” Gordis also suggests that it is probably a euphemism for the grave. He has the crowd at the funeral “returning from the sacred ground,” an idea similar to Good News Translation “on the way back from the cemetery.” However, if Qoheleth uses the term to balance the word “city,” which follows, it is most likely that holy place actually refers to the Temple or synagogue as the point of departure. Thus Revised Standard Version and New American Bible indicate that the funeral procession began at the Temple, and this meaning is recommended.

And were praised in the city: textual problems continue here. In this case the problem concerns the verb were praised. This Revised Standard Version rendering follows a different text found in some manuscripts and in the Septuagint. The original Hebrew text seems to have been a verb meaning “forget,” but this is obviously incorrect. A footnote should draw attention to this textual difficulty. If we accept the corrected text, we are told that the evil person mentioned was not only given a decent burial but also was praised (Jerusalem Bible “honored”).

In the city has not only the meaning of a place, but it can also be translated as “by the city” in the sense of “by the people who live in the city.” It is this situation that sets the scene for what follows, indicating why there is a problem here. On city refer to comments on 7.19.

Where they had done such things: the Hebrew ken “thus” is translated as such things; it may require some expansion to make its meaning more obvious. They refers to “evil persons” in the first clause. These persons are called evil because of what they used to do. Hebrew “thus they did” is a reference to this activity, and so where they had done such things can be translated as “where they did evil,” or “where their evil deeds were done.” The New English Bible version of this verse is quite different and depends on a very different interpretation as well as many textual changes; it says “they [the evil men] went about the city priding themselves on having done right.” This interpretation is not recommended here.

A suggested translation is:

• Then I saw that wicked people were given public burial. They were taken from the holy place and buried, and they were honored by people in the city where their evil deeds were done.

As noted above, this text will need some footnotes. Suggested notes are included below.

This also is vanity: this phrase has not been used by Qoheleth since 7.6. On its meaning and translation see comments in 1.2, 14. Here it carries Qoheleth’s message that, when evil people and their actions are honored, it is beyond his understanding. It is an enigma, because such things should not happen in a just and wise society. Translation can follow that of 1.14 and other occurrences, “How can a thing like this be?” or “This defies understanding!”

We can suggest for the entire verse:

• Then I saw that wicked people were given public burial. They were taken from the holy place and buried; and they were praised by people in the city—the [very] place where they committed [these, or such] evil acts.* How can a thing like this happen?

The footnote can then say:
*The Hebrew in this verse is unclear. The first sentence may mean “Then I saw the wicked buried—those who used to go in and out of the holy place.” The word translated as “praised” may also be “forgotten,” meaning that people had already forgotten the evil acts those people had committed.

Quoted with permission from Ogden, Graham S. and Zogbo, Lynell. A Handbook on the Book of Ecclesiates. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1997. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .