Although this verse can be treated as an independent saying, it is best to allow its present context to guide our interpretation.

The toil of a fool wearies him: on the meaning of toil, see comments on 2.10-11. In the present setting toil may well describe the fool’s constant talking about the future. Our translation can also retain the generalized term “work,” adding a verbal form if necessary: “The work a fool does….” A fool is actually a plural form in Hebrew, though it can be rendered as singular.

Wearies him is widely held to be the meaning of this problematic Hebrew text. The verb “grow weary” has a singular pronoun suffix “him,” which does not agree with the plural subject “fools.” For some scholars this is another example of the freedom Qoheleth shows in his use of Hebrew grammar. “Fools” is probably a collective term and thus can take singular agreement. Some propose changing the plural ending on “fools” so that it forms part of a question “How long?” (literally “When will it wear him out?”), and this is the view of New American Bible. Our recommendation is to retain the Hebrew text in its present form, since good sense can be made of it without the change. The subject of the Hebrew sentence is “work” that fools do. However, other translations make “fools” the subject. For example, New English Bible “the fool wearies himself to death with all his labor,” New American Bible “when will the fool be weary of his labor?” and Jerusalem Bible “fools find work irksome.” Each of these versions differs, indicating the variety of interpretations possible. However, either it is the work that makes the fool tired, or he himself grows tired of working. The distinction is important, and in view of the construct expression “work of fools,” perhaps the better translation is the one that treats work as the subject of the verb. So good models are “Work makes the fool tired” or “The work a fool does wears him out.”

So that he does not know the way to the city: this clause begins with the relative clause marker ʾasher. Three translations of it are possible: it is the relative “who,” the explanatory “because,” or the link to a result, “so that.” It is obvious that translators face a difficult choice, and there are a number of factors that will influence their decision.

The text says literally “he does not know to go to the city.” We note the infinitive “to go.” Its probable meaning is “how to go” in the sense of “how to find his way to.” To the city may be intended literally, but it may well be used in a more general sense as a figurative expression or idiom for finding the way. The fool does not know how to find his way anywhere. In English we similarly describe a foolish person as not knowing directions—someone who “doesn’t know which way is up.” Fox notes a parallel idiom in Egyptian: “does not reach the city” means “not attaining one’s goal” or “not succeeding.” City will then be more of a general term for any destination, and not a term for a residential area as was the case in 7.19. While Good News Translation “home” is one possible interpretation, we suggest a wider rendering such as “destination” or “where he is going.”

The way we analyze the various elements in this part of the verse will determine how we interpret the term ʾasher. If we translate idiomatically as suggested, taking the phrase as describing someone who is so stupid he cannot find where he wants to go, the introductory relative can be translated as “who.” If we choose to emphasize the ironic understanding of “work,” however, we see that a relationship of result is also possible: “The fool’s ‘work’—talking and talking—tires him out so [much] that he does not even know where he’s going!” Finally, if we follow Fox’s suggestion, the word toil would have its normal meaning, and a causal relationship would be expressed. That is to say, ʾasher has a meaning “because,” or “as a result.” Thus the sense would be: “The work a fool does tires him out, because it is never successful,” or “… it yields no results.” This interpretation fits in with the themes of Qoheleth. He is looking for “lasting benefit,” and may be saying here that the work of a fool certainly does not attain it. All of these options have some merit, so the translator should carefully consider how he translates each element in this second part of the verse.

Good News Translation restructures the sentence, with “Only someone too stupid to find his way home would wear himself out with his work.” This has the advantage of bringing the final clause closer to the “fool,” which it describes. But Good News Translation gives the verse an entirely different meaning. In this context “work” takes on a very negative meaning—one that is not at all typical of Qoheleth. Because of this we advise against using Good News Translation as a model at this point.

Despite some textual problems and the resulting difficulties in fixing the meaning precisely, we may conclude that Qoheleth says people should not be like the fool who talks so much about future things, things about which he can know nothing. For translation we can have:

• Work makes the fool so tired, he does not know how to find his way anywhere.

Or:

• Work tires foolish persons so that they cannot find their way back to town.

Or following Fox:

• The work a fool does tires him out, because he never reaches his goal.

Or, freely, expressing irony:

• The “work” a fool does—talking on and on about the future—just tires him out. He gets so tired, he doesn’t even know where he is going.

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 .