How this verse relates to the previous one may not be clear at first. We note that it contains many unusual terms. It was almost certainly an independent saying originally, but Qoheleth quotes it here to support the argument in verse 16, that lazy and foolish leaders bring disaster on their “house,” that is, on their kingdom.

Through sloth the roof sinks in: within wisdom literature laziness is frequently criticized (see, for instance, 4.5; Pro 10.4; 18.19). Sloth or laziness is associated with fools. In Hebrew this word occurs in the dual form “lazinesses” and may have intensive purpose. However, its parallel phrase in the next line contains the word “hands,” which naturally has a dual form, so this may explain this unusual form. The introductory preposition Through can also be given as “Because of.” In many languages it may be awkward to use abstract nouns (“laziness”), so we can restructure the sentence by supplying a subject and verb as Good News Translation does: “when a man is too [lazy] to repair [the roof] ….” As this is evidently a proverb, a general noun or pronoun will do: “When a person” or “When you….” The roof translates a term not found elsewhere in the Old Testament. It refers to the wooden beams or rafters that support the roof of a house. The verb describing what happens to these beams originally had a reflexive meaning, so we can also give its sense here as “they fall in on themselves.” This collapse no doubt results from poor maintenance, or from none at all. It is interesting to note that this verb root is used elsewhere to describe the downfall of the wicked (Job 24.24, “wither”).

Through is the Revised Standard Version attempt to give meaning to a unique Hebrew phrase, literally “a falling of the hands.” New English Bible suggests “if he is idle.” The imagery is clear; people with their hands by their sides are not busy working at something. The phrase is quite expressive and matches the idea of the rafters falling down. In English we can also say a person “will not lift a hand to do anything,” a negative way of saying the same thing. If there is an idiomatic expression for laziness in the translator’s language, this can certainly be used, especially if, as in the English example, the word “hands” is included. As in the previous half of the verse, the preposition can be rendered as “because of.” But again, naming the subject and the action may be more appreciated than using an abstract noun. Good News Translation has restructured the verse, combining sloth and indolence as “When you are too lazy.” This avoids what some may think is too repetitive.

The house leaks: what leaks is actually the roof, though many languages use the idiom of the house leaking. There is another example of the verb “drip” in Pro 19.13, describing water constantly dripping. The verb is in the imperfect with, the sense of constant dripping, so we can give its meaning as “will continue to leak.” In Job 16.20 it describes a person weeping. In some languages ideophones may be appropriate to describe this continuous action.

Because laziness is another form of folly, this example illustrates the point made in 9.18: something valuable is at risk because of someone’s foolishness.

This verse is perfectly balanced in Hebrew, so maintaining parallel sentences will effectively render the flavor of the original:

• Because of laziness, the rafters will fall in;
Because of slackness, the roof leaks.

• If you are too lazy to fix the rafters, they will fall in.
If you won’t lift a hand to repair it, the roof will continue to leak.

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 .