After stating an obvious truth that some things can be discovered by human experience, Qoheleth goes on then to illustrate the second theme, that other aspects of nature remain hidden to us. This is even more true with regard to what God does. We note the repetition of the verb do not know.

The basic structure of the verse is a form of parallelism in which the second half builds on the thought of the first half: “Just as you do not know…, so also you do not know….”

As you do not know introduces the great miracle of life, whose origin is hidden from human understanding even though we participate fully in it. As means “Just as” or “In the same way that….” You do not know is a participle form in Hebrew and so describes our state of not knowing.

How the spirit comes to the bones in the womb of a woman with child: this clause is especially difficult because its structure is complex and one of the key terms ruach (rendered in Revised Standard Version as spirit) is ambiguous. The first problem is to discover which of the three meanings of ruach is intended here; it can mean “spirit,” “breath,” or “wind.” Those taking “wind” as the meaning see two illustrations rather than one. Note, for example, New International Version and Jerusalem Bible, which take this approach:
“As you do not know the path of the wind or how the body is formed in a mother’s womb…” (New International Version).
“Just as you do not know the way of the wind or the mysteries of a woman with child…” (Jerusalem Bible).

However, if we take the meaning to be “breath” or “spirit,” there is only one illustration: how a baby in the womb “is quickened” or “made alive.” This is the interpretation of Revised Standard Version, Good News Translation, and New Jerusalem Bible.

To the bones in the womb of a woman with child: bones refers more widely to the entire human body. Here it describes the child forming in its mother’s womb.

Revised Standard Version has resolved one of the difficulties of the structure of the clause by inserting the verb comes: you do not know how the spirit comes to the bones …. New Jerusalem Bible says “you do not know how the lifebreath passes into the limbs within the womb.” Both translations give the impression that something is made alive, and so serve as good models for translation. A general translation like Good News Translation “how new life begins” or Bible en français courant “how life is formed” are good solutions. We can also mention the baby or child, “how a baby comes to life,” or “how life comes to a child….”

In the womb of a woman with child is the obvious meaning of the phrase, which in Hebrew is literally “in the womb of one who is full.” It can be translated more simply as “in a [pregnant] woman’s womb.” The translator must be careful, however, in translating such terms. In many cultures it is not proper to refer directly to the womb. Other expressions can be used if this is the case; for example, “in the stomach of the mother” or “inside its mother.”

Translation may be as follows:

• Just as you are unaware of how life comes to a child in its mother’s womb….

• Just as you do not know how life enters a child in the womb….

So you do not know introduces the main affirmation of the sentence. The introductory so marks the relationship between the two parts of the saying. You do not know is an imperfect verb in Hebrew, with the possible sense that we can never know. We may observe what God does, but we shall never fully comprehend it. Thus not know points to what we cannot properly or fully understand; it does not mean we can know nothing at all.

The work of God is the object of the verb not know and is a phrase met before in 3.11 and 8.17. See comments in both places. The phrase can be expressed verbally rather than as a noun phrase, if that is more natural in the translator’s language.

Who makes everything: on the translation of everything see comments on 10.19. Two possible meanings are “everything” or “both.” The latter would direct attention back to the two elements mentioned in the first half of the verse, namely, “the breath of life” and “the work of God.” Makes can be given as “creates” or “does.” Good News Translation suggests a general theological principle, “God made everything.” Actually the relative clause describes God, so it can be expressed as “who is the creator of all.” The placement of this clause in translation will depend on the stylistic preferences of the language. Most languages will probably prefer placing it, as in Hebrew, at the end of the verse. But in some languages it may be more effective to place it before the main verb of the clause: “So you do not understand the work that God does. He is the one who creates everything.” In other languages a resumptive pronoun puts special emphasis on God’s creative powers. This is what Bible en français courant does: “… even less can you understand how God works, he who makes everything.”

A suggested translation is:

• … so [also] you cannot fully understand the work of God, who creates both [or, who is the creator of everything].

The strength of this statement may be made more forceful in some languages by expressing the sentence as a rhetorical question:

• … so how can you understand what God, the creator of all, does?

In Hebrew the two parts of the verse are introduced by comparative conjunctions: “[even] as … so….” The translator should find the most natural way of making the point. In English, for example, we can use “Just as…, so…”; or we can begin with an independent clause containing “even,” as follows:

• You do not even know how life comes to a child in its mother’s womb! So, you cannot possibly understand what God does—he who creates everything!

Using a rhetorical question, we can say:

• You do not know how life comes to a child in its mother’s womb. So, how can you understand what God—who is the creator of everything—does?

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 .