Whether this is a saying that Qoheleth quotes, or whether it is one he himself has developed, its purpose is to affirm the value of being alive, and to serve as a guide to the themes to be discussed.

Light is sweet: the adjective sweet is a word Qoheleth has used before to describe sleep (5.12). It can also be translated “pleasurable.” Light in the present context may refer to sunshine, but in 6.5 and 7.11 “seeing the sun” refers to “life in this world.” When we consider that there is a contrasting term “darkness” in verse 8 suggesting “death” (compare 6.4), it becomes obvious that we can translate the sense of light by the phrase “to live in this world.” This is what Qoheleth claims is pleasant and good. Good News Translation “It is good to be able to enjoy the pleasant light of day” is more literal than the translation we suggest, but it is still much better than New American Bible, New English Bible, and Jerusalem Bible.

It is pleasant for the eyes to behold the sun: although this is much longer than the previous phrase, it carries essentially the same meaning. The adjective “good” (Revised Standard Version pleasant) is the equivalent of sweet in the previous phrase. For the eyes is a redundant phrase, as the verb “see” already includes the element of using the eyes. A metaphorical sense probably is the best way to understand the noun eyes, since it represents the person who looks at the sun. Therefore eyes does not need to be translated literally. Note that Good News Translation omits the idea altogether. We may refer to a more general “we” or “people” if necessary. We have noted already that the phrase behold the sun is a reference to living on earth; it does not refer to looking at the sun itself. For this reason we suggest not following the literal translation offered by many versions, including the New English Bible, which says “pleasant to the eye is the sight of the sun.”

Again, when dealing with passages that have parallel lines, we need to consider how best to treat them. We can retain the parallel form of the two clauses as most versions do, but in many languages this will seem redundant and may not get the point across. Another option is to translate as Good News Translation has done, combining the two clauses into one (see above). We can also eliminate all the metaphors and give the meaning in a nonfigurative manner:

• To live in this world is a pleasant experience.

Or perhaps even more simply:

• It is good to be alive.

However, we have suggested throughout that translators try to preserve Qoheleth’s style and at least some literary features, if that is practicable and acceptable in their language. Another approach in this case is to preserve the metaphor of one of the clauses and translate meaning in the other. We can say, for example:

• Being alive is a pleasant experience; seeing the sun is so good.

• What a pleasure to see the light of day. It is great to be alive.

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 .