The important verb in this verse is the verb test. As soon as we see it, we know that Qoheleth is not just seeking pleasure for the sake of a good time. He was very scientific and wanted to know honestly whether pleasure could help him find “lasting benefit.” He also gives his conclusion immediately: he did not find what he was looking for.

I said to myself, “Come now, I will make a test of pleasure”: as noted above, some languages will require an expression closer to the Hebrew idiom, namely, “I said in my heart,” while others may prefer a simple phrase like “I decided to” or “I thought I would.” If direct speech is acceptable, then the imperative Come now can be used to express the way Qoheleth addresses himself. Or the translator can use another expression that is used in internal reasoning: “All right,” “Let’s see now,” or “Very well, then.” However, in some languages this phrase is unnatural and can be omitted. Where indirect speech is preferred the sentence can read “I thought I would test.” Unfortunately Good News Translation has lost the verb test and so may give the impression that Qoheleth set out to do nothing more than to have a good time. Pleasure does of course include the idea of having a good time, but in this chapter we need to consider whether Qoheleth uses the word in that sense. Clearly he includes all the achievements he lists in verses 3-8, so our translation of pleasure needs to be wide enough to cover that.

The Hebrew text here can be translated “I will test with pleasure.” New International Version, Jerusalem Bible and several French versions give “I will test myself with pleasure,” raising the question, What exactly is being tested? However, throughout this book we find that Qoheleth is testing various things such as wisdom, madness and folly (1.17), and examining all aspects of life. It is best therefore to conclude that pleasure itself is being tested. We treat pleasure as the object of the verb test. Testing pleasure means to test those things that may provide pleasure or happiness. Phrases like “what will make a person happy” or “what can give joy” may better fit the summary in verse 9.

Enjoy yourself loosely translates the phrase that is literally “look into what is good.” It contains two words, “see” and “good,” both of which are important keywords in this book. In Qoheleth the verb “see” means far more than “have a look at,” for we notice that it is used in conjunction with the verb “test.” It has the sense of examining something scientifically. The word “good” may be a noun meaning “good things” or an adjective. In this verse the idea can be conveyed by “see what good there is in it” or “see what pleasure has to offer.”

But behold, this also was vanity: before telling us about his experiment, Qoheleth gives us the results of his test. As we have seen in 1.14, the Hebrew word hinneh “behold” is a multipurpose word. Here it introduces the results of Qoheleth’s experiment. It can thus be rendered by a cognitive verb of thinking or knowing, “I found out,” “I discovered,” or “I concluded.” Alternatively it can indicate emphasis, surprise, or even despair. Another translation can be “But, you see, that too…” or “But, alas, that too….” While some translations omit this word altogether, it is better to express it if possible.

We can ask what kinds of things are included in the pronoun this. Perhaps it is best to understand that it includes both the testing of pleasure and also what it provided. It is all this that Qoheleth concludes is hevel “unsatisfying.” That is to say, the “lasting benefit” he was searching for still eluded him. We can also suggest that the testing process raised more questions than it answered.

For translation:

• I said to myself, “All right, I will test pleasure to see what good there is in it.” But even this did not provide any answers.

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 .