complete verse (Ecclesiastes 2:6)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Ecclesiastes 2:6:

  • Kupsabiny: “I dug wells/waterholes from which I could water those trees.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “I made large ponds to provide water for orchard and those very beautifully lined up trees.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “I caused-to-make irrigations to water these.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “I told them to build reservoirs to store water to irrigate the fruit trees.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Translation commentary on Ecclesiastes 2:6

Like the previous verse, this one also begins with the verb made; it is part of the description of great works he accomplished. Good News Translation “dug” suggests, probably correctly, that the water was stored in cisterns or large holes in the ground. This fits the general pattern for water storage in Israel, as archeological discoveries have confirmed. In fact the term used here and translated pools is the same as the term describing the pool of Gibeon in 2 Sam 2.13. This is a deep cistern with a circular stairway leading down to the water stored in the bottom. Translators will need to use a term in their language which describes a place that has been dug in the ground to store water. We should also note here that Qoheleth did not make or dig these holes himself; our translation should indicate that others did this for him. On myself see also the comments on 2.4.

To water the forest of growing trees: the purpose of the pools was to irrigate the trees he had planted. In Gen 2.10 the verb “water” describes the river watering the Garden of Eden. Here Qoheleth uses that same verb, perhaps suggesting that what he planted was similar to that Garden. When he says that the trees formed a forest, he is using a term not usually associated with fruit trees, because it indicates a dense cluster of trees. Clearly Qoheleth wants to say that there were many trees growing there. However, the participle growing is singular, so the question is, What does this word modify? Does it describe the forest, which is also a singular, collective noun? Or does it describe trees as Revised Standard Version suggests? This is a very minor point, given the context, and we can avoid the problem by translating it “to irrigate the many trees,” or as Good News Translation does, “to irrigate them.” The pronoun “them” is adequate in this context.

For translation: “I made myself reservoirs to irrigate them,” “I had ponds dug to irrigate them,” or “I built wells to water the many trees.”

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 .

SIL Translator’s Notes on Ecclesiastes 2:6

2:6 I built reservoirs to water my groves of flourishing trees.

Then I ⌊told my workers⌋ to build pools for me and use the water for all the trees growing there.
-or-
I ⌊had my servants⌋ make pools where they could get water for the planted trees.

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Commentaire sur la traduction de l'Ecclésiaste 2.6

Qohéleth continue sa description des activités liées à ces différentes entreprises. Ses plantations étaient sûrement grandes et avaient besoin d’être approvisionnées en eau. Alors Qohéleth pourvoit à tout, en se construisant des réservoirs pour pouvoir arroser ses plantes.

je me suis fait des bassins : encore une fois, la structure est la même, « j’ai fait pour moi des réservoirs d’eau ». Bien que ce mot puisse renvoyer aux étangs naturels, ici il s’agit de bassins aménagés. Les traducteurs devraient trouver un mot qui puisse correspondre à ce sens. Dans certaines langues on parlera de « citernes ». Qohéleth ne fournit aucun détail ni sur comment il a fait ces bassins, ni de quelle matière ils sont faits, ni comment le système d’irrigation fonctionnait. Ainsi les traducteurs devraient trouver un mot assez général.

Malgré ce manque de détail, il est clair que Salomon réussissait à arroser de leur eau une forêt de jeunes arbres : Ces mots sont introduits en hébreu par la préposition לְ le, « pour », indiquant le but de ces bassins. Ils sont là pour arroser, litt. « depuis eux [les bassins] une forêt poussant des arbres ». arroser vient de la racine « boire », ainsi « faire boire », « irriguer ». Le mot יַעַר yaʿar, rendu par forêt, peut signifier soit une grande plantation ou des pépinières (Nouvelle Bible Segond, La Bible du Semeur). La référence aux arbres poussant fait penser effectivement à des pépinières. Les traducteurs pourront faire leur choix d’interprétation.

Source: Zogbo, Lynell. L’Ecclésiaste – Manuel de traduction – Commentaire linguistique et exégétique de la Bible. Alliance biblique universelle, 2021.