Verse 8 contains another double “better” saying. Like verse 1 this seems to introduce a new subsection, which we can call “Advice on how to be wise.” Though it is not immediately obvious, this group of verses follows a logical pattern. After the introduction (verse 8), two negative exhortations follow (verses 9 and 10), each accompanied by an explanation. After this pair of statements there are two remarks about wisdom (verses 11 and 12). The two negative exhortations are then rounded out by two positive ones (verses 13 and 14). The subsection then ends with an important concluding remark: people cannot determine anything about their future.

For an outline of the structure of 7.8-14, see the general comments at the beginning of this chapter. We note several things about this subsection:
(1) There is continued use of explanatory clauses introduce by “for.”
(2) The discussion goes from being very practical (verses 8-10) to quite reflective (verses 11-14).
(3) Throughout verses 1-14 the word “good” plays a major role. Here we find it in verses 8 (2 times), 10, 11, 14 (2 times).
(4) Most important, we find the answer to the question of 6.12, “Who can tell him what will happen under the sun after he is gone?” The response is “Nobody can!”

While verse 8 serves as an introduction for the whole section, it is also very closely linked to verses 9 and 10. Along with the features noted above, this subunit is tied together by certain other keywords: “spirit” (verses 8b and 9); the root “head,” rendered in verse 8a as “beginning,” and in verse 10 as “former.” This forms a kind of chiastic pattern: head-spirit-spirit-head.

Though quite similar, the two double “better” sayings that make up this verse are not completely parallel from a grammatical point of view; the word “thing” or “matter” is not repeated in verse 8a, as is “spirit” in verse 8b. These proverbs appear to be saying two different things, but we can note a slight connection. To get to the “end” of a task you must be “patient.” And at the “beginning” of a project or task you are tempted to be overconfident (“proud”) about your ability and success.

Better is the end of a thing seems to suggest that finishing something has more value than beginning it. What Revised Standard Version translates as thing can also mean “word” or “matter.” Although some translations, like New American Bible, think it means “words” here (New American Bible “the end of a speech”), most use a more general translation (“matter,” “event”). Revised English Bible suggests “anything.” The term end sometimes suggests a time, “future” or “latter,” but here it seems to signal the conclusion of a series of actions.

It is possible to think of many situations or activities in which the conclusion is certainly better than the beginning, for the end marks the completion of a task. However, we can think of some activities where we feel almost sad that an activity has ended; it may lack the joy and anticipation felt when beginning a task. Lack of context makes it difficult to interpret Qoheleth’s saying precisely, but like so many wisdom sayings it is not intended to cover every possibility. Our translation should reflect the broad truth that very often completing a task is more significant than merely beginning it. Thus we can say “finishing a task” or “completing a project” in place of the end of a thing.

Than its beginning: in Hebrew beginning is from the same root word as “head” and, like “end,” may refer to time as well as location. The noun phrase its beginning can also be expressed as a verbal phrase such as “[than] beginning it.”

It is possible to express the meaning of Better more clearly in this saying. We can suggest how it is better by describing it as “more satisfying,” or “more rewarding.” These are our feelings when we complete something. Of course we could also feel relief if the task had been a difficult one, but the idea of satisfaction is able to include that as well. Again the translator will have to determine if it is better to be clearer by translating in a more natural way (“more satisfying”), or whether it is better to keep the unity of the passage by translating “better” everywhere in the same way.

Models for translation:

• It is better to finish a task than to begin it.

• Completing something is more satisfying than starting it.

The patient in spirit: patient is the Hebrew adjective “long” used in a metaphorical sense to describe a person’s “breath” or “spirit.” The term ruach “spirit” appears twice in this saying, as Qoheleth draws a contrast between two kinds of personalities. The term spirit in this setting describes the inner person, our nature or temper. In many cultures “spirit” refers only to that part of a person that leaves the body at death. In such a case the translator will need to use the term or phrase that refers to a person’s inner being, such as one’s “heart,” “liver” or “bile.” We can adopt the Good News Translation model and render spirit in the abstract as “patience,” but it is probably better to use a verbal expression, “one who is patient” or “one who has patience.”

This second saying contrasts the patient person with the proud in spirit; it considers the proud person to be inferior. The phrase, literally “tall [or, high] of spirit,” describes someone who is proud in Pro 16.18, and conveys only negative feelings about the person. This may be rendered as “pride,” “a haughty attitude,” or “a proud person.” New American Bible “the lofty spirit” could be misunderstood as being a positive value.

Some translations attempt to render part of the Hebrew play on words (“a long spirit … a high spirit”) by conserving the word “spirit.” New Jerusalem Bible speaks of “a patient spirit” being better than a “haughty spirit.” This can be quite effective, but in many languages it will be necessary to abandon the form to conserve the meaning.

Again the nature of “better” can be expressed more precisely as “more virtuous,” in which case pride, or the proud individual, has no virtue at all. Thus “patience is more a virtue than pride,” or “to be patient is a virtue; to be proud is not.” But here again a more precise translation will have to be weighed against conserving the “better” pattern characterizing this verse and this literary section as a whole. Jerusalem Bible, for example, and Revised English Bible highlight the structure and wording of the two proverbs:
Better the end of a matter than its beginning.
Better patience than pride.

Many versions indent these lines in a special way, suggesting that Qoheleth is quoting well-known sayings (see Jerusalem Bible or New Jerusalem Bible). We can also place them within quotation marks or introduce them with “It is said, …” as follows:

• It is said, “Completing something is better than beginning it,”
and “Being patient is better than being proud.”

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 .