This verse expresses ideas that can be found in 1.9. It links the past with the present and future.

The rhythm in the first part of this verse recalls the poetry in chapter 1 and the beginning of chapter 3. The balance-counterbalance can be felt from this verse (or even from verse 14) through verse 18. The text can be laid out literally as follows:
Whatever that was
already it is
and what will be
already it was

Some versions try to show the poetic nature of this and other surrounding verses by indenting all or parts of them (New International Version, New Jerusalem Bible, and Bible de Jérusalem). The translator should decide if indenting will be helpful and will possibly maintain the rhythm of the original passages.

The verse opens with “Whatever” (Revised Standard Version That), referring to “everything.” It is followed by the clause “that was,” which points to some completed action (reflected as a present condition in Revised Standard Version‘s which is). Thus “whatever presently exists,” “whatever has existed,” or “whatever happens” catches the meaning.

Already has been renders the clause “already it is.” The line should strictly speaking be translated as “Whatever [or, Everything that] has been, already is.” The use here of the word already appears odd in this context, for it usually refers to something that came about in the past rather than to a present state. We can assume that here it means something like “continues to be [or, exist].”

That which is to be renders a clause in which the word “whatever” (Revised Standard Version that which) from the previous clause must be assumed. It uses the infinitive of “be” to indicate what will come into existence. These things that will appear in the future already have been, meaning that they have been in existence in the past. Good News Translation “whatever happens or can happen has already happened before” loses the poetic balance of the Hebrew but gives the meaning clearly.

In this part of the verse translators may find it helpful to add the time references “in the past,” “in the future,” or “now.”

Two models for translation of this part of the verse are:

• Everything that has existed, continues to be;
everything that will be, has been in the past.

• Whatever happened in the past, is happening now.
Whatever will happen in the future, has already happened in the past.

And God seeks what has been driven away: in its present Revised Standard Version translation this seems meaningless. In attempting to make sense of it, translators have found the following meanings:
Good News Translation “God makes the same thing happen again and again”
New American Bible “God restores what would otherwise be displaced”
New International Version “God will call the past to account”
Jerusalem Bible “Yet God always cares for the persecuted”
New English Bible and Revised English Bible “God summons each event back in its turn”
New Revised Standard Version “God seeks out what has gone by”

It is obvious that no one agrees on the meaning.

What are the problems with this text? God seeks gives the literal meaning of the Hebrew. If that is indeed what the opening verb means, then our problems begin with identifying the object of God’s search. What has been driven away does not help us identify anything particular in the context. The verb driven away translates a Hebrew form with two possible meanings, “what has been pursued” or “what we pursue.” It is difficult to find a suitable translation, though it can mean “that which is sought after.” If we return to the verb seeks for the moment, we note that in literature from the time of Qoheleth it may also mean “request” or “ask.” Using this information, we can suggest a meaning “God requests that we pursue [it].” This then raises the question of what we should pursue. The possibilities are that we pursue the task God has assigned, namely, to seek appropriate times for actions, or the gift of enjoyment and pleasure, or even that we should search for an understanding of what God does. We prefer a translation that sees this statement as a conclusion to the entire subsection.

For translation we suggest “God requests that we pursue what is hidden.”

Recognizing that this translation is uncertain, a footnote will be required to indicate that the text is unclear.

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 .