This verse contains the phrase Behold … I found, which we noted in verse 27. It probably serves as an inclusion binding the unit together. For translation see comments on verse 27.

The first word in the Hebrew line is the introductory adverb alone, or “only,” which draws attention to what follows as the single conclusion Qoheleth was able to make. It stands at the head of the verse, where it may modify the verb “see” rather than “find,” though we consider this less likely. Gordis suggests it means “besides,” though normally this would require the addition of the preposition “from.” Jerusalem Bible uses “However.” It is clear that the adverb serves as an introductory particle.

Behold, this alone I found is literally “Only see this I-found that…,” indicating that this verse follows directly from what comes before it. Qoheleth has been on a search, and now he will introduce his single discovery. The verb “see” in Hebrew is a device for getting attention, so we can use any term with the same function. Many languages can say “See” or “Look.”

The word alone poses a slight problem. The question is whether it modifies the verb “see” or the verb “find.” There is no final answer to this question, but if we link it with “find,” it probably makes more sense in the context. We take it to mean that Qoheleth’s long search led him to only one conclusion. Therefore an opening particle like “But” or “However” may be appropriate here.

For translation:

• But, see, the only thing I did find was….

God has made man upright is not a reference to human beings walking erect on two legs in contrast to other animals. Man here has the general meaning “human beings” or “people.” When wisdom writers referred to God, they normally did so with the general term rather than use the divine name Yahweh. See comments on 5.1. God as the creator is an important element in the thoughts of Israel’s wise men. Here Qoheleth refers to God as the creator of human life, as does Gen 1. The word upright or “straight” may have a moral sense and describe people as righteous (Deut 32.4), or morally correct (Job 4.7). It may also indicate something that is pleasing (Deut 12.25), or something that is not crooked and bent (verse 13). Whatever the precise sense here, it does express belief in the essential goodness of human beings as made in God’s image. Therefore Good News Translation “plain and simple” is misleading. Many languages use a word like “straight” as Hebrew does, meaning correct, not deviating, pleasing, or even righteous.

Translation possibilities:

• God created people pleasing to him.

• God made people who were just and true.

But they have sought out many devices: this final clause poses many problems for interpretation. Two words are at the root of our difficulties. The first is the conjunction waw, and the second is chishshebonoth, devices, the plural of the same noun seen in verse 27, which Revised Standard Version translates there as “the sum.” We already know that the conjunction can mean “and” or “but” (see comments on 7.25). However, the noun cheshbon is rendered in many translations with a very negative sense. Consider, for example, Good News Translation “but we have made ourselves very complicated,” Jerusalem Bible “man’s complex problems are of his own devising,” and New Jerusalem Bible “they have engaged in too much reasoning.” However, in actual fact, in every other use in Qoheleth it has a clear positive sense.

The more negative interpretation can be seen to follow a kind of pattern established in the latter half of the chapter. One observation is made, while the next points out a human frailty. In verse 19, for example, wisdom makes a person strong, but in verse 20 no one is completely righteous. In verse 21 people are advised not to pay attention to everything said about them, for we all have said bad things about others (verse 22). Further evidence for a negative reading is the presence of the root for “many,” which has a negative sense in verse 16, “much righteous” and “much wise.” Taking into account these negative clues, the opening conjunction would mean “but,” providing a contrast between what God has done and what people have done.

We note that certain translations are rather neutral (Revised Standard Version and New International Version, for example). But another possibility is that cheshbon has its regular positive meaning, indicating a healthy search for meaning in life. This too fits into the general scheme of Qoheleth’s thinking. If we take this interpretation, we may propose “See, this is the only real thing I have been able to determine: God made people pleasing to him, and their job is to seek to understand ‘the sum of things’ [in this world]” or “… and they, in turn, are to seek out the meaning of things.”

The translator is faced, then, with a difficult choice. One possibility is to choose one translation for the text and put the other possible meaning in a footnote.

Verse 29 is the last verse of chapter 7. Many versions (Good News Translation, New International Version, Bible en français courant) see 8.1 as part of this text, as it returns to the theme of wisdom. 8.2 begins with a new series of imperatives, but this time with a view to men in power, a totally new subject. Since chapter breaks were added to the Hebrew text very late in history, they are somewhat artificial. It is possible that 8.1 is a pivot verse, serving to end chapter 7 and introduce the new material starting from 8.2. If the translator sees 8.1 as being part of chapter 7, it is possible to set out the text as Good News Translation has done, for example.

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 .