I turned my mind features the Hebrew verb that clearly marks a turn or change of direction. It has been used in 2.20 with this sense, but it may also indicate a circular motion as in 1.6. The word mind (Hebrew “heart”) is not a new term (see the example in 2.2), but in this setting it speaks of giving your attention to something needing further investigation. The conjunction w attached to “my heart” almost certainly should be regarded as the preposition b “in” on the basis of manuscript evidence. I turned my mind then means that Qoheleth turned “in his mind” to consider another subject. Good News Translation “But I devoted myself” overlooks the significance of the Hebrew verb, which marks a change of subject. To show that Qoheleth is thinking about something new, we can say “I began to think about,” “I turned my thoughts to,” or “My reflections turned to.” Significantly in the Hebrew there is no linking conjunction between verse 25 and what comes before. This speaks in favor of a new section, but the absence of a marker can be unnatural or awkward in some languages. If needed, a discourse marker used to open a new discussion can be inserted. Words like “Then” or “So” may be appropriate.

To know and to search out and to seek wisdom and the sum of things: the verb “turn” is followed by a series of infinitives featuring three related verbs: know, search out, and seek. The verb know can mean “to know more about,” and the other two verbs speak of discovering further information about something also. They can also mean to find out something for the first time, thus, “to learn about,” “to discover.” By using three coordinated verbs Qoheleth is making a very forceful statement. This feature of Qoheleth’s style can be preserved. Otherwise translators can use an equally strong form of expression. For example, Jerusalem Bible “I was at pains to study” conveys the earnestness of Qoheleth’s work without using the multiple verb form.

The objects of these three verbs are the same, namely, the combination wisdom and the sum of things. On wisdom see comments above on 1.13. Because it is linked with “wisdom,” we presume that the sum of things carries a positive meaning. The Hebrew term means “to devise” or “to deduce.” As a term similar in meaning to wisdom, it emphasizes the logical deductions we can make from certain facts or situations (as in verses 27, 29). Good News Translation appears to render “sum” as “answers to my questions.” New American Bible “reason” and New English Bible “the reason in things” are both close to the sense of the term. Other possibilities are “the scheme of things,” “a [logical] explanation of things,” or “the full picture of things.”

Our problem is to determine what Qoheleth means by “the full picture of things” about his search. The standard view reflected in most translations is that Qoheleth undertook a rigorous search for wisdom. On this view the three infinitives at the beginning of the verse express his purpose. However, there are problems with this view. Qoheleth has just indicated (verse 24) that he had searched for answers and found that search frustrating. It is therefore hardly logical for him to abandon that search so as to turn to another search for wisdom. Grammatically the traditional view of this verse is acceptable, but logically it may be a problem. It seems we have two possible alternatives: either we can accept the traditional view and argue that Qoheleth is taking up a new search for wisdom, or alternatively we can regard the three infinitives as describing his previous search for wisdom, a search from which he now turns aside. This latter gives a translation “I turned aside from knowing and searching out and seeking for wisdom.” We prefer the traditional interpretation and translation here.

For translation:

• I turned to give my attention to knowing more about, to enquiring after, and seeking wisdom and reason.

Or perhaps more freely:

• I turned to giving myself fully to the quest for wisdom and a logical explanation of things.

And to know is introduced by the connector that can have several functions. It can indicate mere connection and continuity, “and,” or it can be contrastive, “but.” If we determine that Qoheleth again seeks to find out more about wisdom, this verse describes what he then went on to do: “[I] also [turned] to know…”; the conjunction “and” or “also” is the appropriate translation. This is the widely held view of its meaning. However, New English Bible does not consider this to be a purpose clause, so chooses a result clause: “only to recognize that….” New American Bible is similar.

The Revised Standard Version rendering to know the wickedness of folly is based on a somewhat ambiguous grammatical construction. Following the word “to know” is a series of nouns: “to know wickedness’s follies and foolishness’s madnesses.” What is the relationship between these nouns? Revised Standard Version has decided that the first two, wickedness and folly, form a genitive construction: wickedness of folly. They go on to translate the latter part as the foolishness which is madness. This latter interpretation comes from the fact that in Hebrew, when two nouns occur side by side, they can be understood as a predicate nominal sentence: foolishness is madness. Since there is no evidence in the text that the first two nouns are linked in a genitive relationship, we conclude that probably the first two nouns, wickedness and folly, are in the same relationship to each other as the second set, foolishness and madness. If this is the case, then the meaning of this passage should be “to know that wickedness is folly and foolishness is madness.” New Jerusalem Bible takes a different approach, presenting all four items as a list: “… to studying wickedness, stupidity, madness, and folly.” The problem with this rendering is that the conjunction “and” in the Hebrew comes after the second noun. New Jerusalem Bible‘s interpretation is rather questionable.

In Hebrew the last two nouns, foolishness and madness, are actually both in the plural form. In other Hebrew literature we find a similar jump from singular to plural forms to emphasize a point. This is unnatural in English and most other languages, so singular forms can be used throughout. On madness see comments on 1.17.

It is interesting to note that, as verses 19-20 pick up keywords in verse 16 (“wise” and “righteous”), so this verse picks up on keywords from verse 17, “wickedness” and “fool.” Note that in our analysis these elements are linked and act as subjects of their clauses: “to know that wickedness is folly and foolishness is madness.” In many languages there may be only a limited vocabulary to describe foolishness, so the translator may have to use some terms more than once, or combine the phrases into one.

Folly and foolishness come from similar sounding roots in Hebrew (k-s-l and s-k-l), with a wordplay probably intended. It may be possible to preserve a kind of wordplay through repetition of similar forms in other languages: “to know that wickedness is foolish, and foolishness [sheer] stupidity.” Alternatively we can combine the two sentences, using a coordinate subject, to show that these two items are the main theme of the discussion: “to know that being wicked or foolish is stupid.”

The verb know occurs twice in this verse, once in the set of initial verbs, know, search out, and seek, and once here. In this second context Qoheleth is reporting on what he has already found. Therefore the verb know may sound a little awkward. We can say “and to know how…,” “to know more about how…,” or even “understand” or “learn,” if this is more natural.

Translation can be as follows:

• and to knowing more about how foolish evil is and how stupid folly is.

• but [wanted] to know more about how foolish an evil person is and how stupid it is to be a fool.

• and to learn how wickedness is foolish and foolishness is stupid!

• and to know that being evil is stupid and being a fool [is] sheer madness.

It appears from our discussion, therefore, that Qoheleth is not starting out on another search for wisdom in general, but rather that he is looking into the problems surrounding wickedness and foolishness. We can translate the verse as follows:

• So I decided to seriously study wisdom and the scheme of things, [in particular] to learn how being wicked is foolish, and being foolish, sheer stupidity!

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 .