ESV Contrasted With The NLTse

Ecclesiastes

1:14
ESV : striving after wind
NLT : chasing the wind

2:14
ESV : The wise person has his eyes in his head
NLT : the wise can see where they are going

2:16
ESV : For the wise as of the fool there is no enduring remembrance
NLT : The wise will not be remembered any longer than the fool

3:18
ESV : God is testing them that they themselves are but beasts
NLT : God proves to people that they are like animals

4:5
ESV : eats his own flesh
NLT : leading them to ruin

4:12
ESV : two will not withstand him
NLT : two can stand back-to-back and conquer

5:13
ESV : rich were kept by their owner to his hurt
NLT : Hoarding riches harms the saver

5:14
ESV : he is father of a son, but he has nothing in his hand
NLT : there is nothing left to pass on to one's children

7:10
ESV : Say not,"Why were the former days better than these?"
NLT : Don't long for the good old days.

7:11
ESV : those who see the sun
NLT : as you go through life

7:27
ESV : while adding one thing to another to find the scheme of things
NLT : I discovered this after looking at the matter from every possible angle.

8:9
ESV : when man had power over man to his hurt
NLT : where people have the power to hurt each other

8:11
ESV : Because the sentence against an evil deed is not executed speedily
NLt : When a crime is not punished quickly

10:4
ESV : calmness will lay great offenses to rest
NLT : A quiet spirit can overcome even great mistakes.

11:8
ESV : the days of darkness will be many
NLT : there will be many dark days

12:11
ESV : like goads
NLT : like cattle prods

 

Good job. I would like to see renderings like these retired from the new NIV.

I prefer the TNIV --all things considered. However,there are many occasions in which the NLTse has superior and more precise wording than does the TNIV. But TNIV is more middle-of-the-road in translation philosophy.It captures the best of both worlds generally.