Translation
Look! This is what I have found, says the Convener and Speaker of the assembly, [by adding] one [thing] to another
Go to footnote numberto find out the reason
Go to footnote numberfor things,
Paraphrase
The Convener and Speaker of the assembly said, See, this is what I have discovered in my search for truth, as I connected the dots between one thing and another to find the reason behind things,
Footnotes
1
A verb or participle is missing here; it must be assumed. My translation follows most other translators by inserting the English words “by adding” and “thing” to make it read “by adding one thing to another.” In my paraphrase I have chosen to render it as “connecting the dots between one thing and another.”
2: “the reason”
This is the same word that is used in verse 25. It can mean “the reason for something, reckoning, giving an account, a device” or even “intelligence.” It seems like the “reason for things being as they are” has been his search all along. As I understand things, that has become even more true since the death of the Shulammite.