Ecclesiastes 12:11

Goads. Used to prod, to stimulate to action, to get results. It may be painful to be prodded, but prodding often secures results that would not otherwise be achieved. See Heb. 12:11.

Nails fastened. Nails or stakes well driven are hard to pull out (see Isa. 22:23). Points well made, ideas thoroughly taught, remain in the mind and are not easily lost. The word translated “fastened” commonly means “to plant,” figuratively, “to establish.”

Masters of assemblies. Literally, “lords of collections.” The word translated “assemblies” is from ’asaph, “to gather” (see Ex. 3:16; 23:10; Ruth 2:7; Joel 2:16).

Though most commonly used of gathering people together, ’asaph may denote any gathering or collection, and the context must determine the nature of the gathering. In the poetic parallelism of v. 11 the Hebrew expression translated “masters of assemblies” is parallel to “words of the wise.” To preserve the sense of the parallel it is necessary to understand its second part as referring to a “collection,” or “anthology,” of wise sayings, rather than of people. The word translated “masters” is here used idiomatically to denote superiority of quality and organization. The entire phrase might well be rendered, “a masterful collection [of wise sayings],” or simply “a choice anthology,” and the second member of the poetic parallelism, “like nails firmly driven are the choice anthologies of one shepherd.” “The Preacher” thus refers to the counsel he has given as a goad for prodding men to follow a wise course of action, and as nails firmly driven, that the counsel not be forgotten.