I have always tried my best to let wisdom guide my thoughts and actions. I said to myself, “I am determined to be wise.” But it didn’t work.
Parallel translations
- WEB All this I have proved in wisdom. I said, “I will be wise”; but it was far from me.
- KJV All this have I proved by wisdom: I said, I will be wise; but it was far from me.
- BSB All this I tested by wisdom, saying, “I resolve to be wise.” But it was beyond me.
- NKJV All this I have proved by wisdom. I said, “I will be wise”; But it was far from me.
- NASB I tested all this with wisdom, and I said, “I will be wise,” but wisdom was far from me.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
The Preacher tested all this by wisdom, resolving to be wise, but it remained beyond his reach. It matters because it confesses the limits of even the wisest human pursuit of understanding.
Overview
The Preacher honestly admits that full wisdom eluded him despite his determined search. Human wisdom, however great, cannot finally master life's mysteries. This humbling confession exposes the boundaries of creaturely knowledge and points to God, in whom alone wisdom is complete, supremely revealed in Christ, in whom all treasures of wisdom are hidden (Colossians 2:3).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 5
- Rom 1:22Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,
- 1 Cor 1:20Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the lawyer of this world? Hasn’t God made foolish the wisdom of this world?
- Gen 3:5for God knows that in the day you eat it, your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
- 1 Kgs 3:11–12God said to him, “Because you have asked this thing, and have not asked for yourself long life, nor have you asked for riches for yourself, nor have you asked for the life of your enemies, but have asked for yourself understanding to discern justice;
- 1 Kgs 11:1–8Now king Solomon loved many foreign women, together with the daughter of Pharaoh, women of the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians, and Hittites;
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
The search that finds everything 'under the sun' to be vapor exposes the emptiness of life without God and drives us to the one who alone gives meaning, the resurrection that makes our labor not in vain.
How Ecclesiastes 7:23 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.