Amplified Bible
Ecclesiastes 7:29
29Behold, I have found only this [as a reason]: God made man upright and uncorrupted, but they [both men and women] have sought out many devices [for evil].”
Ecclesiastes 7:29 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Lo, this only have I found, that God hath made man upright; but they have sought out many inventions.
- New International Version (NIV)This only have I found: God created mankind upright, but they have gone in search of many schemes.”
- English Standard Version (ESV)See, this alone I found, that God made man upright, but they have sought out many schemes.
- New King James Version (NKJV)Truly, this only I have found: That God made man upright, But they have sought out many schemes.”
Context of Ecclesiastes 7:29
27“Behold, I have discovered this,” says the Preacher, “while adding one thing to another to find an explanation, 28which I am still seeking but have not found. I have found one man among a thousand [who pleases God], but I have not found [such] a woman among all these [a thousand in my harem]. Behold, I have found only this [as a reason]: God made man upright and uncorrupted, but they [both men and women] have sought out many devices [for evil].”
Read all of Ecclesiastes 7Ecclesiastes 7:29 word by word
לְבַד֙ רְאֵה־זֶ֣ה מָצָ֔אתִי אֲשֶׁ֨ר עָשָׂ֧ה הָאֱלֹהִ֛ים אֶת־הָאָדָ֖ם יָשָׁ֑ר וְהֵ֥מָּה בִקְשׁ֖וּ חִשְּׁבֹנ֥וֹת רַבִּֽים׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- Loרָאָהrâ'âh · to see: behold!H7200
- this onlyבַּדbad · aloneH905
- have I foundמָצָאmâtsâ' · to findH4672
- that Godאֱלֹהִים'ĕlôhîym · GodH430
- hath madeעָשָׂה‛âώâh · to makeH6213
- manאָדָם'âdâm · manH120
- uprightיָשָׁרyâshâr · uprightH3477
- but they have sought outבָּקַשׁbâqash · to seekH1245
- manyרַבrab · manyH7227
- inventionsחִשָּׁבוֹןchishshâbôn · inventionH2810
Cross-references for Ecclesiastes 7:29
- Genesis 1:26Then God said, “Let Us (Father, Son, Holy Spirit) make man in Our image, according to Our likeness [not physical, but a spiritual personality and moral likeness]; and let them have complete authority over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, the cattle, and over the entire earth, and over everything that creeps and crawls on the earth.”
- Genesis 5:1This is the book (the written record, the history) of the generations of [the descendants of] Adam. When God created man, He made him in the likeness of God [not physical, but a spiritual personality and moral likeness].
- Genesis 3:6And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was delightful to look at, and a tree to be desired in order to make one wise and insightful, she took some of its fruit and ate it; and she also gave some to her husband with her, and he ate.
- Genesis 6:5The Lord saw that the wickedness (depravity) of man was great on the earth, and that every imagination or intent of the thoughts of his heart were only evil continually.
- Genesis 11:4They said, “Come, let us build a city for ourselves, and a tower whose top will reach into the heavens, and let us make a [famous] name for ourselves, so that we will not be scattered [into separate groups] and be dispersed over the surface of the entire earth [as the Lord instructed].”
- Psalms 99:8You answered them, O Lord our God; You were a forgiving God to them, And yet an avenger of their evil practices.
- Psalms 106:29Thus they provoked Him to anger with their practices, And a plague broke out among them.
- Jeremiah 2:12Be appalled, O heavens, at this; Be shocked and shudder with horror [at the behavior of the people],” says the Lord.
- Jeremiah 4:22“For My people are stupid and foolish,” [says the Lord to Jeremiah]; “They do not know Me; They are foolish children And have no understanding. They are shrewd [enough] to do evil, But they do not know [how] to do good.”
- Ezekiel 22:16You will defile yourself in the sight of the [Gentile] nations, and you will know [without any doubt] that I am the Lord.” ’ ”
- Mark 7:8You disregard and neglect the commandment of God, and cling [faithfully] to the tradition of men.”
- Acts 7:40They said to Aaron, ‘Make for us gods who will go before us; for this Moses who led us out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has happened to him.’
- Romans 1:21For even though they knew God [as the Creator], they did not honor Him as God or give thanks [for His wondrous creation]. On the contrary, they became worthless in their thinking [godless, with pointless reasonings, and silly speculations], and their foolish heart was darkened.
- Romans 3:9Well then, are we [Jews] better off than they? Not at all; for we have already charged that both Jews and Greeks (Gentiles) are under the control of sin and subject to its power.
- Ephesians 2:2in which you once walked. You were following the ways of this world [influenced by this present age], in accordance with the prince of the power of the air (Satan), the spirit who is now at work in the disobedient [the unbelieving, who fight against the purposes of God].
Commentaries on Ecclesiastes 7:29
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 29Lo, this only have I found, that God hath made man upright - Whatever evil may be now found among men and women, it is not of God; for God made them all upright. This is a singular verse, and has been most variously translated: רבים חשבנות בקשו והמה ישר האדם את האלהים עשה asah haelohim eth haadam yashar vehemhah bikkeshu chishbonoth rabbim . "Elohim has made mankind upright, and they have sought many computations." "He hath meddled with endless…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 29God hath made - Rather, God made. A definite allusion to the original state of man: in which he was exempt from vanity.Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 23-29Verses 23-29 Solomon, in his search into the nature and reason of things, had been miserably deluded. But he here speaks with godly sorrow. He alone who constantly aims to please God, can expect to escape; the careless sinner probably will fall to rise no more. He now discovered more than ever the evil of the great sin of which he had been guilty, the loving many strange women, I Kin. 11:1. A woman thoroughly upright and godly, he had not found. How was…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 29After much searching, the Teacher found that humanity's decline from God's created order (Genesis 1:27–28; 2:23–25; 3:1–19) was repeated by Adam and Eve's descendants (compare Romans 3:10–18, 23).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 2929. The "only" way of accounting for the scarcity of even comparatively upright men and women is that, whereas God made man upright, they (men) have, &c. The only account to be "found" of the origin of evil, the great mystery of theology, is that given in Holy Writ (Ge 2:1-3:24). Among man's "inventions" was the one especially referred to in Ec 7:26, the bitter fruits of which Solomon experienced, the breaking of God's primeval marriage law, joining one…Read the comment
Topics related to Ecclesiastes 7:29
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Ecclesiastes 7
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
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