Ecclesiastes 7:25

Ecclesiastes 7:25 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)I applied mine heart to know, and to search, and to seek out wisdom, and the reason of things, and to know the wickedness of folly, even of foolishness and madness:
• New International Version (NIV)So I turned my mind to understand, to investigate and to search out wisdom and the scheme of things and to understand the stupidity of wickedness and the madness of folly.
• English Standard Version (ESV)I turned my heart to know and to search out and to seek wisdom and the scheme of things, and to know the wickedness of folly and the foolishness that is madness.
• New King James Version (NKJV)I applied my heart to know, To search and seek out wisdom and the reason of things, To know the wickedness of folly, Even of foolishness and madness.

Context of Ecclesiastes 7:25

23All this I tested by wisdom, saying, “I resolve to be wise.” But it was beyond me. 24What exists is out of reach and very deep. Who can fathom it? I directed my mind to understand, to explore, to search out wisdom and explanations, and to understand the stupidity of wickedness and the folly of madness. 26And I find more bitter than death the woman who is a snare, whose heart is a net, and whose hands are chains. The man who pleases God escapes her, but the sinner is ensnared. 27“Behold,” says the Teacher, “I have discovered this by adding one thing to another to find an explanation.

Ecclesiastes 7:25 word by word

סַבּ֨וֹתִֽי אֲנִ֤י וְלִבִּי֙ לָדַ֣עַת וְלָת֔וּר וּבַקֵּ֥שׁ חָכְמָ֖ה וְחֶשְׁבּ֑וֹן וְלָדַ֙עַת֙ רֶ֣שַׁע כֶּ֔סֶל וְהַסִּכְל֖וּת הוֹלֵלֽוֹת׃Read the interlinear

• Iאֲנִי'ănîy · IH589
• directedסָבַבsâbab · to turn: turnH5437
• my mindלֵבlêb · heartH3820
• to understandיָדַעyâda‛ · to knowH3045
• to exploreתּוּרtûr · to spyH8446
• to search outבָּקַשׁbâqash · to seekH1245
• wisdomחׇכְמָהchokmâh · wisdomH2451
• and explanationsחֶשְׁבּוֹןcheshbôn · explanationH2808
• the stupidityכֶּ֫סֶלkesel · loinH3689
• of wickednessרֶ֫שַׁעresha‛ · wickednessH7562
• and the follyסִכְלוּתsiklûth ώiklûth · follyH5531
• of madnessהוֹלֵלָהhôlêlâh · madnessH1947

Cross-references for Ecclesiastes 7:25

• Ecclesiastes 1:13And I set my mind to seek and explore by wisdom all that is done under heaven. What a miserable task God has laid upon the sons of men to occupy them!
• Ecclesiastes 2:1I said to myself, “Come now, I will test you with pleasure; enjoy what is good!” But it proved to be futile.
• Ecclesiastes 7:27“Behold,” says the Teacher, “I have discovered this by adding one thing to another to find an explanation.
• Ecclesiastes 2:15So I said to myself, “The fate of the fool will also befall me. What then have I gained by being wise?” And I said to myself that this too is futile.
• Ecclesiastes 3:16Furthermore, I saw under the sun that in the place of judgment there is wickedness, and in the place of righteousness there is wickedness.
• Ecclesiastes 9:1So I took all this to heart and concluded that the righteous and the wise, as well as their deeds, are in God’s hands. Man does not know what lies ahead, whether love or hate.
• Jeremiah 12:1Righteous are You, O LORD, when I plead before You. Yet about Your judgments I wish to contend with You: Why does the way of the wicked prosper? Why do all the faithless live at ease?
• 2 Peter 2:3In their greed, these false teachers will exploit you with deceptive words. The longstanding verdict against them remains in force, and their destruction does not sleep.
• 2 Peter 3:3Most importantly, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires.
• Ecclesiastes 9:3This is an evil in everything that is done under the sun: There is one fate for everyone. Furthermore, the hearts of men are full of evil and madness while they are alive, and afterward they join the dead.
• Ecclesiastes 10:13The beginning of his talk is folly, and the end of his speech is evil madness.
• Genesis 34:7When Jacob’s sons heard what had happened, they returned from the field. They were filled with grief and fury, because Shechem had committed an outrage in Israel by lying with Jacob’s daughter—a thing that should not be done.
• Joshua 7:13Get up and consecrate the people, saying, ‘Consecrate yourselves for tomorrow, for this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: Among you, O Israel, there are things devoted to destruction. You cannot stand against your enemies until you remove them.
• 2 Samuel 13:12“No, my brother!” she cried. “Do not violate me, for such a thing should never be done in Israel. Do not do this disgraceful thing!
• Proverbs 17:12It is better to meet a bear robbed of her cubs than a fool in his folly.
• Proverbs 26:11As a dog returns to its vomit, so a fool repeats his folly.

Commentaries on Ecclesiastes 7:25

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 25I applied mine heart - I cast about, סבותי sabbothi, I made a circuit; I circumscribed the ground I was to traverse; and all within my circle I was determined to know, and to investigate, and to seek out wisdom, and the reason of things. Has man reason and understanding? If so, then this is his work. God as much calls him to use these powers in this way, as to believe on the Lord Jesus that he may be saved; and he that does not, according to the means in…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 25Reason - The same word is translated “account” Ecclesiastes 7:27, “invention” Ecclesiastes 7:29, and “device” Ecclesiastes 9:10: it is derived from a root signifying “to count.”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. 23-25it was beyond me: The Teacher could not find the wisdom or reasons he sought. Such reasons are hidden in God's mind (Ecclesiastes 3:11; 8:17).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 2525. Literally, "I turned myself and mine heart to." A phrase peculiar to Ecclesiastes, and appropriate to the penitent turning back to commune with his heart on his past life. wickedness of folly--He is now a step further on the path of penitence than in Ec 1:17; 2:12, where "folly" is put without "wickedness" prefixed. reason--rather, "the right estimation" of things. Holden translates also "foolishness (that is, sinful folly, answering to 'wickedness'…Read the comment

Topics related to Ecclesiastes 7:25

• Blindness
• Wisdom

In the dictionaries

• Adversity
• Bosom
• Consider
• Crackling
• Living
• Madness
• Rest
• Fool; Folly
• Synagogue, the Great

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