English Standard Version
Ecclesiastes 7:23
23All this I have tested by wisdom. I said, "I will be wise," but it was far from me.
Ecclesiastes 7:23 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)All this have I proved by wisdom: I said, I will be wise; but it was far from me.
- New International Version (NIV)All this I tested by wisdom and I said, “I am determined to be wise”— but this was beyond me.
- New King James Version (NKJV)All this I have proved by wisdom. I said, “I will be wise”; But it was far from me.
- New Living Translation (NLT)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.
Context of Ecclesiastes 7:23
21Do not take to heart all the things that people say, lest you hear your servant cursing you. 22Your heart knows that many times you yourself have cursed others. All this I have tested by wisdom. I said, "I will be wise," but it was far from me. 24That which has been is far off, and deep, very deep; who can find it out? 25I 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.
Read all of Ecclesiastes 7Ecclesiastes 7:23 word by word
כָּל־זֹ֖ה נִסִּ֣יתִי בַֽחָכְמָ֑ה אָמַ֣רְתִּי אֶחְכָּ֔מָה וְהִ֖יא רְחוֹקָ֥ה מִמֶּֽנִּי׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Ecclesiastes 7:23
- Genesis 3:5For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil."
- 1 Kings 3:11And God said to him, "Because you have asked this, and have not asked for yourself long life or riches or the life of your enemies, but have asked for yourself understanding to discern what is right,
- 1 Kings 11:1Now King Solomon loved many foreign women, along with the daughter of Pharaoh: Moabite, Ammonite, Edomite, Sidonian, and Hittite women,
- Romans 1:22Claiming to be wise, they became fools,
- 1 Corinthians 1:20Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?
Commentaries on Ecclesiastes 7:23
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 23All this have I proved by wisdom - These rules I have laid down for my own conduct, and sought after more wisdom; but have fallen far short of what I wished to be.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 23I will be - Or, I am. There was a time when Solomon thought himself wise enough to comprehend the work of God, and therefore needed for himself the self-humbling conviction declared in this verse. It - i. e. Wisdom. Compare Ecclesiastes 8:17.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. 2323. All this--resuming the "all" in Ec 7:15; Ec 7:15-22 is therefore the fruit of his dearly bought experience in the days of his "vanity." I will be wise--I tried to "be wise," independently of God. But true wisdom was then "far from him," in spite of his human wisdom, which he retained by God's gift. So "over wise" (Ec 7:16).Read the comment
Topics related to Ecclesiastes 7:23
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
English Standard Version — © 2001 Crossway Bibles
Commentaries