Ecclesiastes 7:29

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, “by 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, but I have not found a woman among all these. Behold, I have found only this, that God made people upright, but they have sought out many schemes.”

Ecclesiastes 7:29 word by word

לְבַד֙ רְאֵה־זֶ֣ה מָצָ֔אתִי אֲשֶׁ֨ר עָשָׂ֧ה הָאֱלֹהִ֛ים אֶת־הָאָדָ֖ם יָשָׁ֑ר וְהֵ֥מָּה בִקְשׁ֖וּ חִשְּׁבֹנ֥וֹת רַבִּֽים׃Read the interlinear

• Beholdרָאָהrâ'âh · to see: behold!H7200
• I have foundמָצָאmâtsâ' · to findH4672
• onlyבַּדbad · aloneH905
• thisזֶהzeh · thisH2088
• Godאֱלֹהִים'ĕlôhîym · GodH430
• madeעָשָׂה‛âώâh · to makeH6213
• peopleאָדָם'âdâm · manH120
• uprightיָשָׁרyâshâr · uprightH3477
• but they have soughtבָּקַשׁbâqash · to seekH1245
• manyרַבrab · manyH7227
• schemesחִשָּׁבוֹןchishshâbôn · inventionH2810

Cross-references for Ecclesiastes 7:29

• Genesis 1:26Then God said, “Let Us make mankind in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the livestock and over all the earth, and over every crawling thing that crawls on the earth.”
• Genesis 5:1This is the book of the generations of Adam. On the day when God created man, He made him in the likeness of God.
• Genesis 3:6When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise, she took some of its fruit and ate; and she also gave some to her husband with her, and he ate.
• Genesis 6:5Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of mankind was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of their hearts was only evil continually.
• Genesis 11:4And they said, “Come, let’s build ourselves a city, and a tower whose top will reach into heaven, and let’s make a name for ourselves; otherwise we will be scattered abroad over the face of all the earth.”
• Psalms 99:8Lord our God, You answered them; You were a forgiving God to them, And yet an avenger of their evil deeds.
• Psalms 106:29So they provoked Him to anger with their deeds, And a plague broke out among them.
• Jeremiah 2:12Be appalled at this, you heavens, And shudder, be very desolate,” declares the Lord.
• Jeremiah 4:22“For My people are foolish, They do not know Me; They are foolish children And have no understanding. They are skillful at doing evil, But they do not know how to do good.”
• Ezekiel 22:16Then you will defile yourself in the sight of the nations, and you will know that I am the Lord.”’”
• Mark 7:8Neglecting the commandment of God, you hold to the tradition of men.”
• Acts 7:40saying to Aaron, ‘Make us a god who will go before us; for this Moses who led us out of the land of Egypt--we do not know what happened to him.’
• Romans 1:21For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their reasonings, and their senseless hearts were darkened.
• Romans 3:9What then? Are we better than they? Not at all; for we have already charged that both Jews and Greeks are all under sin;
• Ephesians 2:2in which you previously walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience.

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

• Depravity of Man
• Fall of Man
• God
• Man

In the dictionaries

• God
• god, false god, goddess, idol, idolater, idolatrous, idolatry
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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