Ecclesiastes 1:15 - Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown

Ecclesiastes 1:15

13 And I set my heart to seek and ^asearch out by wisdom concerning all that is done under heaven; ^bthis burdensome task God has given to the sons of man, by which they may be¹ exercised.

14 I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and indeed, all is vanity and grasping for the wind.

15 ^aWhat is crooked cannot be made straight,
And what is lacking cannot be numbered.

16 I communed with my heart, saying, “Look, I have attained greatness, and have gained ^amore wisdom than all who were before me in Jerusalem. My heart has¹ understood great wisdom and knowledge.”

17 ^aAnd I set my heart to know wisdom and to know madness and folly. I perceived that this also is grasping for the wind.

18 For ^ain much wisdom is much grief,
And he who increases knowledge increases sorrow.

Commentaries:

Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown

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Ecclesiastes 1:16 >>

Ecclesiastes 1:15

Investigation (Ecclesiastes 1:13) into human ways is vain labor, for they are hopelessly "crooked" and "cannot be made straight" by it (Ecclesiastes 7:13). God, the chief good, alone can do this (Isaiah 40:4; Isaiah 45:2).

wanting— (Daniel 5:27).

numbered—so as to make a complete number; so equivalent to "supplied" [MAURER]. Or, rather, man's state is utterly wanting; and that which is wholly defective cannot be numbered or calculated. The investigator thinks he can draw up, in accurate numbers, statistics of man's wants; but these, including the defects in the investigator's labor, are not partial, but total.

Other Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown entries containing Ecclesiastes 1:15:

Ecclesiastes 1:14
Ecclesiastes 1:18
Ecclesiastes 2:12
Ecclesiastes 3:14
Ecclesiastes 7:13

<< Ecclesiastes 1:14

Ecclesiastes 1:16 >>

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