Ecclesiastes 7:23

21 Also do not take to heart everything people say,
Lest you hear your servant cursing you.

22 For many times, also, your own heart has known
That even you have cursed others.

23 All this I have¹ proved by wisdom.
^aI said, “I will be wise”;
But it was far from me.

24 ^aAs for that which is far off and ^bexceedingly deep,
Who can find it out?

25 ^aI 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.

26 ^aAnd I find more bitter than death
The woman whose heart is snares and nets,
Whose hands are fetters.
¹He who pleases God shall escape from her,
But the sinner shall be trapped by her.

27 Here is what I have found,” says ^athe Preacher,
“Adding one thing to the other to find out the reason,

28 Which my soul still seeks but I cannot find:
^aOne man among a thousand I have found,
But a woman among all these I have not found.

29 Truly, this only I have found:
^aThat God made man upright,
But ^bthey have sought out many schemes.”

Verse Comparison: Ecclesiastes 7:23

<< Ecclesiastes 7:22

Ecclesiastes 7:24 >>

American Standard Version
All this have I proved in wisdom: I said, I will be wise; but it was far from me.

Amplified® Bible
All this have I tried {and} proved by wisdom. I said, I will be wise [independently of God]--but it was far from me.

Contemporary English Version
I told myself that I would be smart and try to understand all of this, but it was too much for me.

Darby English Version
All this have I tried by wisdom: I said, I will be wise; but it was far from me.

Good News Bible
I used my wisdom to test all of this. I was determined to be wise, but it was beyond me.

King James Version
All this have I proved by wisdom: I said, I will be wise; but it was far from me.

New American Standard Bible
I tested all this with wisdom, {and} I said, "I will be wise, but it was far from me."

New International Version
All this I tested by wisdom and I said,
"I am determined to be wise"—
but this was beyond me.

New King James Version
All this I have proved by wisdom.
I said, "I will be wise";
But it was far from me.

N.A.S.B. in E-Prime
I tested all this with wisdom, and I said, "I will become wise," but it seemed far from me.

Revised Standard Version
All this I have tested by wisdom; I said, "I will be wise"; but it was far from me.

Young's Literal Translation
All this I have tried by wisdom; I have said, `I am wise,' and it `is' far from me.

<< Ecclesiastes 7:22

Ecclesiastes 7:24 >>

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