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Ecclesiastes 1:17

So I set my mind to know wisdom and madness and folly; I learned that this, too, is a pursuit of the wind.

BSB

Parallel translations (2) ▾

ASV

And I applied my heart to know wisdom, and to know madness and folly: I perceived that this also was a striving after wind.

KJV

And I gave my heart to know wisdom, and to know madness and folly: I perceived that this also is vexation of spirit.

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Commentary

2 voices

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Original language & word study

13 tagged words
OriginalTransliterationMeaningWord study
וָאֶתְּנָ֤הva.'e.te.Nahand I gave !H5414 →
לִבִּי֙li.Biheart myH3820 →
לָדַ֣עַתla.Da.'atto knowH3045 →
חָכְמָ֔הchokh.mahwisdomH2451 →
וְדַ֥עַתve.Da.'atand to knowH3045 →
הוֹלֵל֖וֹתho.le.LotmadnessH1947 →
וְשִׂכְל֑וּתve.sikh.Lutand follyH5531 →
יָדַ֕עְתִּיya.Da'.tiI knewH3045 →
שֶׁגַּם־she.gam-that alsoH1571 →
זֶ֥הzehthisH2088 →
ה֖וּאhu'itH1931 →
רַעְי֥וֹןra'.Yon[is] a striving ofH7475 →
רֽוּחַ׃Ru.achwindH7307 →

The walk

Related verses

10 strongest cross-references

The gold bar shows how strongly the cross-reference sources tie the two verses together: a long bar means many compiled references make the connection, a short one means few.

Ecclesiastes 2:12Then I turned to consider wisdom and madness and folly; for what more can the king’s successor do than what has already been accomplished?Ecclesiastes 2:3I sought to cheer my body with wine and to embrace folly—my mind still guiding me with wisdom—until I could see what was worthwhile for men to do under heaven during the few days of their lives.Ecclesiastes 1:13And I set my mind to seek and explore by wisdom all that is done under heaven. What a heavy burden God has laid upon the sons of men to occupy them!1 Thessalonians 5:21but test all things. Hold fast to what is good.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 5:10He who loves money is never satisfied by money, and he who loves wealth is never satisfied by income. This too is futile.Ecclesiastes 2:10–12Anything my eyes desired, I did not deny myself. I refused my heart no pleasure. For my heart took delight in all my work, and this was the reward for all my labor.Ecclesiastes 1:13–14And I set my mind to seek and explore by wisdom all that is done under heaven. What a heavy burden God has laid upon the sons of men to occupy them!Ecclesiastes 7:23–25All this I tested by wisdom, saying, “I resolve to be wise.” But it was beyond me.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.

Featured studies on this passage

King Solomon in Old Age — Gustave Doré

On Ecclesiastes 1:17

Ecclesiastes: the Study Guide

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Still-Life with a Skull (Vanitas) — Philippe de Champaigne

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Vanity Under the Sun — Ecclesiastes

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Gerard van Honthorst, King David Playing the Harp: the shepherd-king whose name stands over nearly half the Psalter (Psalms 3–41 and beyond).

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Wisdom and the Poets

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Walks through Ecclesiastes 1

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About Ecclesiastes

King Solomon in Old Age — Gustave Doré, Doré's English Bible (1866), public domain
King Solomon in Old Age — Gustave Doré, Doré's English Bible (1866), public domain
Ecclesiastes: the study guide →Read chapter 1 →The featured study →
Continue: Ecclesiastes 1 →