Ecclesiastes 7:10
in Ecclesiastes 7Do not say, “Why were the old days better than these?” For it is unwise of you to ask about this.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Say not thou, What is the cause that the former days were better than these? for thou dost not inquire wisely concerning this.
KJV
Say not thou, What is the cause that the former days were better than these? for thou dost not enquire wisely concerning this.
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This verse in Ecclesiastes 7
Commentary
9 notes on this verse"Do not ask,' what is the cause that the former days were better than these?' For you do not enquire wisely about this. "Do not prefer the previous age to this one, since God created both one and the other. Virtues create good days for man, and vices make bad days. Do not say therefore that the days were better in the time of Moses and Christ, than now they are.
This site's exposition
The end of a matter is better than the beginning
on Ecclesiastes 7:8-10
The end of a matter is better than the beginning, and a patient spirit is better than a proud one. The counsel against quick anger follows, for anger settles in the lap of a fool. The question Why were the old days better than these is called unwise.
This site's exposition
Why were the old days better
Jerome answers that God made the old days and these alike, and virtue and wickedness make days good or bad. Clarke calls the saying as foolish as it is common. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown hear Job's longing for his former days in it.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church1 voice
A commentator
BonaventureCommentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 7 · Written in the 13th century.
proposed
Having set down the lessons for modesty and constancy, here he sets down lessons for having prudence. And because it belongs to the prudent man to discern where one may err: therefore he sets down four lessons for having discretion. The first is for the …
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
15 All things have I seen in the days of my vanity: there is a just man that perisheth in his righteousness, and there is a wicked man that prolongeth his life in his wickedness. 16 Be not righteous over much; neither make thyself over wise: why shouldest thou destroy thyself?
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — verbatim-scripture
Better - More quiet and comfortable. For this is an argument of a mind unthankful for the many mercies, which men enjoy even in evil times. For - This question shews thy folly in contending with thy Lord and governor, in opposing thy shallow wit to his unsearchable wisdom.
Say not thou, what is the cause that the former days were better than these?....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
The former days were better than these? - This is a common saying; and it is as foolish as it is common. There is no weight nor truth in it; but men use it to excuse their crimes, and the folly of their conduct. “In former times, say they, men might be more religious, use more self-denial, be more exemplary.” This is all false.
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
Do not call in question God's ways in making thy former days better than thy present, as Job did (Job 29:2-5). The very putting of the question argues that heavenly "wisdom" (Margin) is not as much as it ought made the chief good with thee.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
Do not say, was it that the former days, etc. Do not wonder about the goodness that was bestowed upon the righteous men of yore, such as the generation of the wilderness, the generation of Yehoshua and the generation of Dovid.
2 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
In the time of oppression, say not what was before now was good in the world; for the former days were better, and the men of that generation had better doings than these, therefore good came to them; and thou askest not according to wisdom about this.
It is good to have wisdom, etc. Their wisdom stood for them together with the heritage of the merit of their forefathers, for wisdom is good. 30 Alternatively, נחלה refers to a monetary inheritance or a skill that is handed down from father to son (Ibn Ezra).
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 1 further source is cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
15 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| אַל־ | ʾal- | may not | H408 → | 724 times |
| תֹּאמַר֙ | tomar | you say | H559 → | 5305 times |
| מֶ֣ה | meh | why? | H4100 → | 752 times |
| הָיָ֔ה | hayah | was it | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| שֶׁ֤הַיָּמִים֙ | shehaiyamim | that the days | H3117 → | 2304 times |
| הָרִ֣אשֹׁנִ֔ים | harishonim | <the> former | H7223 → | |
| הָי֥וּ | hayu | they were | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| טוֹבִ֖ים | tovim | good | H2896 → | 538 times |
| מֵאֵ֑לֶּה | meeleh | more than these | H428 → | 746 times |
| כִּ֛י | ki | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| לֹ֥א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| מֵחָכְמָ֖ה | mechakhemah | from wisdom | H2451 → | 153 times |
| שָׁאַ֥לְתָּ | shaalta | you have asked | H7592 → | |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| זֶֽה׃ | zeh | this | H2088 → | 1180 times |
אַל־may not
ʾal-H408 →724 times
תֹּאמַר֙you say
tomarH559 →5305 times
מֶ֣הwhy?
mehH4100 →752 times
הָיָ֔הwas it
hayahH1961 →3559 times
שֶׁ֤הַיָּמִים֙that the days
shehaiyamimH3117 →2304 times
הָרִ֣אשֹׁנִ֔ים<the> former
harishonimH7223 →
הָי֥וּthey were
hayuH1961 →3559 times
טוֹבִ֖יםgood
tovimH2896 →538 times
מֵאֵ֑לֶּהmore than these
meelehH428 →746 times
כִּ֛יfor
kiH3588 →4482 times
לֹ֥אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
מֵחָכְמָ֖הfrom wisdom
mechakhemahH2451 →153 times
שָׁאַ֥לְתָּyou have asked
shaaltaH7592 →
עַל־on
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
זֶֽה׃this
zehH2088 →1180 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Isaiah 50:1This is what the LORD says: “Where is your mother’s certificate of divorce with which I sent her away? Or to which of My creditors did I sell you? Look, you were sold for…
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 32:30
How could one man pursue a thousand, or two put ten thousand to flight, unless their Rock had sold them, unless the LORD had given them up?
- Jeremiah 3:8
She saw that because faithless Israel had committed adultery, I gave her a certificate of divorce and sent her away. Yet that unfaithful sister Judah had no fear and prostituted herself as well.
- Matthew 18:25
Since the man was unable to pay, the master ordered that he be sold to pay his debt, along with his wife and children and everything he owned.
- Nehemiah 5:5
We and our children are just like our countrymen and their children, yet we are subjecting our sons and daughters to slavery. Some of our daughters are already enslaved, but we are powerless to…
- Deuteronomy 32:30
Through
Judges 6:13“Please, my Lord,” Gideon replied, “if the LORD is with us, why has all this happened to us? And where are all His wonders of which our fathers told us, saying, ‘Has not the…
it leads to
- Psalms 77:7–9
“Will the Lord spurn us forever and never show His favor again?
- 2 Chronicles 15:2
So he went out to meet Asa and said to him, “Listen to me, Asa and all Judah and Benjamin. The LORD is with you when you are with Him. If you seek Him,…
- Isaiah 59:1–2
Surely the arm of the LORD is not too short to save, nor His ear too dull to hear.
- Psalms 44:1
We have heard with our ears, O God; our fathers have told us the work You did in their days, in the days of old.
- Psalms 77:7–9
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Ecclesiastes
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Bonaventure, Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 7; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Ecclesiastes; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.