Ecclesiastes 7:26 BSB

Ecclesiastes 7:26

And I find more bitter than death the woman who is a snare, whose heart is a net, and whose hands are chains. The man who pleases God escapes her, but the sinner is ensnared.

BSB

Parallel translations (2) ▾

ASV

And I find more bitter than death the woman whose heart is snares and nets, and whose hands are bands: whoso pleaseth God shall escape from her; but the sinner shall be taken by her.

KJV

And I find more bitter than death the woman, whose heart is snares and nets, and her hands as bands: whoso pleaseth God shall escape from her; but the sinner shall be taken by her.

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Commentary

1 voice

Ambrose of Milan

DEATH AS A GOOD 7:28 (397)

"My heart took a circuit to know the joy of the impious man and to examine carefully and to seek wisdom and a mode of calculating and to know joy through the impious man and trouble and disquietude, and I find that it is bitterer than death"—not because death is bitter, but because it is bitter for the impious one. And yet life is bitterer than death.

The record, by era

The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

30 . [4.] He reckoned it a sin that is as sore a punishment of other sins as a man can fall under in this life: The sinner shall be taken by her. First, Those that allow themselves in other sins, by which their minds are blinded and their consciences debauched, are the more easily drawn to this.

The Nineteenth Century1 voice

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible (1832)

And I find more bitter than death the woman - After all his investigation of the wickedness of folly, and the foolishness of madness, he found nothing equally dangerous and ruinous with the blandishments of cunning women. When once the affections are entangled, escape without ruin is almost impossible. Whoso pleaseth God - The man who walks with God, and he alone, shall escape this sore evil: and even he that fears God, if he get with an artful woman, may be soon robbed of his strength, and become like other men.

Voices on this verse

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Original language & word study

21 tagged words

Original	Transliteration	Meaning	Word study
וּמוֹצֶ֨א	u.mo.Tze'	and [was] finding	H4672 →
אֲנִ֜י	'a.Ni	I	H589 →
מַ֣ר	mar	bitter	H4751 →
מִמָּ֗וֶת	mi.Ma.vet	more than death	H4194 →
אֶת־	'et-	<obj.>	H853 →
הָֽאִשָּׁה֙	ha.'i.Shah	the woman	H802 →
אֲשֶׁר־	'a.Sher-	who	H834 →
הִ֨יא	hi'	she	H1931 →
מְצוֹדִ֧ים	me.tzo.Dim	[is] snares	H4685 →
וַחֲרָמִ֛ים	va.cha.ra.Mim	and [is] nets	H2764 →
לִבָּ֖הּ	li.Bah	heart her	H3820 →
אֲסוּרִ֣ים	'a.su.Rim	[are] fetters	H612 →
יָדֶ֑יהָ	ya.Dei.ha	hands her	H3027 →
ט֞וֹב	Tov	a [person] good	H2896 →
לִפְנֵ֤י	lif.Nei	<to> before	H6440 →
הָאֱלֹהִים֙	ha.'E.lo.Him	<the> God	H430 →
יִמָּלֵ֣ט	yi.ma.Let	he escapes	H4422 →
מִמֶּ֔נָּה	mi.Me.nah	from her	H4480 →
וְחוֹטֵ֖א	ve.cho.Te'	and a sinner	H2398 →
יִלָּ֥כֶד	yi.La.khed	he is captured	H3920 →
בָּֽהּ׃	Bah	by <the> her

Rare words are the text's own signal of a deliberate thread: the fewer the occurrences, the more the places it appears belong together.

The walk

The walk8

Where the connections lead

Follow this verse’s cross-references two steps out. Each card is a verse this one points to, and beneath it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several different paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it. Every stop shows its own words, and every stop is a page.

Through
Ecclesiastes 2:26
To the man who is pleasing in His sight, He gives wisdom and knowledge and joy, but to the sinner He assigns the task of gathering and accumulating that which he will hand over…
leads to
- Proverbs 13:22
  A good man leaves an inheritance to his children’s children, but the sinner’s wealth is passed to the righteous.
- Job 27:16–17
  Though he heaps up silver like dust and piles up a wardrobe like clay,
- Proverbs 28:8
  He who increases his wealth by interest and usury lays it up for one who is kind to the poor.
- John 16:24
  Until now you have not asked for anything in My name. Ask and you will receive, so that your joy may be complete.
- Isaiah 3:10–11
  Tell the righteous it will be well with them, for they will enjoy the fruit of their labor.
Through
Proverbs 22:14
The mouth of an adulteress is a deep pit; he who is under the wrath of the LORD will fall into it.
leads to
- Proverbs 23:27
  For a prostitute is a deep pit, and an adulteress is a narrow well.
  Reached by 2 independent paths from here.
- Proverbs 6:24–29
  to keep you from the evil woman, from the smooth tongue of the adulteress.
Through
Proverbs 2:16
It will rescue you from the forbidden woman, from the stranger with seductive words
leads to
- Proverbs 6:24
  to keep you from the evil woman, from the smooth tongue of the adulteress.

About Ecclesiastes

King Solomon in Old Age — Gustave Doré, Doré's English Bible (1866), public domain

Ecclesiastes: the study guide →Read chapter 7 →The featured study →

Continue: Ecclesiastes 7 →

01Commentary

The record, by era

Voices on this verse

02Original language & word study

03The walk

Where the connections lead

04Related verses

06About Ecclesiastes

The record, by era

Where the connections lead

Commentary

Original language & word study

The walk

Related verses

About Ecclesiastes