Ecclesiastes 7:28
in Ecclesiastes 7While my soul was still searching but not finding, among a thousand I have found one upright man, but among all these I have not found one such woman.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
which my soul still seeketh, but I have not found: one man among a thousand have I found; but a woman among all those have I not found.
KJV
Which yet my soul seeketh, but I find not: one man among a thousand have I found; but a woman among all those have I not found.
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This verse in Ecclesiastes 7
Commentary
10 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
One man - One whose good qualities quite satisfy our expectation. Compare the expression “one among a thousand” (marginal reference). A woman - The number of Solomon’s wives and concubines 1Ki 11:3 was a thousand.
This site's exposition
I have discovered this by adding one thing to another
on Ecclesiastes 7:27-29
The Teacher states his method, adding one thing to another, and reports one upright man among a thousand and no such woman. The chapter closes: God made men upright, but they have sought out many schemes. It is the book's Genesis 3, the corruption traced to man's own seeking.
This site's exposition
among a thousand
Barnes ties the thousand to Solomon's wives and concubines in 1 Kings 11:3. Bonaventure reads the numbers as hyperbole for how few men he found free of ruling desire. Wesley adds that his soul found the thing so and never discovered the reason.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
"Behold, I have found this, says the preacher, counting one by one, to find out the account. Which still my soul seeks, but I have not found it. I have found one man among a thousand, but one woman among all those I have not found. Only this have I found: that God has made man righteous, but he has sought out many inventions.
The Medieval Church1 voice
A commentator
BonaventureCommentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 7 · Written in the 13th century.
proposed
Therefore he says: "One man out of a thousand I have found, and a woman out of all I have not found": it is a hyperbole, and he means to say that he found very few men in whom concupiscence did not reign: but he …
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
I find not - That it was so, he found, but the reason of the thing he could not find out. One man - A wise and virtuous man. A woman - One worthy of that name; one who is not a dishonour to her sex.
Who can understand his errors? Who can tell how often he offends? He finds that if God enters into judgment with him, or he with himself, for all his thoughts, words, and actions, he is not able to answer for one of a thousand, Job ix.
The Value of a Good Name. 1 A good name is better than precious ointment; and the day of death than the day of one's birth. 2 It is better to go to the house of mourning, than to go to the house of feasting: for that is the end of all men; and the living will lay it to his heart.
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — scripture-overlap:93%@v1-3
2 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
Which yet my soul seeketh, but I find not,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
Rather, referring to his past experience, "Which my soul sought further, but I found not." one man--that is, worthy of the name, "man," "upright"; not more than one in a thousand of my courtiers (Job 33:23; Jesus Christ alone of men fully realizes the perfect ideal of "man." "Chiefest among ten thousand" (So 5:10).
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| אֲשֶׁ֛ר | ʾasher | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| עוֹד־ | ʾod- | again | H5750 → | 490 times |
| בִּקְשָׁ֥ה | bikshah | it has sought | H1245 → | 225 times |
| נַפְשִׁ֖י | nafshi | self my | H5315 → | 754 times |
| וְלֹ֣א | velo' | and not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| מָצָ֑אתִי | matzati | I have found | H4672 → | 455 times |
| אָדָ֞ם | ʾadam | a man | H120 → | 551 times |
| אֶחָ֤ד | ʾechad | one | H259 → | 971 times |
| מֵאֶ֙לֶף֙ | meelef | of a thousand | H505 → | |
| מָצָ֔אתִי | matzati | I have found | H4672 → | 455 times |
| וְאִשָּׁ֥ה | veishah | and a woman | H802 → | 781 times |
| בְכָל־ | vekhol- | among all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| אֵ֖לֶּה | ʾeleh | these | H428 → | 746 times |
| לֹ֥א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| מָצָֽאתִי׃ | matzati | I have found | H4672 → | 455 times |
אֲשֶׁ֛רwhich
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
עוֹד־again
ʾod-H5750 →490 times
בִּקְשָׁ֥הit has sought
bikshahH1245 →225 times
נַפְשִׁ֖יself my
nafshiH5315 →754 times
וְלֹ֣אand not
velo'H3808 →5168 times
מָצָ֑אתִיI have found
matzatiH4672 →455 times
אָדָ֞םa man
ʾadamH120 →551 times
אֶחָ֤דone
ʾechadH259 →971 times
מֵאֶ֙לֶף֙of a thousand
meelefH505 →
מָצָ֔אתִיI have found
matzatiH4672 →455 times
וְאִשָּׁ֥הand a woman
veishahH802 →781 times
בְכָל־among all
vekhol-H3605 →5413 times
אֵ֖לֶּהthese
ʾelehH428 →746 times
לֹ֥אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
מָצָֽאתִי׃I have found
matzatiH4672 →455 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 26:9My soul longs for You in the night; indeed, my spirit seeks You at dawn. For when Your judgments come upon the earth, the people of the world learn righteousness.
it leads to
- Matthew 6:33
But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you.
- Psalms 63:1
O God, You are my God. Earnestly I seek You; my soul thirsts for You. My body yearns for You in a dry and weary land without water.
- Psalms 119:62
At midnight I rise to give You thanks for Your righteous judgments.
- Song of Solomon 3:1–4
On my bed at night I sought the one I love; I sought him, but did not find him.
- Matthew 6:33
Through
Psalms 12:1Help, O LORD, for the godly are no more; the faithful have vanished from among men.
it leads to
- Isaiah 57:1
The righteous perish, and no one takes it to heart; devout men are swept away, while no one considers that the righteous are guided from the presence of evil.
- Jeremiah 5:1
“Go up and down the streets of Jerusalem. Look now and take note; search her squares. If you can find a single person, anyone who acts justly, anyone who seeks the truth, then I…
- Matthew 24:12
Because of the multiplication of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold.
- Isaiah 59:13–15
rebelling and denying the LORD, turning away from our God, speaking oppression and revolt, conceiving and uttering lies from the heart.
- Isaiah 57:1
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Ecclesiastes
This page draws on 9 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Bonaventure, Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 7; Charles Bridges, An Exposition of the Book of Ecclesiastes; Franz Delitzsch, Commentary on the Song of Songs and Ecclesiastes; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Ecclesiastes; 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.