Ecclesiastes 1:13
And I have given my heart to seek and to search out by wisdom concerning all that has been done under the heavens. It [is] a sad travail God has given to the sons of man to be humbled by it.
Literal Standard Version
In The King James Version
In Context
12I, a preacher, have been king over Israel in Jerusalem.
Cross References
Genesis 3:19by the sweat of your face you eat bread until your return to the ground, for you have been taken out of it, for dust you [are], and to dust you return.”
Proverbs 2:2To cause your ear to attend to wisdom, || You incline your heart to understanding,
Proverbs 18:1He who is separated seeks [his own] desire, || He interferes with all wisdom.
Proverbs 23:26Give, my son, your heart to me, || And let your eyes watch my ways.
Ecclesiastes 1:17And I give my heart to know wisdom, and to know madness and folly: I have known that even this [is] distress of spirit;
Ecclesiastes 2:26For to a man who [is] good before Him, He has given wisdom, and knowledge, and joy; and to a sinner He has given travail, to gather and to heap up, to give to the good before God. Even this [is] vanity and distress of spirit.
Matthew Henry on Ecclesiastes 1:13-18
Vanity of Human Wisdom. 12 I the Preacher was king over Israel in Jerusalem. 13 And I gave my heart to seek and search out by wisdom concerning all things that are done under heaven: this sore travail hath God given to the sons of man to be exercised therewith. 14 I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and, behold, all is vanity and vexation of spirit. 15 That which is crooked cannot be made straight: and that which is wanting cannot be numbered. 16 I communed with mine own heart, saying, Lo, I am… Read the whole commentary →