Ecclesiastes 1:17

So I determined to learn more about being wise and to learn about knowing about many things, and also to learn about doing things that are very foolish [DOU]. But I found out that trying to understand those things was also useless, like chasing the wind.

Translation for Translators

In The King James Version

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

In Context

16I said to myself, “ Hey, I am wiser than any of the kings that ruled in Jerusalem before I became the king. I am wiser and I know more than any of them!”

18The wiser I became, the more disappointed I became. The more things I knew about, the sadder I became.

Read all of Ecclesiastes 1

Cross References

Psalms 73:16And when I tried to think about all this, it was very difficult for me to understand it.

Ecclesiastes 2:3So, after thinking a lot about it, I decided to ◄cheer myself/cause myself to be happy► by drinking a lot of wine. So while I was still trying to be wise, I decided to do things that many people do to be happy during the short time that they are alive on the earth.

Ecclesiastes 2:11But then I thought about all the hard work that I [SYN] had done to get all those things, and none of it seems to bring any lasting benefit [DOU]. It was all like chasing the wind.

Ecclesiastes 3:19because what happens to people happens to animals. Animals die, and people die. We all must breathe to remain alive. With regard to that, people have no advantage over animals, so I have a difficult time understanding that.

Ecclesiastes 6:9It is better to enjoy the things that we already have [MTY] than to constantly want more things; continually wanting more things is senseless, like chasing the wind.

Ecclesiastes 7:25But I decided to investigate things and by my wisdom try to understand the reason for everything. I also wanted to understand why people act wickedly and why they act very foolishly.

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 →

This Verse In Other Editions

Study Ecclesiastes 1:17