Font Size
Ecclesiastes 1:16
New English Translation
Ecclesiastes 1:16
New English Translation
Futility of Secular Wisdom
16 I thought to myself,[a]
“I have become much wiser[b] than any of my predecessors who ruled[c] over Jerusalem;
I[d] have acquired much wisdom and knowledge.”[e]
Footnotes
- Ecclesiastes 1:16 tn Heb “I spoke, I, with my heart.”
- Ecclesiastes 1:16 tn Heb “I, look, I have made great and increased wisdom.” The expression הִגְדַּלְתִּי וְהוֹסַפְתִּי (higdalti vehosafti) is a verbal hendiadys; it means that Qoheleth had become the wisest man in the history of Jerusalem.
- Ecclesiastes 1:16 tn The phrase “who ruled” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity.
- Ecclesiastes 1:16 tn Heb “my heart” (לִבִּי, libbi). The term “heart” is a metonymy of part for the whole (“my heart” = myself).
- Ecclesiastes 1:16 tn Heb “My heart has seen much wisdom and knowledge.”
Ecclesiastes 1:16
New International Version
Ecclesiastes 1:16
New International Version
16 I said to myself, “Look, I have increased in wisdom more than anyone who has ruled over Jerusalem before me;(A) I have experienced much of wisdom and knowledge.”
New English Translation (NET)
NET Bible® copyright ©1996-2017 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. http://netbible.com All rights reserved.
New International Version (NIV)
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.