Ecclesiastes 1:16

Bible in Basic English (1941)

I said to my heart, See, I have become great and am increased in wisdom more than any who were before me in Jerusalem--yes, my heart has seen much wisdom and knowledge.

Additional Resources

Referenced Verses

  • Eccl 2:9 : 9 And I became great; increasing more than all who had been before me in Jerusalem, and my wisdom was still with me.
  • 1 Kgs 4:30 : 30 And Solomon's wisdom was greater than the wisdom of all the people of the East and all the wisdom of Egypt.
  • 1 Kgs 10:7 : 7 But I had no faith in what was said about you, till I came and saw for myself; and now I see that it was not half the story; your wisdom and your wealth are much greater than they said.
  • 1 Kgs 3:12-13 : 12 I have done as you said: I have given you a wise and far-seeing heart, so that there has never been your equal in the past, and never will there be any like you in the future. 13 And with this I have given you what you made no request for: wealth and honour, so that no king was ever your equal.
  • Isa 10:7-9 : 7 But this is not what is in his mind, and this is not his design; but his purpose is destruction, and the cutting off of more and more nations. 8 For he says, Are not all my captains kings? 9 Will not the fate of Calno be like that of Carchemish? is not Hamath as Arpad? is not Samaria as Damascus? 10 As my hand has come on the kingdoms of the images, whose pictured images were more in number than those of Jerusalem and Samaria; 11 So, as I have done to Samaria and her images, I will do to Jerusalem and her images. 12 For this cause it will be that, when the purpose of the Lord against Mount Zion and Jerusalem is complete, I will send punishment on the pride of the heart of the king of Assyria, and on the glory of his uplifted eyes. 13 For he has said, By the strength of my hand I have done it, and by my knowledge, for I am wise: and I have taken away the limits of the peoples' lands, and the stores of their wealth have become mine; and I have made towns low in the dust, sending destruction on those living in them; 14 And I have put my hands on the wealth of the peoples, as on the place where a bird has put her eggs; and as a man may take the eggs from which a bird has gone, so I have taken all the earth for myself: and not a wing was moved, and not a mouth gave out a sound.
  • Jer 22:14 : 14 Who says, I will make a wide house for myself, and rooms of great size, and has windows cut out, and has it roofed with cedar and painted with bright red.
  • Ezek 38:10-11 : 10 This is what the Lord has said: In that day it will come about that things will come into your mind, and you will have thoughts of an evil design: 11 And you will say, I will go up to the land of small unwalled towns; I will go to those who are quiet, living, all of them, without fear of danger, without walls or locks or doors:
  • Dan 4:30 : 30 The king made answer and said, Is this not great Babylon, which I have made for the living-place of kings, by the strength of my power and for the glory of my honour?
  • Heb 5:14 : 14 But solid food is for men of full growth, even for those whose senses are trained by use to see what is good and what is evil.
  • 1 Kgs 10:23-24 : 23 And King Solomon was greater than all the kings of the earth in wealth and in wisdom. 24 And from all over the earth they came to see Solomon and to give ear to his wisdom, which God had put in his heart.
  • 2 Kgs 5:20 : 20 But Gehazi, the servant of Elisha, the man of God, said, Now my master has taken nothing from Naaman, this Aramaean, of what he would have given him: by the living Lord, I will go after him and get something from him.
  • 2 Chr 1:10-12 : 10 Give me now wisdom and knowledge, so that I may go out and come in before this people: for who is able to be the judge of this great people of yours? 11 And God said to Solomon, Because this was in your heart, and you did not make request for money, property, or honour, or for the destruction of your haters, or for long life; but you have made request for wisdom and knowledge for yourself, so that you may be the judge of my people over whom I have made you king: 12 Wisdom and knowledge are given to you; and I will give you wealth and honour, such as no king has had before you or ever will have after you.
  • 2 Chr 2:12 : 12 And Huram said, Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, maker of heaven and earth, who has given to David the king a wise son, full of wisdom and good sense, to be the builder of a house for the Lord and a house for himself as king.
  • 2 Chr 9:22-23 : 22 And King Solomon was greater than all the kings of the earth in wealth and in wisdom. 23 And all the kings of the earth came to see Solomon and to give ear to his wisdom, which God had put into his heart.
  • Ps 4:4 : 4 Let there be fear in your hearts, and do no sin; have bitter feelings on your bed, but make no sound. (Selah.)
  • Ps 77:6 : 6 The memory of my song comes back to me in the night; my thoughts are moving in my heart; my spirit is searching with care.

Similar Verses (AI)

These verses are found using AI-powered semantic similarity based on meaning and context. Results may occasionally include unexpected connections.

  • Eccl 1:17-18
    2 verses
    86%

    17 And I gave my heart to getting knowledge of wisdom, and of the ways of the foolish. And I saw that this again was desire for wind.

    18 Because in much wisdom is much grief, and increase of knowledge is increase of sorrow.

  • Eccl 2:7-15
    9 verses
    86%

    7 I got men-servants and women-servants, and they gave birth to sons and daughters in my house. I had great wealth of herds and flocks, more than all who were in Jerusalem before me.

    8 I got together silver and gold and the wealth of kings and of countries. I got makers of song, male and female; and the delights of the sons of men--girls of all sorts to be my brides.

    9 And I became great; increasing more than all who had been before me in Jerusalem, and my wisdom was still with me.

    10 And nothing which was desired by my eyes did I keep from them; I did not keep any joy from my heart, because my heart took pleasure in all my work, and this was my reward.

    11 Then I saw all the works which my hands had made, and everything I had been working to do; and I saw that all was to no purpose and desire for wind, and there was no profit under the sun.

    12 And I went again in search of wisdom and of foolish ways. What may the man do who comes after the king? The thing which he has done before.

    13 Then I saw that wisdom is better than foolish ways--as the light is better than the dark.

    14 The wise man's eyes are in his head, but the foolish man goes walking in the dark; but still I saw that the same event comes to them all.

    15 Then said I in my heart: As it comes to the foolish man, so will it come to me; so why have I been wise overmuch? Then I said in my heart: This again is to no purpose.

  • Eccl 1:12-15
    4 verses
    81%

    12 I, the Preacher, was king over Israel in Jerusalem.

    13 And I gave my heart to searching out in wisdom all things which are done under heaven: it is a hard thing which God has put on the sons of men to do.

    14 I have seen all the works which are done under the sun; all is to no purpose, and desire for wind.

    15 That which is bent may not be made straight, and that which is not there may not be numbered.

  • Eccl 7:25
    80%

    25 I gave my mind to knowledge and to searching for wisdom and the reason of things, and to the discovery that sin is foolish, and that to be foolish is to be without one's senses.

  • Eccl 2:1-4
    4 verses
    78%

    1 I said in my heart, I will give you joy for a test; so take your pleasure--but it was to no purpose.

    2 Of laughing I said, It is foolish; and of joy--What use is it?

    3 I made a search with my heart to give pleasure to my flesh with wine, still guiding my heart with wisdom, and to go after foolish things, so that I might see what was good for the sons of men to do under the heavens all the days of their life.

    4 I undertook great works, building myself houses and planting vine-gardens.

  • Eccl 7:23
    77%

    23 All this I have put to the test by wisdom; I said, I will be wise, but it was far from me.

  • Eccl 9:13
    76%

    13 This again I have seen under the sun as wisdom and it seemed great to me.

  • Eccl 2:19-21
    3 verses
    75%

    19 And who is to say if that man will be wise or foolish? But he will have power over all my work which I have done and in which I have been wise under the sun. This again is to no purpose.

    20 So my mind was turned to grief for all the trouble I had taken and all my wisdom under the sun.

    21 Because there is a man whose work has been done with wisdom, with knowledge, and with an expert hand; but one who has done nothing for it will have it for his heritage. This again is to no purpose and a great evil.

  • Eccl 8:16-17
    2 verses
    75%

    16 When I gave my mind to the knowledge of wisdom and to seeing the business which is done on the earth (and there are those whose eyes see not sleep by day or by night),

    17 Then I saw all the work of God, and that man may not get knowledge of the work which is done under the sun; because, if a man gives hard work to the search he will not get knowledge, and even if the wise man seems to be coming to the end of his search, still he will be without knowledge.

  • 2 Chr 1:10-12
    3 verses
    74%

    10 Give me now wisdom and knowledge, so that I may go out and come in before this people: for who is able to be the judge of this great people of yours?

    11 And God said to Solomon, Because this was in your heart, and you did not make request for money, property, or honour, or for the destruction of your haters, or for long life; but you have made request for wisdom and knowledge for yourself, so that you may be the judge of my people over whom I have made you king:

    12 Wisdom and knowledge are given to you; and I will give you wealth and honour, such as no king has had before you or ever will have after you.

  • Eccl 2:25
    74%

    25 Who may take food or have pleasure without him?

  • 1 Kgs 3:12
    74%

    12 I have done as you said: I have given you a wise and far-seeing heart, so that there has never been your equal in the past, and never will there be any like you in the future.

  • Job 31:25
    74%

    25 If I was glad because my wealth was great, and because my hand had got together a great store;

  • Prov 8:12
    74%

    12 I, wisdom, have made wise behaviour my near relation; I am seen to be the special friend of wise purposes.

  • Eccl 1:1-2
    2 verses
    73%

    1 The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem.

    2 All is to no purpose, said the Preacher, all the ways of man are to no purpose.

  • Prov 8:14
    72%

    14 Wise design and good sense are mine; reason and strength are mine.

  • Job 13:1
    72%

    1 Truly, my eye has seen all this, word of it has come to my ear, and I have knowledge of it.

  • Eccl 3:18
    72%

    18 I said in my heart, It is because of the sons of men, so that God may put them to the test and that they may see themselves as beasts.

  • Eccl 7:11
    72%

    11 Wisdom together with a heritage is good, and a profit to those who see the sun.

  • Job 12:3
    72%

    3 But I have a mind as well as you; I am equal to you: yes, who has not knowledge of such things as these?

  • Eccl 9:16
    72%

    16 Then I said, Wisdom is better than strength, but the poor man's wisdom is not respected, and his words are not given a hearing.

  • 2 Chr 9:22
    72%

    22 And King Solomon was greater than all the kings of the earth in wealth and in wisdom.

  • Prov 16:16
    72%

    16 How much better it is to get wisdom than gold! and to get knowledge is more to be desired than silver.

  • Eccl 6:8
    71%

    8 What have the wise more than the foolish? and what has the poor man by walking wisely before the living?

  • Prov 1:2
    71%

    2 To have knowledge of wise teaching; to be clear about the words of reason:

  • 2 Chr 9:6
    71%

    6 But I had no faith in what was said about you, till I came and saw for myself; and truly, word was not given me of half your great wisdom; you are much greater than they said.

  • Eccl 9:1
    71%

    1 All this I took to heart, and my heart saw it all: that the upright and the wise and their works are in the hand of God; and men may not be certain if it will be love or hate; all is to no purpose before them.

  • Eccl 12:8
    71%

    8 All things are to no purpose, says the Preacher, all is to no purpose.

  • Eccl 2:17
    71%

    17 So I was hating life, because everything under the sun was evil to me: all is to no purpose and desire for wind.