Ecclesiastes 1:17

Linguistic Bible Translation from Source Texts

Then I set my heart to understand wisdom, as well as madness and folly, but I learned that this too is a chasing after the wind.

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Other Translations

Referenced Verses

  • Eccl 2:3 : 3 I explored with my heart how to cheer my body with wine, while my mind guided me with wisdom, and how to embrace folly until I could see what is good for people to do under the heavens during the few days of their lives.
  • Eccl 2:10-12 : 10 Anything my eyes desired, I did not withhold from them; I did not keep my heart from any pleasure. My heart took delight in all my labor, for this was my reward for all my efforts. 11 Yet when I considered all that my hands had done and the toil I had expended in doing it, behold, everything was meaningless—a chasing after the wind. There was nothing to be gained under the sun. 12 So I turned my attention to consider wisdom, madness, and folly. For what can anyone do who comes after the king? Only what has already been done.
  • 1 Thess 5:21 : 21 Test all things. Hold fast to what is good.
  • Eccl 1:13-14 : 13 I set my heart to seek and explore by wisdom all that is done under the heavens. What a burdensome task God has given to the human race to occupy themselves with! 14 I have seen all the deeds that are done under the sun; they are all meaningless, a chasing after the wind.
  • Eccl 7:23-25 : 23 All this I tested by wisdom and said, 'I will be wise,' but it was beyond me. 24 What exists is far off and exceedingly deep—who can discover it? 25 I turned my mind to understand, to investigate, and to search out wisdom and the meaning of things, and to understand the stupidity of wickedness and the madness of folly.

Similar Verses (AI)

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

  • Eccl 7:23-25
    3 verses
    88%

    23All this I tested by wisdom and said, 'I will be wise,' but it was beyond me.

    24What exists is far off and exceedingly deep—who can discover it?

    25I turned my mind to understand, to investigate, and to search out wisdom and the meaning of things, and to understand the stupidity of wickedness and the madness of folly.

  • Eccl 1:12-16
    5 verses
    88%

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

    13I set my heart to seek and explore by wisdom all that is done under the heavens. What a burdensome task God has given to the human race to occupy themselves with!

    14I have seen all the deeds that are done under the sun; they are all meaningless, a chasing after the wind.

    15What is crooked cannot be straightened, and what is lacking cannot be counted.

    16I said to myself, 'Look, I have grown and increased in wisdom more than anyone who has ruled Jerusalem before me. I have experienced much wisdom and knowledge.'

  • Eccl 1:18
    85%

    18For with much wisdom comes much sorrow; the more knowledge, the more grief.

  • Eccl 2:9-17
    9 verses
    84%

    9I became great and surpassed all who were before me in Jerusalem, and my wisdom stayed with me.

    10Anything my eyes desired, I did not withhold from them; I did not keep my heart from any pleasure. My heart took delight in all my labor, for this was my reward for all my efforts.

    11Yet when I considered all that my hands had done and the toil I had expended in doing it, behold, everything was meaningless—a chasing after the wind. There was nothing to be gained under the sun.

    12So I turned my attention to consider wisdom, madness, and folly. For what can anyone do who comes after the king? Only what has already been done.

    13I saw that wisdom is better than folly, just as light is better than darkness.

    14The wise have eyes in their heads, but the fool walks in darkness. Yet I also realized that the same fate overtakes them both.

    15Then I said in my heart, 'What happens to the fool will also happen to me. So why have I been so very wise?' And I concluded in my heart, 'This too is meaningless.'

    16For the wise, like the fool, will not be remembered forever; in the days to come, everything will be forgotten. How does the wise person die? Just like the fool!

    17So I hated life, because the work done under the sun was grievous to me. For everything is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.

  • Eccl 2:1-4
    4 verses
    83%

    1I said to myself, 'Come now, I will test you with pleasure to see what is good.' But behold, this too was meaningless.

    2I said of laughter, 'It is madness,' and of joy, 'What does it accomplish?'

    3I explored with my heart how to cheer my body with wine, while my mind guided me with wisdom, and how to embrace folly until I could see what is good for people to do under the heavens during the few days of their lives.

    4I undertook great projects: I built houses for myself and planted vineyards.

  • Eccl 2:19-22
    4 verses
    82%

    19And who knows whether that person will be wise or foolish? Yet they will rule over all the fruit of my labor that I have worked for under the sun. This too is meaningless.

    20So I turned my heart to despair over all the hard work with which I had labored under the sun.

    21For there is a person who labors with wisdom, knowledge, and skill, but then must leave everything to someone who has not worked for it. This too is meaningless and a great misfortune.

    22What does a person gain from all their labor and from the striving of their heart under the sun?

  • Eccl 8:16-17
    2 verses
    80%

    16When I applied my heart to know wisdom and to observe the work that is done on earth, even though people do not see sleep with their eyes day or night,

    17then I saw all the work of God, that no one can understand the work that is done under the sun. Despite all their efforts to search it out, no one can comprehend it. Even if the wise claim to know, they cannot truly understand it.

  • Eccl 1:2-3
    2 verses
    78%

    2“Utterly meaningless!” says the Teacher. “Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless.”

    3What does man gain from all his labor at which he toils under the sun?

  • Eccl 2:25-26
    2 verses
    77%

    25For who can eat or who can enjoy life apart from Him?

    26To the person who pleases Him, God gives wisdom, knowledge, and joy, but to the sinner, He gives the task of gathering and storing wealth to hand it over to the one who pleases God. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.

  • Eccl 9:13
    77%

    13I also saw this example of wisdom under the sun, and it seemed great to me.

  • Eccl 4:4
    76%

    4And I saw that all toil and all skill in work are driven by one person’s envy of another. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.

  • Eccl 6:8-9
    2 verses
    76%

    8What advantage has the wise person over the fool? What does the poor person gain by knowing how to conduct themselves before the living?

    9Better is what the eyes see than the wandering of desire. This too is meaningless and a chasing after the wind.

  • Eccl 4:7
    76%

    7Again, I turned and saw meaninglessness under the sun.

  • Eccl 12:8
    76%

    8'Utter futility,' says the Teacher. 'Everything is futile!'

  • Eccl 9:1
    76%

    1So I reflected on all this and set my heart to examine it: that the righteous, the wise, and their deeds are in the hand of God. People do not know whether love or hatred awaits them; everything lies before them.

  • Eccl 7:4
    75%

    4The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning, but the heart of fools is in the house of pleasure.

  • Eccl 3:18
    75%

    18I said in my heart concerning the matter of the sons of man, that God is testing them to show them that they are like animals.

  • Ps 73:16
    75%

    16When I tried to understand all this, it troubled me deeply.

  • Prov 1:2
    75%

    2To know wisdom and discipline, to understand words of insight,

  • Prov 19:3
    75%

    3A man’s foolishness twists his way, and his heart rages against the LORD.

  • Prov 18:2
    74%

    2A fool takes no pleasure in understanding but only in revealing his own thoughts.

  • Eccl 3:12
    74%

    12I know that there is nothing better for people than to rejoice and to do good while they live.

  • Eccl 8:9
    73%

    9I observed all this as I considered all the work done under the sun: a time when one man has power over another to hurt them.

  • Eccl 3:10
    73%

    10I have seen the burden that God has laid on the human race.

  • Eccl 9:3
    73%

    3This is the distressing thing about everything that happens under the sun: the same fate befalls all. Moreover, the hearts of humans are full of evil, and madness resides in their hearts during their lives; and after that, they join the dead.

  • Eccl 6:11
    73%

    11The more words, the more meaningless—and what advantage does that bring to anyone?