Ecclesiastes 1:15
What is bent cannot be straightened, and what is missing cannot be supplied.
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Referenced Verses
- Eccl 7:12-13 : 12 For wisdom provides protection, just as money provides protection. But the advantage of knowledge is this: Wisdom preserves the life of its owner. 13 Wisdom Acknowledges God’s Orchestration of Life Consider the work of God: For who can make straight what he has bent?
- Isa 40:4 : 4 Every valley must be elevated, and every mountain and hill leveled. The rough terrain will become a level plain, the rugged landscape a wide valley.
- Eccl 3:14 : 14 God’s Sovereignty I also know that whatever God does will endure forever; nothing can be added to it, and nothing taken away from it. God has made it this way, so that men will fear him.
- Job 11:6 : 6 and reveal to you the secrets of wisdom– for true wisdom has two sides– so that you would know that God has forgiven some of your sins.
- Job 34:29 : 29 But if God is quiet, who can condemn him? If he hides his face, then who can see him? Yet he is over the individual and the nation alike,
- Lam 3:37 : 37 מ(Mem) Whose command was ever fulfilled unless the Lord decreed it?
- Dan 4:35 : 35 All the inhabitants of the earth are regarded as nothing. He does as he wishes with the army of heaven and with those who inhabit the earth. No one slaps his hand and says to him,‘What have you done?’
- Matt 6:27 : 27 And which of you by worrying can add even one hour to his life?
Similar Verses (AI)
These verses are found using AI-powered semantic similarity based on meaning and context. Results may occasionally include unexpected connections.
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13Wisdom Acknowledges God’s Orchestration of Life Consider the work of God: For who can make straight what he has bent?
- Eccl 1:13-142 verses80%
13I decided to carefully and thoroughly examine all that has been accomplished on earth. I concluded: God has given people a burdensome task that keeps them occupied.
14I reflected on everything that is accomplished by man on earth, and I concluded: Everything he has accomplished is futile– like chasing the wind!
- Eccl 8:16-172 verses77%
16Limitations of Human Wisdom When I tried to gain wisdom and to observe the activity on earth– even though it prevents anyone from sleeping day or night–
17then I discerned all that God has done: No one really comprehends what happens on earth. Despite all human efforts to discover it, no one can ever grasp it. Even if a wise person claimed that he understood, he would not really comprehend it.
- Eccl 1:8-114 verses77%
8All this monotony is tiresome; no one can bear to describe it: The eye is never satisfied with seeing, nor is the ear ever content with hearing.
9What exists now is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done; there is nothing truly new on earth.
10Is there anything about which someone can say,“Look at this! It is new!”? It was already done long ago, before our time.
11No one remembers the former events, nor will anyone remember the events that are yet to happen; they will not be remembered by the future generations.
- Eccl 1:2-32 verses76%
2Introduction: Utter Futility“Futile! Futile!” laments the Teacher,“Absolutely futile! Everything is futile!”
3Futility Illustrated from Nature What benefit do people get from all the effort which they expend on earth?
- Eccl 2:11-122 verses76%
11Yet when I reflected on everything I had accomplished and on all the effort that I had expended to accomplish it, I concluded:“All these achievements and possessions are ultimately profitless– like chasing the wind! There is nothing gained from them on earth.”
12Wisdom is Better than Folly Next, I decided to consider wisdom, as well as foolish behavior and ideas. For what more can the king’s successor do than what the king has already done?
- Eccl 6:9-113 verses75%
9It is better to be content with what the eyes can see than for one’s heart always to crave more. This continual longing is futile– like chasing the wind.
10The Futile Way Life Works Whatever has happened was foreordained, and what happens to a person was also foreknown. It is useless for him to argue with God about his fate because God is more powerful than he is.
11The more one argues with words, the less he accomplishes. How does that benefit him?
- Eccl 3:14-163 verses75%
14God’s Sovereignty I also know that whatever God does will endure forever; nothing can be added to it, and nothing taken away from it. God has made it this way, so that men will fear him.
15Whatever exists now has already been, and whatever will be has already been; for God will seek to do again what has occurred in the past.
16The Problem of Injustice and Oppression I saw something else on earth: In the place of justice, there was wickedness, and in the place of fairness, there was wickedness.
- Eccl 1:16-183 verses75%
16Futility of Secular Wisdom I thought to myself,“I have become much wiser than any of my predecessors who ruled over Jerusalem; I have acquired much wisdom and knowledge.”
17So I decided to discern the benefit of wisdom and knowledge over foolish behavior and ideas; however, I concluded that even this endeavor is like trying to chase the wind!
18For with great wisdom comes great frustration; whoever increases his knowledge merely increases his heartache.
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8Concluding Refrain: Qoheleth Restates His Thesis“Absolutely futile!” laments the Teacher,“All of these things are futile!”
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16There is no end to all the people nor to the past generations, yet future generations will not rejoice in him. This also is profitless and like chasing the wind.
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15Exceptions to the Law of Retribution During the days of my fleeting life I have seen both of these things: Sometimes a righteous person dies prematurely in spite of his righteousness, and sometimes a wicked person lives long in spite of his evil deeds.
- Eccl 7:23-253 verses74%
23Human Wisdom is Limited I have examined all this by wisdom; I said,“I am determined to comprehend this”– but it was beyond my grasp.
24Whatever has happened is beyond human understanding; it is far deeper than anyone can fathom.
25True Righteousness and Wisdom Are Virtually Nonexistent I tried to understand, examine, and comprehend the role of wisdom in the scheme of things, and to understand the stupidity of wickedness and the insanity of folly.
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1Not Everyone Enjoys Life Here is another misfortune that I have seen on earth, and it weighs heavily on people:
- Eccl 2:19-224 verses73%
19Who knows if he will be a wise man or a fool? Yet he will be master over all the fruit of my labor for which I worked so wisely on earth! This also is futile!
20So I began to despair about all the fruit of my labor for which I worked so hard on earth.
21For a man may do his work with wisdom, knowledge, and skill; however, he must hand over the fruit of his labor as an inheritance to someone else who did not work for it. This also is futile, and an awful injustice!
22Painful Days and Restless Nights What does a man acquire from all his labor and from the anxiety that accompanies his toil on earth?
- Job 17:10-112 verses73%
10Anticipation of Death“But turn, all of you, and come now! I will not find a wise man among you.
11My days have passed, my plans are shattered, even the desires of my heart.
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14Here is another enigma that occurs on earth: Sometimes there are righteous people who get what the wicked deserve, and sometimes there are wicked people who get what the righteous deserve. I said,“This also is an enigma.”
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17So I loathed life because what happens on earth seems awful to me; for all the benefits of wisdom are futile– like chasing the wind.
- Eccl 3:10-123 verses73%
10I have observed the burden that God has given to people to keep them occupied.
11God has made everything fit beautifully in its appropriate time, but he has also placed ignorance in the human heart so that people cannot discover what God has ordained, from the beginning to the end of their lives.
12Enjoy Life in the Present I have concluded that there is nothing better for people than to be happy and to enjoy themselves as long as they live,
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27The Teacher says: I discovered this while trying to discover the scheme of things, item by item.
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1Everyone Will Die So I reflected on all this, attempting to clear it all up. I concluded that the righteous and the wise, as well as their works, are in the hand of God; whether a person will be loved or hated– no one knows what lies ahead.
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3But better than both is the one who has not been born and has not seen the evil things that are done on earth.
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15So I thought to myself,“The fate of the fool will happen even to me! Then what did I gain by becoming so excessively wise?” So I lamented to myself,“The benefits of wisdom are ultimately meaningless!”
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16This is another misfortune: Just as he came, so will he go. What did he gain from toiling for the wind?
- Eccl 4:7-82 verses72%
7Labor Motivated by Greed So I again considered another futile thing on earth:
8A man who is all alone with no companion, he has no children nor siblings; yet there is no end to all his toil, and he is never satisfied with riches. He laments,“For whom am I toiling and depriving myself of pleasure?” This also is futile and a burdensome task!
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3This is the unfortunate fact about everything that happens on earth: the same fate awaits everyone. In addition to this, the hearts of all people are full of evil, and there is folly in their hearts during their lives– then they die.
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4Who can make a clean thing come from an unclean? No one!
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22So I perceived there is nothing better than for people to enjoy their work, because that is their reward; for who can show them what the future holds?