Ecclesiastes 7:23

NET Bible® (New English Translation)

Human Wisdom is Limited I have examined all this by wisdom; I said,“I am determined to comprehend this”– but it was beyond my grasp.

Additional Resources

Referenced Verses

  • Rom 1:22 : 22 Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools
  • 1 Cor 1:20 : 20 Where is the wise man? Where is the expert in the Mosaic law? Where is the debater of this age? Has God not made the wisdom of the world foolish?
  • Gen 3:5 : 5 for God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will open and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
  • 1 Kgs 3:11-12 : 11 God said to him,“Because you asked for the ability to make wise judicial decisions, and not for long life, or riches, or vengeance on your enemies, 12 I grant your request, and give you a wise and discerning mind superior to that of anyone who has preceded or will succeed you.
  • 1 Kgs 11:1-8 : 1 The Lord Punishes Solomon for Idolatry King Solomon fell in love with many foreign women(besides Pharaoh’s daughter), including Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians, and Hittites. 2 They came from nations about which the LORD had warned the Israelites,“You must not establish friendly relations with them! If you do, they will surely shift your allegiance to their gods.” But Solomon was irresistibly attracted to them. 3 He had 700 royal wives and 300 concubines; his wives had a powerful influence over him. 4 When Solomon became old, his wives shifted his allegiance to other gods; he was not wholeheartedly devoted to the LORD his God, as his father David had been. 5 Solomon worshiped the Sidonian goddess Astarte and the detestable Ammonite god Milcom. 6 Solomon did evil in the LORD’s sight; he did not remain loyal to the LORD, like his father David had. 7 Furthermore, on the hill east of Jerusalem Solomon built a high place for the detestable Moabite god Chemosh and for the detestable Ammonite god Milcom. 8 He built high places for all his foreign wives so they could burn incense and make sacrifices to their gods.

Similar Verses (AI)

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

  • Eccl 7:24-25
    2 verses
    85%

    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.

  • Eccl 1:13-18
    6 verses
    77%

    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!

    15What is bent cannot be straightened, and what is missing cannot be supplied.

    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.

  • Ps 73:16
    75%

    16When I tried to make sense of this, it was troubling to me.

  • Eccl 2:11-15
    5 verses
    75%

    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?

    13I realized that wisdom is preferable to folly, just as light is preferable to darkness:

    14The wise man can see where he is going, but the fool walks in darkness. Yet I also realized that the same fate happens to them both.

    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!”

  • Eccl 9:13
    74%

    13Most People Are Not Receptive to Wise Counsel This is what I also observed about wisdom on earth, and it is a great burden to me:

  • Job 42:3
    73%

    3you asked,‘Who is this who darkens counsel without knowledge?’ But I have declared without understanding things too wonderful for me to know.

  • Eccl 8:17
    73%

    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 7:22
    72%

    22For you know in your own heart that you also have cursed others many times.

  • Prov 8:12
    72%

    12“I, wisdom, have dwelt with prudence, and I find knowledge and discretion.

  • Eccl 2:9
    72%

    9So I was far wealthier than all my predecessors in Jerusalem, yet I maintained my objectivity:

  • Eccl 7:27
    72%

    27The Teacher says: I discovered this while trying to discover the scheme of things, item by item.

  • Eccl 2:1-3
    3 verses
    71%

    1Futility of Self-Indulgent Pleasure I thought to myself,“Come now, I will try self-indulgent pleasure to see if it is worthwhile.” But I found that it also is futile.

    2I said of partying,“It is folly,” and of self-indulgent pleasure,“It accomplishes nothing!”

    3I thought deeply about the effects of indulging myself with wine(all the while my mind was guiding me with wisdom) and the effects of behaving foolishly, so that I might discover what is profitable for people to do on earth during the few days of their lives.

  • Prov 30:3
    71%

    3I have not learned wisdom, nor can I have knowledge of the Holy One.

  • Job 12:3
    71%

    3I also have understanding as well as you; I am not inferior to you. Who does not know such things as these?

  • Job 6:13
    71%

    13Is not my power to help myself nothing, and has not every resource been driven from me?

  • Job 28:12
    71%

    12No Price Can Buy Wisdom“But wisdom– where can it be found? Where is the place of understanding?

  • Job 17:10-11
    2 verses
    71%

    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.

  • Eccl 2:19-20
    2 verses
    71%

    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.

  • Eccl 7:15-16
    2 verses
    71%

    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.

    16So do not be excessively righteous or excessively wise; otherwise you might be disappointed.

  • Ps 139:6
    71%

    6Your knowledge is beyond my comprehension; it is so far beyond me, I am unable to fathom it.

  • Prov 7:7
    70%

    7and I saw among the naive– I discerned among the youths– a young man who lacked sense.

  • Job 28:20
    70%

    20God Alone Has Wisdom“But wisdom– where does it come from? Where is the place of understanding?

  • Prov 17:24
    70%

    24Wisdom is directly in front of the discerning person, but the eyes of a fool run to the ends of the earth.

  • Job 36:3
    70%

    3With my knowledge I will speak comprehensively, and to my Creator I will ascribe righteousness.

  • Job 23:8
    70%

    8The Inaccessibility and Power of God“If I go to the east, he is not there, and to the west, yet I do not perceive him.

  • Prov 18:1
    70%

    1One who has isolated himself seeks his own desires; he rejects all sound judgment.

  • Prov 8:14
    69%

    14Counsel and sound wisdom belong to me; I possess understanding and might.

  • Eccl 9:1
    69%

    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.

  • Eccl 2:17
    69%

    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 7:29
    69%

    29This alone have I discovered: God made humankind upright, but they have sought many evil schemes.

  • Ps 73:3
    69%

    3For I envied those who are proud, as I observed the prosperity of the wicked.

  • Eccl 10:3
    69%

    3Even when a fool walks along the road he lacks sense, and shows everyone what a fool he is.

  • Eccl 9:16
    69%

    16So I concluded that wisdom is better than might, but a poor man’s wisdom is despised; no one ever listens to his advice.

  • Job 13:1
    69%

    1Job Pleads His Cause to God“Indeed, my eyes have seen all this, my ears have heard and understood it.

  • Jer 23:23
    69%

    23Do you people think that I am some local deity and not the transcendent God?” the LORD asks.