Proverbs on Wisdom, Patience, and Righteous Living
Ecclesiastes 7:1-8:1
Ecc.7.1 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- טוב: ADJ,m,pl,abs
- שם: ADV
- משמן: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- טוב: ADJ,m,pl,abs
- ויום: CONJ+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- המות: NOUN,m,sg,def
- מיום: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- הולדו: NOUN,m,sg,abs+PRON,3,ms
Parallels
- Proverbs 22:1 (verbal): Both verses praise a "good name" as superior to material wealth; Hebrew wording closely parallels Ecclesiastes' opening phrase valuing reputation over riches.
- Psalm 116:15 (thematic): Declares that 'precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints,' echoing Ecclesiastes' valuation of the day of death as better than the day of birth.
- Philippians 1:21 (thematic): Paul's 'to die is gain' parallels the Qoheleth motif that death can be preferable or of greater significance than birth/life, reflecting a positive appraisal of death for the faithful.
- Proverbs 27:9 (verbal): Uses oil/ointment and perfume imagery ('ointment and perfume ...') to signify pleasantness and value; echoes Ecclesiastes' comparison of a good name to 'good ointment'.
Alternative generated candidates
- A good name is better than fine oil, and the day of death than the day of birth.
- A good name is better than fine perfume, and the day of death than the day of birth.
Ecc.7.2 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- טוב: ADJ,m,pl,abs
- ללכת: VERB,qal,inf
- אל: NEG
- בית: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- אבל: CONJ
- מלכת: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- אל: NEG
- בית: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- משתה: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- באשר: CONJ
- הוא: PRON,3,m,sg
- סוף: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- כל: DET
- האדם: NOUN,m,sg,def
- והחי: CONJ+NOUN,m,sg,def
- יתן: VERB,qal,imperf,3,m,sg
- אל: NEG
- לבו: NOUN,m,sg,abs+PRON,3,m,sg
Parallels
- Psalm 90:12 (thematic): Both urge awareness of human mortality as a spur to wisdom—'teach us to number our days' echoes Ecclesiastes' valuing of confronting death.
- Psalm 39:4-6 (verbal): Meditation on the brevity and transience of life ('what is man, that you make so much of him?'), similar to the house-of-mourning motif that focuses attention on life's end.
- Job 14:1-2 (thematic): Portrays human life as short and frail ('born of woman, few of days'), paralleling Ecclesiastes' theme that awareness of death teaches the living.
- Hebrews 9:27 (allusion): States the inevitability of death ('it is appointed for men to die once'), echoing Ecclesiastes' claim that death is the common end that should prompt reflection.
- Luke 12:20 (thematic): Jesus' parable highlights the suddenness of death and the folly of focusing on feasting/wealth rather than readiness—parallels the contrast between house of feasting and house of mourning.
Alternative generated candidates
- It is better to go to a house of mourning than to a house of feasting, for that is the end of every person; the living will take it to heart.
- It is better to go to the house of mourning than to go to the house of feasting; for that is the end of every man, and the living will lay it to heart.
Ecc.7.3 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- טוב: ADJ,m,pl,abs
- כעס: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- משחק: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- כי: CONJ
- ברע: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- פנים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- ייטב: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- לב: NOUN,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Proverbs 14:13 (thematic): Contrasts laughter and sorrow—‘Even in laughter the heart may ache; and the end of joy may be grief’—similar reversal of assumed value of laughter vs. grief.
- Proverbs 15:13 (verbal): Links face and heart—‘A glad heart maketh a cheerful countenance: but by sorrow of the heart the spirit is broken’—parallel imagery of face/countenance and inner heart.
- Psalm 126:5 (thematic): Presents sorrow as productive: ‘They that sow in tears shall reap in joy’—suffering leads to a better outcome or inward improvement.
- Job 5:17 (allusion): Presents divine correction/chastening as beneficial: ‘Behold, happy is the man whom God corrects’—echoes the idea that hardship/affliction can be good for the heart.
Alternative generated candidates
- Sorrow is better than laughter, for by a sad countenance the heart is made better.
- Sorrow is better than laughter; for by a sad countenance the heart is made better.
Ecc.7.4 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- לב: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- חכמים: ADJ,m,pl,abs
- בבית: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,def
- אבל: CONJ
- ולב: CONJ+NOUN,m,sg,const
- כסילים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- בבית: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,def
- שמחה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
Parallels
- Ecclesiastes 7:2 (verbal): Same contrast of 'house of mourning' versus 'house of feasting/joy'—closely related wording and immediate literary context.
- Ecclesiastes 7:3 (structural): Continues the thought that sorrow/mourning yields better moral formation than laughter/feasting—part of the same thematic unit.
- Proverbs 14:13 (thematic): Expresses a similar contrast between outward laughter and inward ache—underscores wisdom found in recognizing sorrow rather than mere mirth.
- Psalm 90:12 (thematic): Calls for numbering our days so we may gain a heart of wisdom—parallel idea that reflection on mortality and mourning fosters wisdom.
- Luke 6:25 (thematic): Jesus' warning 'Woe to you who laugh now, for you will mourn' echoes the reversal between present mirth and the wisdom/seriousness associated with mourning.
Alternative generated candidates
- The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning, but the heart of fools is in the house of feasting.
Ecc.7.5 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- טוב: ADJ,m,pl,abs
- לשמע: INF,qal,infc
- גערת: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- חכם: ADJ,m,sg
- מאיש: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- שמע: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- שיר: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- כסילים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
Parallels
- Eccl.7.6 (structural): Immediate context/antithesis: verse 5 values the rebuke of the wise; 7:6 likens the laughter/song of fools to crackling thorns, continuing the contrast between wise rebuke and foolish joy.
- Prov.9.8 (verbal): Direct verbal/thematic parallel: Proverbs contrasts the scoffer who rejects reproof with the wise person who accepts it—‘rebuke a wise man, and he will love you’ echoes Ecclesiastes’ valuation of hearing a wise rebuke.
- Prov.15.31 (thematic): Both affirm the moral/educational value of reproof: listening to life-giving rebuke places one among the wise, paralleling Ecclesiastes’ preference for the wise rebuke over the fool’s song.
- Prov.17.10 (thematic): Highlights the efficacy of rebuke for the understanding: a rebuke pierces a man of understanding more than blows a fool, echoing Ecclesiastes’ claim that wise rebuke is superior to foolish entertainment.
- Prov.27.6 (thematic): Contrasts faithful wounds (honest rebuke) with the profuse kisses of an enemy (flattery), paralleling Ecclesiastes’ contrast between the corrective rebuke of the wise and the flattering/songful behavior of fools.
Alternative generated candidates
- Better to hear the rebuke of the wise than to hear the song of fools.
Ecc.7.6 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- כי: CONJ
- כקול: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- הסירים: NOUN,m,pl,def
- תחת: PREP
- הסיר: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- כן: ADV
- שחק: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- הכסיל: NOUN,m,sg,def
- וגם: CONJ
- זה: PRON,dem,m,sg
- הבל: NOUN,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Ecclesiastes 7:5 (thematic): Direct contrast within the same chapter between the value of wise rebuke and the empty song/laughter of fools, echoing the theme that fool's mirth is meaningless.
- Ecclesiastes 7:3 (thematic): Declares that sorrow is better than laughter because sorrow can improve the heart — a counterpoint to the frivolous, vain laughter of the fool in 7:6.
- Ecclesiastes 2:2 (thematic): The author dismisses laughter and pleasure as mad and ultimately futile, resonating with 7:6’s view of a fool’s laughter as mere vanity.
- Proverbs 14:13 (thematic): Observes that laughter can mask pain (’even in laughter the heart may ache’), undermining the presumed value of mirth and aligning with 7:6’s negative assessment of foolish laughter.
- Proverbs 15:21 (thematic): Notes that folly brings joy to the senseless, linking the idea that the pleasure or laughter of fools is tied to folly and thus lacks true worth, similar to Ecclesiastes 7:6.
Alternative generated candidates
- For like the crackling of potsherds under the pot is the laughter of the fool; and this also is vanity.
Ecc.7.7 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- כי: CONJ
- העשק: NOUN,m,sg,def
- יהולל: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- חכם: ADJ,m,sg
- ויאבד: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- את: PRT,acc
- לב: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- מתנה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
Parallels
- Deuteronomy 16:19 (verbal): Explicit warning against accepting bribes: 'for a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise and perverts the words of the righteous' — close verbal parallel to 'a bribe destroys the heart' and the effect on the wise.
- Proverbs 17:23 (verbal): Speaks of a wicked man taking a bribe to pervert justice — connects with Eccles. 7:7's focus on bribes corrupting the heart and moral judgment.
- Proverbs 15:27 (thematic): Condemns greed for unjust gain and affirms that one who hates bribes will live — thematically opposed to the corrupting power of bribes in Ecclesiastes.
- Isaiah 1:23 (thematic): Complains that leaders 'love bribes' and fail to defend the needy — an indictment of bribery's corrupting effect on justice and the moral order, resonant with Eccles. 7:7.
Alternative generated candidates
- For oppression will make the wise man mad, and a bribe will pervert the heart.
Ecc.7.8 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- טוב: ADJ,m,pl,abs
- אחרית: NOUN,f,sg,cs
- דבר: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- מראשיתו: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs,3,m,sg
- טוב: ADJ,m,pl,abs
- ארך: ADJ,m,sg
- רוח: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- מגבה: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- רוח: NOUN,f,sg,abs
Parallels
- Proverbs 16:32 (thematic): Both valorize self-control over brute strength: patience/long-suffering is better than the mighty or a proud spirit.
- Proverbs 19:11 (thematic): Praises restraint and forbearance as wise and honorable—echoes the esteem for a patient spirit above pride.
- Job 8:7 (thematic): Contrasts beginning and end—Bildad's line that a small beginning may have a greater end parallels 'better the end than the beginning.'
- James 1:19-20 (allusion): New Testament exhortation to be quick to listen and slow to anger reflects the same valuation of patience over angry/proud disposition.
- Psalm 37:7 (thematic): Calls for patient waiting and silence before the LORD rather than fretting—parallels the commendation of long-suffering over haughty spirit.
Alternative generated candidates
- Better is the end of a thing than its beginning; better is a patient spirit than a proud one.
Ecc.7.9 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- אל: NEG
- תבהל: VERB,qal,impf,2,m,sg
- ברוחך: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs+PRON,2,m,sg
- לכעוס: INF,qal
- כי: CONJ
- כעס: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- בחיק: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- כסילים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- ינוח: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
Parallels
- Proverbs 14:17 (verbal): Links quick temper with foolish behavior—both texts identify haste to anger as characteristic of the fool.
- Proverbs 19:11 (thematic): Contrasts patience and self-control with impulsive anger; emphasizes wisdom in restraining anger, echoing Ecclesiastes' warning.
- Proverbs 29:11 (thematic): Draws a direct contrast between the fool who vents anger and the wise who restrains it, paralleling the idea that anger belongs with fools.
- Proverbs 16:32 (verbal): Praises slowness to anger as a moral strength superior to might—resonates with Ecclesiastes' injunction not to be quick to anger.
- James 1:19-20 (allusion): New Testament wisdom echo: exhortation to be 'slow to anger' because human anger does not produce God's righteousness, reflecting the ethical concern of Ecclesiastes.
Alternative generated candidates
- Do not be quick in your spirit to become angry, for anger lodges in the bosom of fools.
Ecc.7.10 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- אל: NEG
- תאמר: VERB,qal,impf,2,m,sg
- מה: PRON,int
- היה: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- שהימים: NOUN,m,pl,def
- הראשנים: ADJ,m,pl,def
- היו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- טובים: ADJ,m,pl,abs
- מאלה: PREP+DEM
- כי: CONJ
- לא: PART_NEG
- מחכמה: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- שאלת: VERB,qal,perf,2,m,sg
- על: PREP
- זה: PRON,dem,m,sg
Parallels
- Numbers 11:5 (thematic): The Israelites nostalgically praise life in Egypt ('we remember the fish...'), exemplifying the same unwise longing for 'former days' that Eccl. 7:10 warns against.
- Deuteronomy 32:7 (allusion): 'Remember the days of old...' addresses recollection of former times; both passages engage how one ought to reflect on the past, though Deut. frames remembering as reflective rather than uncritical nostalgia.
- Proverbs 18:13 (verbal): 'He who answers before he hears is folly...' echoes Eccl. 7:10's rebuke that the question about 'former days' is not made with wise inquiry—both condemn hasty or ill-founded judgments.
- Ecclesiastes 1:10 (thematic): The question 'Is there anything new?' and the book's skeptical stance toward claims about times and novelty parallels Eccl. 7:10's critique of romanticizing past days.
- Ecclesiastes 7:11 (structural): The immediate follow-up contrasts the unwise comparison in v.10 by valuing wisdom and its benefits, supplying the corrective perspective Eccl. 7:10 implies.
Alternative generated candidates
- Do not say, “Why were the former days better than these?” For it is not from wisdom that you ask concerning this.
Ecc.7.11 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- טובה: ADJ,f,sg,abs
- חכמה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- עם: PREP
- נחלה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- ויתר: CONJ+ADJ,m,sg,abs
- לראי: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- השמש: NOUN,f,sg,def
Parallels
- Proverbs 3:13-18 (thematic): Celebrates wisdom as a supreme good whose profit exceeds material wealth and brings long life and blessing—parallels Eccles.7:11’s valuation of wisdom as a beneficial ‘inheritance.’
- Proverbs 8:10-11 (verbal): Explicitly compares wisdom/favor to precious goods (‘not to be compared with jewels’), echoing Ecclesiastes’ claim that wisdom with an inheritance is preferable to mere wealth.
- Job 28:12-19 (thematic): Explores the hidden worth and supreme value of wisdom beyond all riches, resonating with Eccles.7:11’s contrast between wisdom and material inheritance and its lasting benefit to the living.
- Ecclesiastes 2:26 (structural): Within the same book, this verse links God-given wisdom and the enjoyment of its benefits to those who live—paralleling 7:11’s idea that wisdom (like an inheritance) profits those who ‘see the sun.’
Alternative generated candidates
- Wisdom with an inheritance is good; an advantage to those who see the sun.
Ecc.7.12 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- כי: CONJ
- בצל: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- החכמה: NOUN,f,sg,def
- בצל: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- הכסף: NOUN,m,sg,def
- ויתרון: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- דעת: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- החכמה: NOUN,f,sg,def
- תחיה: VERB,qal,impf,2,m,sg
- בעליה: PREP+NOUN,m,pl,abs+PRON,3,f,sg
Parallels
- Proverbs 2:7-8 (verbal): Speaks of the Lord storing up sound wisdom for the upright and being a 'shield' (defense) to those who walk in integrity — parallels Ecclesiastes' image of wisdom as a defense like money.
- Proverbs 16:16 (verbal): 'How much better to get wisdom than gold, to get insight rather than silver' — a direct comparison of the value of wisdom versus wealth, echoing Ecclesiastes' juxtaposition of wisdom and money.
- Proverbs 8:35 (thematic): Personified Wisdom declares, 'for whoever finds me finds life,' paralleling Ecclesiastes' claim that the advantage of knowledge/wisdom is that it gives life to its possessor.
- Proverbs 13:14 (thematic): 'The teaching of the wise is a fountain of life, to turn one away from the snares of death' — connects wisdom/teaching with life-preserving benefit, similar to Ecclesiastes 7:12.
Alternative generated candidates
- For in the shadow of wisdom is the shadow of silver, and the advantage of knowledge is this: wisdom preserves the life of its possessor.
Ecc.7.13 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ראה: VERB,qal,imperat,2,m,sg
- את: PRT,acc
- מעשה: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- האלהים: NOUN,m,sg,def
- כי: CONJ
- מי: PRON,interr,sg
- יוכל: VERB,qal,impf,3,ms
- לתקן: VERB,qal,inf
- את: PRT,acc
- אשר: PRON,rel
- עותו: NOUN,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Job 23:13 (thematic): Affirms God’s inscrutable will—‘who can turn him?’—paralleling Ecclesiastes’ claim that humans cannot straighten what God has made crooked.
- Isaiah 45:9 (verbal): Rhetorical rebuke to quarrel with the Maker (‘Woe to him who strives with his Maker’), closely echoing the theme and question of who can alter God’s deeds.
- Romans 9:20-21 (quotation): Paul’s rhetorical challenge (‘Who are you to reply against God?’ and the potter/clay imagery) echoes the same argument about divine sovereignty and human inability to contest God’s ordering.
- Jeremiah 18:6 (allusion): The potter metaphor—God shaping clay as he wills—parallels Ecclesiastes’ emphasis that God’s formative actions cannot be corrected by humans.
Alternative generated candidates
- Consider the work of God—who can make straight what he has made crooked?
Ecc.7.14 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ביום: PREP
- טובה: ADJ,f,sg,abs
- היה: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- בטוב: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- וביום: CONJ+PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- רעה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- ראה: VERB,qal,imperat,2,m,sg
- גם: ADV
- את: PRT,acc
- זה: PRON,dem,m,sg
- לעמת: PREP
- זה: PRON,dem,m,sg
- עשה: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- האלהים: NOUN,m,sg,def
- על: PREP
- דברת: VERB,qal,perf,2,m,sg
- שלא: CONJ
- ימצא: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- האדם: NOUN,m,sg,def
- אחריו: PREP,3,m,sg
- מאומה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
Parallels
- Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 (structural): Both passages teach that God appoints contrasting times/conditions (a time for every matter); 7:14’s ‘set one against the other’ echoes the seasonal/contrasting structure of 3:1–8.
- Isaiah 45:7 (verbal): Isaiah explicitly states God creates light and darkness, peace and calamity (Heb. ra‘/`evil/calamity), paralleling 7:14’s claim that God has made good and bad days.
- Amos 3:6 (thematic): Amos asks whether disaster comes without the LORD’s will — thematically close to 7:14’s assertion that God appoints adverse as well as prosperous days.
- Job 2:10 (thematic): Job’s statement ‘Shall we receive good at the hand of God, and not receive evil?’ echoes Ecclesiastes’ instruction to recognize both good and bad as divinely ordered and to accept them.
- Proverbs 16:4 (thematic): Proverbs teaches that the LORD made all things, ‘even the wicked for the day of evil,’ resonating with 7:14’s idea that God sets opposing circumstances (prosperity and adversity).
Alternative generated candidates
- On the day of prosperity be joyful, and on the day of adversity consider—God has made the one as well as the other—so that man may not find out anything that will be after him.
Ecc.7.15 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- את: PRT,acc
- הכל: PRON,m,sg,abs
- ראיתי: VERB,qal,perf,1,_,sg
- בימי: PREP+NOUN,m,pl,cons
- הבלי: NOUN,m,pl,construct
- יש: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- צדיק: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- אבד: VERB,qal,infabs
- בצדקו: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs+3,m,sg
- ויש: CONJ+VERB,qal,pres,3,_,sg
- רשע: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- מאריך: VERB,ptc,act,3,m,sg
- ברעתו: PREP
Parallels
- Ecclesiastes 8:14 (verbal): Nearly identical observation repeated later in Ecclesiastes: the righteous perish in their righteousness while the wicked prolong their evil—direct verbal parallel and thematic reiteration.
- Job 21:7-26 (thematic): Job (and his friends) wrestles with the prosperity and longevity of the wicked despite their evil, paralleling Qohelet's perplexity about justice and the fate of the righteous and wicked.
- Psalm 73:3-12 (thematic): Asaph laments the apparent success and ease of the wicked contrasted with the suffering of the righteous, echoing the paradox of a just person perishing while the wicked thrive.
- Psalm 37:35-36 (thematic): Describes the sudden demise of the wicked who seemed secure—engages the same problem of unequal outcomes for righteous and wicked behavior raised in Ecclesiastes 7:15.
- Jeremiah 12:1-2 (thematic): Jeremiah questions why the way of the wicked prospers and why faithfulness meets with suffering—another prophetic expression of the moral perplexity found in Ecclesiastes 7:15.
Alternative generated candidates
- I have seen all the deeds that are done under the sun; and behold, all is vanity and a striving after wind: there is a righteous man who perishes in his righteousness, and there is a wicked man who prolongs his life in his wickedness.
Ecc.7.16 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- אל: NEG
- תהי: VERB,qal,juss,3,f,sg
- צדיק: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- הרבה: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- ואל: CONJ+PREP
- תתחכם: VERB,hitpael,juss,2,m,sg
- יותר: ADV
- למה: ADV
- תשומם: VERB,hiphil,impf,2,m,sg
Parallels
- Proverbs 3:7 (verbal): Commands not to be 'wise in your own eyes'—a close verbal/paradigmatic parallel to Ecclesiastes' warning against being 'overwise.'
- Proverbs 26:12 (verbal): ‘Do you see a man wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him.’ Echoes the danger of excessive self-regard or wisdom found in Eccl. 7:16.
- Luke 18:11-14 (thematic): Parable contrasts self-righteous pride (the Pharisee) with humility (the tax collector), reflecting the critique of excessive righteousness in Ecclesiastes.
- Romans 12:3 (thematic): Paul warns believers not to think of themselves more highly than they ought—a New Testament echo of the danger of overestimating one's own righteousness or wisdom.
Alternative generated candidates
- Do not be excessively righteous, and do not be overly wise—why should you destroy yourself?
Ecc.7.17 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- אל: NEG
- תרשע: VERB,qal,impf,2,m,sg
- הרבה: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- ואל: CONJ+PREP
- תהי: VERB,qal,juss,3,f,sg
- סכל: ADJ,m,sg
- למה: ADV
- תמות: VERB,qal,yiqtol,2,m,sg
- בלא: PREP
- עתך: NOUN,f,sg,abs+2ms
Parallels
- Eccl.7.16 (structural): Immediate counterpart in the same chapter: admonishes against being 'overly righteous' or 'overly wise'—a balanced pair with 7:17's warning against excess wickedness and folly.
- Proverbs 11:19 (verbal): Contrasts righteousness and evil with life and death ('Those who are steadfast in righteousness will live; those who pursue evil will die'), echoing 7:17's link between wickedness/foolishness and premature death.
- Proverbs 10:27 (thematic): States that 'the fear of the LORD prolongs life, but the years of the wicked are shortened,' thematically resonating with the warning that wickedness/foolishness can cause one to 'die before one's time.'
- Deuteronomy 30:19 (thematic): Presents the foundational Israelite motif of choosing life or death ('I have set before you life and death...choose life'), connecting moral choice to the outcome of life-span reflected in Eccles. 7:17.
Alternative generated candidates
- Do not be overly wicked, nor be a fool—why should you die before your time?
Ecc.7.18 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- טוב: ADJ,m,pl,abs
- אשר: PRON,rel
- תאחז: VERB,qal,impf,2,m,sg
- בזה: PREP+DEM
- וגם: CONJ
- מזה: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- אל: NEG
- תנח: VERB,qal,impf,2,m,sg
- את: PRT,acc
- ידך: NOUN,f,sg,abs,poss:2,f,sg
- כי: CONJ
- ירא: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- אלהים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- יצא: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- את: PRT,acc
- כלם: PRON,3,m,pl
Parallels
- Ecclesiastes 7:14 (structural): Speaks of both prosperity and adversity as God's work; echoes the idea of holding and enduring both circumstances that 7:18 summarizes.
- Ecclesiastes 7:16-17 (verbal): Immediate context warning against extremes of righteousness or wickedness; 7:18 resolves the tension by urging to 'grasp' both and shows fear of God as the governing principle.
- Proverbs 19:23 (thematic): Declares that the fear of the LORD leads to life and protection from harm—parallel to 7:18's claim that one who fears God will 'come out' of both situations.
- Psalm 34:7 (thematic): Promises deliverance for those who fear the LORD ('the angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear him'), resonating with 7:18's assurance of emerging from all circumstances.
- Job 28:28 (allusion): Links the fear of the LORD with wisdom and right conduct ('and to man he said, Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom'), echoing Ecclesiastes' coupling of wisdom, conduct, and fearing God in navigating life's complexities.
Alternative generated candidates
- It is good that you should hold fast to both; and do not let go of the one. For the one who fears God will escape from them all.
Ecc.7.19 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- החכמה: NOUN,f,sg,def
- תעז: VERB,qal,imf,3,f,sg
- לחכם: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- מעשרה: PREP+NUM,10,m
- שליטים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- אשר: PRON,rel
- היו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- בעיר: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
Parallels
- Proverbs 24:5 (verbal): “A wise man is strong” — closely parallels the claim that wisdom makes the wise powerful, echoing the link of wisdom and strength.
- Proverbs 21:22 (thematic): “A wise man scales the city of the mighty” — portrays wisdom as able to overcome fortified power and rulers in a city, thematically similar to Eccles. 7:19.
- Ecclesiastes 9:15-16 (structural): Within the same book a poor wise man rescues a city by his wisdom, reinforcing the motif that wisdom can surpass official rulers and military power.
- Proverbs 8:15-16 (allusion): Personified Wisdom claims authority over kings and princes, suggesting wisdom’s supremacy and influence even over rulers — a conceptual parallel.
- 1 Kings 4:29-34 (thematic): Solomon’s unparalleled wisdom and its practical effects (renown, governance, influence) illustrate the superiority of wisdom over mere political or military power.
Alternative generated candidates
- Wisdom strengthens the wise more than ten rulers who are in a city.
Ecc.7.20 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- כי: CONJ
- אדם: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- אין: PART,neg
- צדיק: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- בארץ: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,def
- אשר: PRON,rel
- יעשה: VERB,qal,imperfect,3,m,sg
- טוב: ADJ,m,pl,abs
- ולא: CONJ
- יחטא: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
Parallels
- Psalm 14:3 (verbal): Closely parallel wording and thought: “There is none that doeth good, no, not one,” asserting no one on earth is wholly righteous.
- Romans 3:10 (quotation): Paul explicitly cites the OT verdict (from Psalm 14/53): “There is none righteous, no, not one,” using it to argue universal sinfulness.
- 1 John 1:8-10 (thematic): Affirms the same theological point that humans are sinners and cannot truthfully claim to be without sin.
- Proverbs 20:9 (thematic): Rhetorical question—“Who can say, ‘I have made my heart clean, I am pure from my sin’?”—expresses the impossibility of human sinlessness.
- Job 25:4 (thematic): Rhetorical challenge—“How then can man be righteous before God?”—echoes the conviction that humans are not wholly righteous.
Alternative generated candidates
- For there is no righteous man on earth who does good and does not sin.
Ecc.7.21 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- גם: ADV
- לכל: PREP
- הדברים: NOUN,m,pl,def
- אשר: PRON,rel
- ידברו: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,pl
- אל: NEG
- תתן: VERB,qal,imprf,2,_,sg
- לבך: NOUN,m,sg,abs+PRON,2,m,sg
- אשר: PRON,rel
- לא: PART_NEG
- תשמע: VERB,qal,impf,2,m,sg
- את: PRT,acc
- עבדך: NOUN,m,sg,abs,2,ms
- מקללך: PTCP,qal,act,ms,sg,psuf=2,m,sg
Parallels
- Proverbs 14:15 (verbal): Direct verbal parallel: contrasts the simple who believes every word with the prudent who weighs speech—echoes Eccles.7:21's warning not to give your heart to every word.
- Proverbs 18:13 (thematic): Cautions against responding or forming judgment before hearing—similar concern for careful listening and not accepting speech uncritically.
- Proverbs 20:19 (thematic): Warns against associating with a gossip who reveals confidences; underscores the danger of trusting or repeating every word one hears.
- James 1:19 (thematic): Calls for being quick to hear and slow to speak—ethical counsel about restraint in handling speech that parallels Ecclesiastes' prudence about words.
- Proverbs 12:18 (thematic): Notes the harm reckless words can do ('pierce like a sword'), reinforcing the biblical theme that words can wound and should not be uncritically accepted.
Alternative generated candidates
- Do not take every word to heart, lest you hear your servant curse you.
Ecc.7.22 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- כי: CONJ
- גם: ADV
- פעמים: NOUN,m,du,abs
- רבות: ADJ,f,pl,abs
- ידע: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- לבך: NOUN,m,sg,abs+PRON,2,m,sg
- אשר: PRON,rel
- גם: ADV
- אתה: PRON,2,m,sg
- קללת: NOUN,f,sg,const
- אחרים: ADJ,m,pl,abs
Parallels
- Matthew 7:3-5 (thematic): Warnings against judging others while ignoring your own faults — the need to recognize and remove your own 'plank' before condemning another, paralleling awareness that you yourself have cursed others.
- Romans 2:1 (thematic): Those who judge others are confronted with their own guilt — similar moral logic that accusing others exposes one's own culpability.
- James 3:9-10 (verbal): Speaks of using the tongue both to bless and to curse people made in God's likeness — directly connected to the idea of having cursed others.
- Psalm 19:12-13 (allusion): A plea for cleansing from hidden and presumptuous sins and from sinful words — resonates with admission and awareness of personal wrongdoing (including speech) implied in Ecclesiastes 7:22.
- Proverbs 26:27 (thematic): The principle that harm plotted for others turns back on the doer — thematically related to recognition that one's hostile words/actions toward others implicate oneself.
Alternative generated candidates
- For you yourself know in your heart that you too have often cursed others.
Ecc.7.23 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- כל: DET
- זה: PRON,dem,m,sg
- נסיתי: VERB,qal,perf,1,m,sg
- בחכמה: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- אמרתי: VERB,qal,perf,1,com,sg
- אחכמה: VERB,qal,impf,1,_,sg
- והיא: CONJ+PRON,3,f,sg
- רחוקה: ADJ,f,sg,abs
- ממני: PREP,suff,1,m,sg
Parallels
- Ecclesiastes 1:16-18 (structural): Same speaker recounts efforts to gain wisdom and knowledge and concludes that such searching yields vanity—echoing the attempt to be wise and the sense that true wisdom eludes him.
- Ecclesiastes 7:25 (verbal): Immediate parallel in the chapter: the narrator again describes turning his heart to seek and search for wisdom, reinforcing the theme that deliberate pursuit of wisdom proves difficult and often beyond grasp.
- Job 28:12-28 (thematic): Job’s famous poem on the hiddenness of wisdom stresses that human efforts cannot locate wisdom’s source—only God knows—paralleling Qoheleth’s observation that wisdom proved distant.
- 1 Corinthians 1:20-21 (allusion): Paul’s claim that ‘where is the wise?’ and that God has rendered worldly wisdom foolish echoes the biblical theme that human wisdom is ultimately inadequate, resonating with Ecclesiastes’ experience of wisdom being out of reach.
Alternative generated candidates
- All these things I tested by wisdom. I said, “I will be wise,” but it was far from me.
Ecc.7.24 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- רחוק: ADJ,m,sg,abs
- מה: PRON,int
- שהיה: CONJ+VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- ועמק: CONJ+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- עמק: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- מי: PRON,interr,sg
- ימצאנו: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg,obj=1pl
Parallels
- Job 11:7 (verbal): Both verses pose a rhetorical question about discovering the 'deep' or hidden things of God—'Canst thou by searching find out God?'—echoing Ecclesiastes' 'deep, deep; who can find it out?'."
- Job 28:12-13 (thematic): Job’s investigation into where wisdom is found parallels Ecclesiastes’ sense that past things or divine purposes are remote and hidden, beyond human discovery.
- Proverbs 25:2 (thematic): Proverbs states that God conceals matters and men search them out, reflecting Ecclesiastes’ theme that what has been is distant and profoundly hidden, eluding human comprehension.
- Ecclesiastes 3:11 (structural): Within the same book Qohelet explicitly says God has made things beautiful 'yet so that man cannot find out the work that God has done,' directly paralleling the claim that what has been is far off and deep.
- Romans 11:33 (allusion): Paul’s exclamation about the 'depth' and the unsearchable judgments of God echoes the OT motif (as in Ecclesiastes) that divine purposes are deep and beyond human discovery.
Alternative generated candidates
- What is far off and deep—deep—who can find it?
Ecc.7.25 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- סבותי: VERB,qal,perf,1,_,sg
- אני: PRON,1,sg
- ולבי: CONJ+NOUN,m,sg,abs+PRON,1,_,sg
- לדעת: VERB,qal,inf,-,-,-
- ולתור: VERB,qal,inf,NA,NA,NA
- ובקש: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- חכמה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- וחשבון: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ולדעת: CONJ+VERB,qal,inf
- רשע: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- כסל: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- והסכלות: NOUN,f,pl,abs
- הוללות: NOUN,f,pl,abs
Parallels
- Ecclesiastes 1:13 (verbal): Same narrator language and action — 'I set/my heart to seek and search' for wisdom and to investigate the nature of human things; an earlier formulation of the same quest.
- Job 28:12-28 (thematic): Both passages describe the human search for wisdom and its elusive quality; Job’s poem culminates in the insight that true wisdom is the fear of the LORD and departing from evil, paralleling Qoheleth’s concern with discerning wisdom and evil.
- Proverbs 2:1-6 (thematic): Calls readers to treasure, seek and search for wisdom and understanding; links the diligent search for wisdom with moral discernment, echoing Eccl.7:25’s pursuit of wisdom and knowledge of evil and folly.
- Proverbs 8:17 (verbal): Wisdom speaks of those who 'seek' her and are found by her; the verse echoes Eccl.7:25’s motif of actively seeking wisdom and the intimate relation between seeker and wisdom.
Alternative generated candidates
- I directed my heart to know, to search, and to seek wisdom and the reason of things; to know the wickedness of folly, even of foolishness and madness.
Ecc.7.26 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ומוצא: CONJ+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- אני: PRON,1,sg
- מר: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ממות: PREP,NOUN,m,sg,abs
- את: PRT,acc
- האשה: NOUN,f,sg,def
- אשר: PRON,rel
- היא: PRON,dem,3,f,sg
- מצודים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- וחרמים: CONJ+NOUN,m,pl,abs
- לבה: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs+suf:3,f
- אסורים: ADJ,m,pl,abs
- ידיה: NOUN,f,pl,abs+PRON,3,f,sg
- טוב: ADJ,m,pl,abs
- לפני: PREP
- האלהים: NOUN,m,sg,def
- ימלט: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- ממנה: PREP+PRON,3,f,sg
- וחוטא: CONJ+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ילכד: VERB,qal,imprf,3,m,sg
- בה: PREP+PRON,3,f,sg
Parallels
- Proverbs 2:16-19 (thematic): Warning about the ‘strange’ or seductive woman who leads to death and ruin—echoes Eccl.7:26’s image of a treacherous woman whose heart is a snare and whose company brings destruction.
- Proverbs 5:3-14 (verbal): Uses similar imagery of allure and capture (sweet lips, paths to death, iniquity as a snare) and warns that succumbing to the foreign/adulterous woman brings inevitable entrapment and loss.
- Proverbs 6:24-35 (thematic): Describes the adulterous woman as a trap and stresses flight from sexual temptation; parallels Eccl.7:26’s contrast between those who escape and those who are ensnared by her.
- Proverbs 7:6-27 (structural): A narrative portrayal of a seductress lying in wait with snares and traps; structurally mirrors Eccl.7:26’s depiction of a woman as a net/fetter who captures the unwary.
- Matthew 5:28 (thematic): Jesus’ teaching that lustful intent equals adultery highlights the inward danger and moral entrapment implicit in Eccl.7:26—sinful desire leads to being ‘captured’ by sin.
Alternative generated candidates
- And I find more bitter than death the woman whose heart is snares and nets, whose hands are chains; he who pleases God escapes from her, but the sinner is taken by her.
Ecc.7.27 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ראה: VERB,qal,imperat,2,m,sg
- זה: PRON,dem,m,sg
- מצאתי: VERB,qal,perf,1,sg
- אמרה: VERB,qal,perf,3,f,sg
- קהלת: NOUN,f,sg,cons
- אחת: NUM,f,sg
- לאחת: PREP+NUM,f,sg
- למצא: PREP,VERB,qal,inf
- חשבון: NOUN,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Ecclesiastes 1:13 (verbal): Qoheleth's self-description of applying his heart 'to seek and to search out by wisdom' echoes the investigative stance of 'this I found… to find out an account.'
- Ecclesiastes 7:24 (verbal): Immediately adjacent statement introduced by the same formula 'I find'/'this I found,' continuing the preacher's accumulated observations — a close verbal and thematic parallel within the same pericope.
- Ecclesiastes 12:9-10 (structural): The book's summary of the Preacher's method ('the Teacher was wise… sought to find out acceptable words') parallels the reflective, enumerating role expressed in 7:27.
- Proverbs 25:2 (thematic): Proverbial motif of searching out a matter ('the honour of kings is to search out a matter') resonates with Qoheleth's activity of counting and seeking to 'find out an account.'
- Job 11:7 (thematic): The rhetorical idea of searching to find out a mystery ('Canst thou by searching find out God?') parallels Qoheleth's theme of inquiry and the limits of human investigation.
Alternative generated candidates
- Behold, this I have found, says the Preacher—counting one by one to find the account.
Ecc.7.28 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- אשר: PRON,rel
- עוד: ADV
- בקשה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- נפשי: NOUN,f,sg,abs+1cs
- ולא: CONJ
- מצאתי: VERB,qal,perf,1,sg
- אדם: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- אחד: NUM,card,m,sg
- מאלף: PREP
- מצאתי: VERB,qal,perf,1,sg
- ואשה: CONJ+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- בכל: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- אלה: DEM,pl,abs
- לא: PART_NEG
- מצאתי: VERB,qal,perf,1,sg
Parallels
- Proverbs 20:6 (verbal): Both verses express the difficulty of finding a truly faithful/upright person—Proverbs asks 'a faithful man who can find?' echoing Ecclesiastes' 'one man among a thousand have I found.'
- Jeremiah 5:1 (verbal): Jeremiah commands a search 'if ye can find a man' who does justice, similarly portraying upright people as scarce in the land.
- Proverbs 31:10 (thematic): Proverbs praises the rare 'virtuous woman' with the question 'Who can find?'—a thematic counterpoint to Ecclesiastes' claim that he did not find such a woman.
- Romans 3:10 (quotation): Paul's citation 'None is righteous, no, not one' parallels Ecclesiastes' observation about the rarity (and near absence) of truly upright persons.
Alternative generated candidates
- Which yet my soul sought, but I did not find: one man among a thousand I found, but a woman among all these I did not find.
Ecc.7.29 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- לבד: PREP
- ראה: VERB,qal,imperat,2,m,sg
- זה: PRON,dem,m,sg
- מצאתי: VERB,qal,perf,1,sg
- אשר: PRON,rel
- עשה: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- האלהים: NOUN,m,sg,def
- את: PRT,acc
- האדם: NOUN,m,sg,def
- ישר: ADJ,m,sg
- והמה: PRON,3,m,pl
- בקשו: VERB,qal,imp,2,m,pl
- חשבנות: NOUN,f,pl,abs
- רבים: ADJ,m,pl,abs
Parallels
- Genesis 1:27 (verbal): Both assert that God formed mankind in a proper/upright way (God made man), establishing divine origination and dignity of human nature.
- Genesis 6:5 (thematic): Describes the pervasive corruption of human thoughts and actions—echoing Ecclesiastes' claim that people pursue many schemes despite God's intent.
- Genesis 8:21 (verbal): God observes that 'every intention of the thoughts of his heart is only evil continually,' paralleling Ecclesiastes' note that humans devise many devices/plots.
- Jeremiah 17:9 (thematic): Portrays the heart as deceitful and corrupt, resonating with Ecclesiastes' diagnosis of human moral failure and inventive wickedness.
- Romans 3:10-12 (thematic): Paul's summary that no one is righteous and all have turned aside parallels Ecclesiastes' observation that humanity departs from the uprightness God intended.
Alternative generated candidates
- Behold, this only I found: that God made man upright, but they have sought out many schemes.
Ecc.8.1 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- מי: PRON,interr,sg
- כהחכם: ADJ,m,sg,def
- ומי: PRON,interr
- יודע: VERB,qal,ptc,ms,sg
- פשר: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- דבר: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- חכמת: NOUN,f,sg,cons
- אדם: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- תאיר: VERB,qal,impf,2,m,sg
- פניו: NOUN,m,pl,cons+3,m,sg
- ועז: CONJ+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- פניו: NOUN,m,pl,cons+3,m,sg
- ישנא: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
Parallels
- Exodus 34:29-30 (verbal): Moses’ face 'shone' after encounter with God — parallels Ecclesiastes’ image of wisdom making a man's face shine (shared motif of radiance from revelation/insight).
- Daniel 12:3 (thematic): The wise 'shall shine' like the brightness of the firmament — a direct thematic parallel linking wisdom with shining/light.
- 2 Corinthians 3:7-18 (allusion): Paul contrasts Moses’ fading glory and the transforming, unveiled experience of beholding glory (v.18 'changed into the same image') — resonates with Ecclesiastes’ language of the face being altered by wisdom.
- Proverbs 8:12-14 (thematic): Personified Wisdom speaks of dwelling with prudence and giving counsel and strength — connects to Ecclesiastes’ celebration of wisdom’s effect on the person (insight, bearing, countenance).
Alternative generated candidates
- Who is like the wise man? And who knows the interpretation of a matter? The wisdom of a man makes his face shine, and the sternness of his face is changed.
A good name is better than fine oil; the day of death than the day of birth.
Better to go to the house of mourning than to the house of feasting; for that is the end of every person, and the living will take it to heart.
Sorrow is better than laughter; for by a sad countenance the heart is made better.
The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning, while the heart of fools is in the house of mirth.
Better to hear the rebuke of the wise than to listen to the song of fools.
For as the crackling of thorns under a pot, so is the laughter of fools; and this too is vanity.
For oppression makes the wise man mad, and a bribe destroys the heart.
The end of a matter is better than its beginning; the patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit.
Be not quick in your spirit to be angry; for anger lodges in the bosom of fools.
Do not say, “Why were the former days better than these?” For you do not inquire about this with wisdom.
Wisdom is good with an inheritance, and it is profitable for those who see the sun.
For wisdom is a defense like money is a defense, but the advantage of knowledge is that wisdom preserves the life of its possessor.
Consider the work of God: who can make straight what he has made crooked?
In the day of good be joyful, and in the day of evil consider; for God has made the one as well as the other, so that man cannot find out anything that will be after him.
All this I have seen in the days of my vanity: the righteous perishes in his righteousness, and the wicked prolongs life in his wickedness.
Do not be excessively righteous, nor make yourself overwise—why should you ruin yourself?
Do not be excessively wicked, nor be foolish—why should you die before your time?
It is good that you take hold of both, and do not let go of either; for the one who fears God will escape them all.
Wisdom makes the wise man stronger than ten rulers who are in a city.
For there is no righteous man on earth who does good and does not sin.
Also, in all the words that are spoken, do not put your heart to take them all in, lest you hear your servant curse you.
For your own heart knows that you yourself have often likewise cursed others.
All this I tested by wisdom. I said, “I will be wise,” but it was far from me.
It is far and deep—deep; who can find it?
I turned my heart to know and to search and to seek wisdom and the scheme of things, to know the wickedness of folly, even of foolishness and madness. And I find more bitter than death the woman whose heart is snares and nets, whose hands are fetters; whoever pleases God shall escape from her, but the sinner shall be captured by her.
Behold, this I found, says the Preacher: one by one I examined, to find an account.
While my soul still sought, I did not find; one man among a thousand I found, but a woman among all these I did not find.
See, this I found: God made humankind upright, but they have sought out many schemes.
Who is like the wise, and who knows the interpretation of a matter? The wisdom of a man makes his face to shine, and the hardness of his face is changed.