Ecclesiastes 7:25-29 in English

²⁵ I turned about, and my heart was set to know and to search out, and to seek wisdom and the reason of things, and to know that wickedness is folly, and that foolishness is madness.

²⁶ And I find more bitter than death the woman whose heart is snares and nets, and whose hands are bands: whoso pleaseth God shall escape from her; but the sinner shall be taken by her.

²⁷ Behold, this have I found, saith the Preacher, laying one thing to another, to find out the account;

²⁸ which my soul still seeketh, but I have not found: one man among a thousand have I found; but a woman among all those have I not found.

²⁹ Behold, this only have I found: that God made man upright; but they have sought out many inventions.

²⁵ I and my heart went round about to know, and to examine, and to seek wisdom, and the account of things, and to know the folly and trouble and madness of the ungodly man.

²⁶ And I find her to be, and I will pronounce to be more bitter than death the woman which is a snare, and her heart nets, who has a band in her hands: he that is good in the sight of God shall be delivered from her; but the sinner shall be caught by her.

²⁷ Behold, this have I found, said the Preacher, seeking by one at a time to find out the account,

²⁸ which my soul sought after, but I found not: for I have found one man of a thousand; but a woman in all these I have not found.

²⁹ But, behold, this have I found, that God made man upright; but they have sought out many devices. Who knows the wise? and who knows the interpretation of a saying?

²⁵ I applied mine heart to know, and to search, and to seek out wisdom, and the reason of things, and to know the wickedness of folly, even of foolishness and madness:

²⁶ And I find more bitter than death the woman, whose heart is snares and nets, and her hands as bands: whoso pleaseth God shall escape from her; but the sinner shall be taken by her.

²⁷ Behold, this have I found, saith the preacher, counting one by one, to find out the account:

²⁸ Which yet my soul seeketh, but I find not: one man among a thousand have I found; but a woman among all those have I not found.

²⁹ Lo, this only have I found, that God hath made man upright; but they have sought out many inventions.

²⁵ I applied mine heart to know, and to search, and to seek out wisdom, and the reason of things, and to know the wickedness of folly, even of foolishness and madness:

²⁶ And I find more bitter than death the woman, whose heart is snares and nets, and her hands as bands: whoso pleaseth God shall escape from her; but the sinner shall be taken by her.

²⁷ Behold, this have I found, saith the preacher, counting one by one, to find out the account:

²⁸ Which yet my soul seeketh, but I find not: one man among a thousand have I found; but a woman among all those have I not found.

²⁹ Lo, this only have I found, that God hath made man upright; but they have sought out many inventions.

²⁵ That which is far beyond what was, and a great depth, who shall find it out?

²⁶ I and my heart went round about to know, and to examine, and to seek wisdom, and the account of things, and to know the folly and trouble and madness of the ungodly man.

²⁷ And I find her to be, and I will pronounce to be more bitter than death the woman which is a snare, and her heart nets, who has a band in her hands: he that is good in the sight of God shall be delivered from her; but the sinner shall be caught by her.

²⁸ Behold, this have I found, said the Preacher, seeking by one at a time to find out the account,

²⁹ which my soul sought after, but I found not: for I have found one man of a thousand; but a woman in all these I have not found.

²⁵ I turned about, and my heart was set to know and to search out, and to seek wisdom and the reason of things, and to know that wickedness is folly, and that foolishness is madness:

²⁶ And I find a thing more bitter than death, even the woman whose heart is snares and nets, and her hands as bands: whoso pleaseth God shall escape from her; but the sinner shall be taken by her.

²⁷ Behold, this have I found, saith the Preacher; laying one thing to another, to find out the account:

²⁸ which my soul still seeketh, but I have not found: one man among a thousand have I found; but a woman among all those have I not found.

²⁹ Behold, this only have I found, that God made man upright; but they have sought out many inventions.

²⁵ But I decided to investigate things and by my wisdom try to understand the reason for everything. I also wanted to understand why people act wickedly and why they act very foolishly.

²⁶ One thing I learned was that ◄allowing a woman to seduce you/having sex with a woman to whom you are not married► is worse than dying. A woman who tries to seduce men is as dangerous as a trap MET. If you allow her to put her arms around you, it will be as though she will be fastening you with chains. Women like that will capture sinful men, but men who please God will escape from such women.

²⁷ This is what I have learned: I tried to learn more and more about things to try to find out the reason for everything,

²⁸ and I continued to try to learn more, but I could not find all that I was searching for. But one thing that I found out was that among one thousand people I found one righteous man, but I did not find even one righteous woman.

²⁹ But I did learn one thing: When God created people, they were righteous, but they have found many ways to do many evil things.

²⁵ That which is far beyond what was, and a great depth, who shall find it out?

²⁶ I and my heart went round about to know, and to examine, and to seek wisdom, and the account of things, and to know the folly and trouble and madness of the ungodly man.

²⁷ And I find her to be, and I will pronounce to be more bitter than death the woman which is a snare, and her heart nets, who has a band in her hands: he that is good in the sight of God shall be delivered from her; but the sinner shall be caught by her.

²⁸ Behold, this have I found, said the Preacher, seeking by one at a time to find out the account,

²⁹ which my soul sought after, but I found not: for I have found one man of a thousand; but a woman in all these I have not found.

²⁵ I turned around, and my heart sought to know and to search out, and to seek wisdom and the scheme of things, and to know that wickedness is stupidity, and that foolishness is madness.

²⁶ I find more bitter than death the woman whose heart is snares and traps, whose hands are chains. Whoever pleases God shall escape from her; but the sinner will be ensnared by her.

²⁷ “Behold, I have found this,” says the Preacher, “to one another, to find an explanation

²⁸ which my soul still seeks, but I have not found. I have found one man among a thousand, but I have not found a woman among all those.

²⁹ Behold, I have only found this: that God made mankind upright; but they search for many inventions.”

²⁵ I turned around, and my heart sought to know and to search out, and to seek wisdom and the scheme of things, and to know that wickedness is stupidity, and that foolishness is madness.

²⁶ I find more bitter than death the woman whose heart is snares and traps, whose hands are chains. Whoever pleases God shall escape from her; but the sinner will be ensnared by her.

²⁷ “Behold, I have found this,” says the Preacher, “to one another, to find an explanation

²⁸ which my soul still seeks, but I have not found. I have found one man among a thousand, but I have not found a woman among all those.

²⁹ Behold, I have only found this: that God made mankind upright; but they search for many inventions.”

²⁵ I turned around, and my heart sought to know and to search out, and to seek wisdom and the scheme of things, and to know that wickedness is stupidity, and that foolishness is madness.

²⁶ I find more bitter than death the woman whose heart is snares and traps, whose hands are chains. Whoever pleases God shall escape from her; but the sinner will be ensnared by her.

²⁷ “Behold, I have found this,” says the Preacher, “to one another, to find an explanation

²⁸ which my soul still seeks, but I have not found. I have found one man amongst a thousand, but I have not found a woman amongst all those.

²⁹ Behold, I have only found this: that God made mankind upright; but they search for many inventions.”

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.

²⁶ And I saw a thing more bitter than death, even the woman whose heart is full of tricks and nets, and whose hands are as bands. He with whom God is pleased will get free from her, but the sinner will be taken by her.

²⁷ Look! this I have seen, said the Preacher, taking one thing after another to get the true account,

²⁸ For which my soul is still searching, but I have it not; one man among a thousand have I seen; but a woman among all these I have not seen.

²⁹ This only have I seen, that God made men upright, but they have been searching out all sorts of inventions.

²⁵ I turned, I and my heart, to know, and to search, and to seek out wisdom and reason, and to know wickedness to be folly, and foolishness to be madness;

²⁶ and I found more bitter than death the woman whose heart is nets and snares, and whose hands are bands: whoso pleaseth God shall escape from her; but the sinner shall be caught by her.

²⁷ See this which I have found, saith the Preacher, searching one by one to find out the reason;

²⁸ which my soul yet seeketh, and I have not found: one man among a thousand have I found, but a woman among all those have I not found.

²⁹ Only see this which I have found: that God made man upright, but they have sought out many devices.

²⁵ Much more than it was: it is a great depth, who shall find it out?

²⁶ I have surveyed all things with my mind, to know, and consider, and seek out wisdom and reason: and to know the wickedness of the fool, and the error of the imprudent:

²⁷ And I have found a woman more bitter than death, who is the hunter’s snare, and her heart is a net, and her hands are bands. He that pleaseth God shall escape from her: but he that is a sinner, shall be caught by her.

²⁸ Lo this have I found, said Ecclesiastes, weighing one thing after another, that I might find out the account,

²⁹ Which yet my soul seeketh, and I have not found it. One man among a thousand I have found, a woman among them all I have not found.

²⁵ I turned my thoughts to discover, investigate, and to find out more about wisdom and what makes sense. I wanted to know more about how stupid evil really is, and how ridiculous it is to be a fool.

²⁶ I discovered something more horrible than death: foolishness like a woman who tries to entrap you, who wants to use her mind and hands to catch you and tie you up. Those who follow God will not be caught, but sinners will fall into her trap.

²⁷ This is what I discovered after putting two and two together to try and find out what it all meant, says the Teacher.

²⁸ Although I really searched, I didn't find what I was looking for. People say, “I found one man among a thousand, but not one woman.”

²⁹ But I did find this one thing: God made people to do what's right, but they have followed their own ideas.

²⁵ All this haue I prooued by wisedome: I thought I will be wise, but it went farre from me.

²⁶ It is farre off, what may it be? and it is a profound deepenesse, who can finde it?

²⁷ I haue compassed about, both I and mine heart to knowe and to enquire and to search wisedome, and reason, and to knowe the wickednesse of follie, and the foolishnesse of madnesse,

²⁸ And I finde more bitter then death the woman whose heart is as nettes and snares, and her handes, as bands: he that is good before God, shalbe deliuered from her, but the sinner shall be taken by her.

²⁹ Beholde, sayth the Preacher, this haue I found, seeking one by one to finde the count:

²⁵ I turned about, and applied my heart to know and to search out, and to seek wisdom and the reason of things, and to know wickedness to be folly, and foolishness to be madness;

²⁶ and I find more bitter than death the woman, whose heart is snares and nets, and her hands as bands; whoso pleaseth God shall escape from her; but the sinner shall be taken by her.

²⁷ Behold, this have I found, saith Koheleth, adding one thing to another, to find out the account;

²⁸ which yet my soul sought, but I found not; one man among a thousand have I found; but a woman among all those have I not found.

²⁹ Behold, this only have I found, that God made man upright; but they have sought out many inventions.

²⁵ I applied mine heart to know, and to search, and to seek out wisdom, and the reason of things, and to know the wickedness of folly, even of foolishness and madness:

²⁶ and I find more bitter than death the woman, whose heart is snares and nets, and her hands as bands: whoso pleaseth God shall escape from her; but the sinner shall be taken by her.

²⁷ Behold, this have I found, saith the Preacher, counting one by one, to find out the account:

²⁸ which yet my soul seeketh, but I find not: one man among a thousand have I found; but a woman among all those have I not found.

²⁹ Lo, this only have I found, that God hath made man upright; but they have sought out many inventions.

²⁵ Then I turned myself about together with my heart to know, and to search, and to seek out wisdom, and experience, and to know the wickedness of folly, and the foolishness of madness.

²⁶ And I find as more bitter than death the woman, whose heart is snares and nets, and whose hands are bonds: he that is deemed good before God will escape from her; but the sinner will be caught by her.

²⁷ Behold, this have I found, saith Koheleth, adding one to the other, to find experience,

²⁸ What my soul constantly sought, but I found it not; one man among a thousand did I find; but a woman among all these did I not find.

²⁹ Lo, this only did I find, that God hath made man upright; but they have sought for many sinful devices.

²⁵ I and my heart went round about to know, And to examine, and to seek wisdom, and the account of things, And to know the folly and trouble And madness of the ungodly man.

²⁶ And I find her to be, and I will pronounce to be More bitter than death the woman which is a snare, And her heart nets, Who has a band in her hands: He that is good in the sight of God shall be delivered from her; But the sinner shall be caught by her.

²⁷ Behold, this have I found, said the Preacher, Seeking by one at a time to find out the account,

²⁸ Which my soul sought after, but I found not: For I have found one man of a thousand; But a woman in all these I have not found.

²⁹ But, behold, this have I found, That God made man upright; But they have sought out many devices. Who knows the wise? And who knows the interpretation of a saying?

²⁵ I applied my mind earnestly to know, and to search, and to seek out wisdom and intelligence, and to know wickedness and folly, yea, foolishness and madness.

²⁶ And I found more bitter than death the woman whose heart is snares and nets, and her hands bands. He that pleaseth God shall escape from her; but the sinner shall be caught by her.

²⁷ Behold, this have I found, saith the Preacher, putting one thing to another to find knowledge.

²⁸ That which my soul hath hitherto sought, and I have not found, is this: a man among a thousand I have found, but a woman among a thousand have I not found.

²⁹ Lo, this only have I found, that God made man upright, but they have sought out many devices.

²⁵ I turned my heart to learn and examine and seek wisdom and the explanations of reality, and to understand that evil is stupid and that folly is madness.

²⁶ I found that more bitter than death is any woman whose heart is full of snares and nets, and whose hands are chains. Whoever pleases God will escape from her, but the sinner will be taken by her.

²⁷ “Consider what I have discovered,” says the Teacher. “I have been adding one discovery to another in order to find an explanation of reality.

²⁸ This is what I am still looking for, but I have not found it. I did find one righteous man among a thousand, but a woman among all those I did not find.

²⁹ I have discovered only this: That God created humanity upright, but they have gone away looking for many difficulties.”

²⁵ I turned around, and my heart sought to know and to search out, and to seek wisdom and the scheme of things, and to know that wickedness is stupidity, and that foolishness is madness.

²⁶ I find more bitter than death the woman whose heart is snares and traps, whose hands are chains. Whoever pleases God shall escape from her; but the sinner will be ensnared by her.

²⁷ “Behold, I have found this,” says the Preacher, “to one another, to find an explanation

²⁸ which my soul still seeks, but I have not found. I have found one man among a thousand, but I have not found a woman among all those.

²⁹ Behold, I have only found this: that God made mankind upright; but they search for many inventions.”

²⁵ I turned around, and my heart sought to know and to search out, and to seek wisdom and the scheme of things, and to know that wickedness is stupidity, and that foolishness is madness.

²⁶ I find more bitter than death the woman whose heart is snares and traps, whose hands are chains. Whoever pleases God shall escape from her; but the sinner will be ensnared by her.

²⁷ “Behold, I have found this,” says the Preacher, “to one another, to find an explanation

²⁸ which my soul still seeks, but I have not found. I have found one man amongst a thousand, but I have not found a woman amongst all those.

²⁹ Behold, I have only found this: that God made mankind upright; but they search for many inventions.”

²⁵ I applied my heart to know, and to search, and to seek out wisdom, and the reason of things , and to know the wickedness of folly, even of foolishness and madness:

²⁶ And I find more bitter than death the woman whose heart is snares and nets, and her hands as bands: whoever pleaseth God shall escape from her; but the sinner shall be taken by her.

²⁷ Behold, this have I found, saith the preacher, counting one by one, to find out the account:

²⁸ Which yet my soul seeketh, but I find not: one man among a thousand have I found; but a woman among all those have I not found.

²⁹ Lo, this only have I found, that God hath made man upright; but they have sought out many inventions.

²⁵ I turned around, and my heart sought to know and to search out, and to seek wisdom and the scheme of things, and to know that wickedness is stupidity, and that foolishness is madness.

²⁶ I find more bitter than death the woman whose heart is snares and traps, whose hands are chains. Whoever pleases God shall escape from her; but the sinner will be ensnared by her.

²⁷ “Behold, I have found this,” says Kohelet, “to one another, to find an explanation

²⁸ which my soul still seeks, but I have not found. I have found one man among a thousand, but I have not found a woman among all those.

²⁹ Behold, I have only found this: that God made mankind upright; but they search for many inventions.”

²⁵ I turned around, and my heart sought to know and to search out, and to seek wisdom and the scheme of things, and to know that wickedness is stupidity, and that foolishness is madness.

²⁶ I find more bitter than death the woman whose heart is snares and traps, whose hands are chains. Whoever pleases God shall escape from her; but the sinner will be ensnared by her.

²⁷ “Behold, I have found this,” says Kohelet, “to one another, to find an explanation

²⁸ which my soul still seeks, but I have not found. I have found one man amongst a thousand, but I have not found a woman amongst all those.

²⁹ Behold, I have only found this: that God made mankind upright; but they search for many inventions.”

²⁵ I compassed all things with my soul, to know, and to behold, and seek wisdom, and reason, and to know the wickedness of a fool, and the error of unprudent men.

²⁶ And I found a woman bitterer than death, the which is the snare of hunters, and her heart is a net, and her hands be bonds; he that pleaseth God shall escape her, but he that is a sinner, shall be taken of her.

²⁷ Lo! I found this, said Ecclesiastes, one and other, that I should find reason,

²⁸ which my soul seeketh yet; and I found not. I found one man of a thousand; and I found not a woman of all.

²⁹ I found this only, that God made a man rightful or made man right; and he meddled himself with questions without number.

²⁵ I compassed all things with my soul (or I put my mind upon everything, yea), to know, and to behold, and (to) seek (out) wisdom, and reason, and to know the wickedness of a fool, and the error of unprudent men.

²⁶ And I found a woman bitterer than death, the which is (like) the snare of hunters, and her heart is (like) a net, and her hands be (like) bonds; he that pleaseth God shall escape her, but he that is a sinner, shall be taken of her. (And I found a woman more bitter than death, who is like a hunter’s snare, and her heartis like a net, and her hands be like bonds; he who pleaseth God shall escape her, but he who is a sinner shall be caught by her.)

²⁷ Lo! I found this, said Ecclesiastes, (concerning) one (thing) and (an)other, that I should find (the) reason,

²⁸ which my soul seeketh yet; and (other things) I found not. I found one man of a thousand; and I found not a woman of all. (which my soul yet seeketh; but other things I did not find. I found one man out of a thousand; but I did not find one woman out of all of them.)

²⁹ I found this only, that God made a man rightful or that God made man right; and (then) he meddled himself with questions without number. (I found only this, that God made a person upright, or clear-headed; but then he mixed himself in, or he mixed himself up, with too many questions.)

²⁵ I have turned round, also my heart, to know and to search, and to seek out wisdom, and reason, and to know the wrong of folly, and of foolishness the madness.

²⁶ And I am finding more bitter than death, the woman whose heart is nets and snares, her hands are bands; the good before God escapeth from her, but the sinner is captured by her.

²⁷ See, this I have found, said the Preacher, one to one, to find out the reason

²⁸ (that still my soul had sought, and I had not found), One man, a teacher, I have found, and a woman among all these I have not found.

²⁹ See, this alone I have found, that God made man upright, and they — they have sought out many devices.