I said to myself, “Behold, I have obtained for myself great wisdom above all who were before me in Jerusalem. Yes, my heart has had great experience of wisdom and knowledge.”
Parallel Translations
-
I said to myself, “Behold, I have obtained for myself great wisdom above all who were before me in Jerusalem. Yes, my heart has had great experience of wisdom and knowledge.”
-
I communed with mine own heart, saying, Lo, I am come to great estate, and have gotten more wisdom than all they that have been before me in Jerusalem: yea, my heart had great experience of wisdom and knowledge.
-
I spoke with my own heart, saying: 'Lo, I have gotten great wisdom, more also than all that were before me over Jerusalem'; yea, my heart hath had great experience of wisdom and knowledge.
Cross-references (16)
Passages linked to Ecclesiastes 1:16 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Ecclesiastes 2:9 So I was great, and increased more than all who were before me in Jerusalem. My wisdom also remained with me.
- 1 Kings 4:30 Solomon’s wisdom excelled the wisdom of all the children of the east and all the wisdom of Egypt.
- 1 Kings 10:7 However I didn’t believe the words until I came and my eyes had seen it. Behold, not even half was told me! Your wisdom and prosperity exceed the fame which I heard.
- 1 Kings 3:12-13 behold, I have done according to your word. Behold, I have given you a wise and understanding heart; so that there has been no one like you before you, and after you none will arise like you. I have also given you that which you have not asked, both riches and honor, so that there will not be any among the kings like you for all your days.
- 2 Chronicles 1:10-12 Now give me wisdom and knowledge, that I may go out and come in before this people; for who can judge this great people of yours?” God said to Solomon, “Because this was in your heart, and you have not asked riches, wealth, honor, or the life of those who hate you, nor yet have you asked for long life; but have asked for wisdom and knowledge for yourself, that you may judge my people, over whom I have made you king, therefore wisdom and knowledge is granted to you. I will give you riches, wealth, and honor, such as none of the kings have had who have been before you had, and none after you will have.”
- 2 Chronicles 2:12 Huram continued, “Blessed be Yahweh, the God of Israel, who made heaven and earth, who has given to David the king a wise son, endowed with discretion and understanding, who would build a house for Yahweh, and a house for his kingdom.
- Psalms 4:4 Stand in awe, and don’t sin. Search your own heart on your bed, and be still.
- Hebrews 5:14 But solid food is for those who are full grown, who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern good and evil.
- 1 Kings 10:23-24 So king Solomon exceeded all the kings of the earth in riches and in wisdom. All the earth sought the presence of Solomon, to hear his wisdom, which God had put in his heart.
- 2 Kings 5:20 But Gehazi the servant of Elisha the man of God, said, “Behold, my master has spared this Naaman the Syrian, in not receiving at his hands that which he brought. As Yahweh lives, I will run after him, and take something from him.”
- 2 Chronicles 9:22-23 So king Solomon exceeded all the kings of the earth in riches and wisdom. All the kings of the earth sought the presence of Solomon, to hear his wisdom, which God had put in his heart.
- Psalms 77:6 I remember my song in the night. I consider in my own heart; my spirit diligently inquires:
- Isaiah 10:7-14 However he doesn’t mean so, neither does his heart think so; but it is in his heart to destroy, and to cut off not a few nations. For he says, “Aren’t all of my princes kings? Isn’t Calno like Carchemish? Isn’t Hamath like Arpad? Isn’t Samaria like Damascus?” As my hand has found the kingdoms of the idols, whose engraved images exceeded those of Jerusalem and of Samaria; shall I not, as I have done to Samaria and her idols, so do to Jerusalem and her idols? Therefore it will happen that when the Lord has performed his whole work on Mount Zion and on Jerusalem, I will punish the fruit of the willful proud heart of the king of Assyria, and the insolence of his arrogant looks. For he has said, “By the strength of my hand I have done it, and by my wisdom; for I have understanding. I have removed the boundaries of the peoples, and have robbed their treasures. Like a valiant man I have brought down their rulers. My hand has found the riches of the peoples like a nest, and like one gathers eggs that are abandoned, I have gathered all the earth. There was no one who moved their wing, or that opened their mouth, or chirped.”
- Jeremiah 22:14 who says, ‘I will build myself a wide house and spacious rooms,’ and cuts out windows for himself; with a cedar ceiling, and painted with red.
- Ezekiel 38:10-11 “ ‘The Lord Yahweh says: “It will happen in that day that things will come into your mind, and you will devise an evil plan. You will say, ‘I will go up to the land of unwalled villages. I will go to those who are at rest, who dwell securely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates,
- Daniel 4:30 The king spoke and said, “Is not this great Babylon, which I have built for the royal dwelling place, by the might of my power and for the glory of my majesty?”
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (15 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
Private notes
Saved on this device only — never synced or sent anywhere.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Ecc 1:16 I communed with mine own heart, saying,…
Ecc 1:16 I communed with mine own heart, saying, Lo, I am come to great estate, and have gotten more wisdom than all [they] that have been before me in Jerusalem: yea, my heart had great experience of wisdom and knowledge.
Ver. 16. I communed with mine own heart, saying, &c.] Here Hugo de Sancto Victore proceeds to censure Solomon (as he had done before, Ecc 1:13) {See Trapp on "Ecc 1:13"} of pride and vain-glory, but with greater pride. For puerilis iactantiae est accusando illustres viros suo nomini famam quaerere. {a} It is a childish vanity to seek for fame by aspersing better men. Solomon might, without boasting, say of himself, as here he doth, Lo, I am come to great estate, or, I have greatened and added wisdom above all that have been before me. Doth not God say as much of him? {1Ki 3:11-13; 1Ki 4:29-34; 1Ki 5:7; 1Ki 10:4-9} And had he not good reason to praise himself in this sort? For, whereas some might here object that the cause that men get not happiness by the knowledge of natural philosophy is, because they understand it not. That cannot be, saith the wise man, for I have out-gone all that went before me in wisdom and perspicacity, and yet I can do no good on it; try you another while if you think you can outdo me. I think a man may break his neck before his fast of these sublunary felicities.
Read full note →
{a} Jerome.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain I communed with mine own heart; I considered within…
I communed with mine own heart; I considered within myself in what condition I was, and what degrees of knowledge I had gained, and whether it was not my ignorance that made me unable to rectify those errors, and supply those wants, and wiser men could do it, though I could not.
I am come to great estate, Heb. I am grown great, to wit, in wisdom; or, I have magnified, or greatly enlarged. Have gotten, Heb. have added. As I had a large stock of wisdom infused into me by God, 1Ki 3:12; 4:29, so I have greatly improved it by conversation, and study, and experience.
Read full note →
More wisdom than all they that have been before me, whether governors, or priests, or private persons; which was no vain boast, but a known and confessed truth, and profession hereof was necessary to demonstrate his assertion.
In Jerusalem; which was then the most eminent place in the world for wisdom and knowledge.
Had great experience, Heb. had seen much; which intimates that his knowledge was clear, and certain, and experimental, as that is which we have from our own eyesight.
Wisdom and knowledge; two words signifying the same thing, as may be gathered from Ecc 1:18, and from the promiscuous use of them in this book, and in the Proverbs, and elsewhere, and implying all manner of knowledge, Divine or human, speculative or practical, political or philosophical.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain I communed with my own heart,.... That is, looked…
I communed with my own heart,.... That is, looked into it, examined it, and considered what a stock and fund of knowledge he had in it, after all his researches into it; what happiness accrued to him by it, and what judgment upon the whole was to be formed upon it; and he spoke within himself after this manner:
saying, lo, I am come to great estate; or become a great man; famous for wisdom, arrived to a very great pitch of it; greatly increased in it, through a diligent application to it;
Read full note →
and have gotten more wisdom than all they that have been before me in Jerusalem; or, "that before me were over Jerusalem" (p); governors of it, or in it; not only than the Jebusites, but than Saul, the first king of Israel, or than even his father David; or, as Gussetius (q), than any princes, rulers, and civil magistrates in Jerusalem, in his own days or in the days of his father; and also than all the priests and prophets, as well as princes, that ever had been there: and indeed he was wiser than all men, Kg1 4:30; and even than any that had been in Jerusalem, or any where else, or that should be hereafter, excepting the Messiah; see Kg1 3:12. And seeing this is said of him by others, and even by the Lord himself, it might not only be said with truth by himself, but without ostentation; seeing it was necessary it should be said to answer his purpose, which was to show the vanity of human wisdom in its highest pitch; and it was nowhere to be found higher than in himself;
yea, my heart had great experience of wisdom and knowledge; or, "saw much wisdom and knowledge" (r); he thoroughly understood it, he was a complete master of it; it was not a superficial knowledge he had attained unto, or a few lessons of it he had committed to memory; some slight notions in his head, or scraps of things he had collected together, in an undigested manner; but he had made himself thoroughly acquainted with everything worthy to be known, and had digested it in his mind.
(p) "super Jerusalaim", Montanus, Cocceius, Schmidt; "qui praefueriut ante me Jeruscthalamis", Junius & Tremellius. (q) Comment. Heb. p. 604. (r) "vidit multum sapientiae et scientiae", Montanus, Amama; "vidit plurimam sapientiam et scientiam", Tigurine version.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain Communed - I considered within myself. Great - In…
Communed - I considered within myself. Great - In wisdom. Have gotten - As I had a large stock of wisdom infused into me by God, so I have greatly improved it by conversation, and study, and experience. Than all - Whether governors, or priests, or private persons. In Jerusalem - Which was then the most eminent place in the world for wisdom.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 16. I communed with mine own heart] Literally,…
Verse 16. I communed with mine own heart] Literally, "I spoke, I, with my heart, saying." When successful in my researches, but not happy in my soul, though easy in my circumstances, I entered into my own heart, and there inquired the cause of my discontent. He found that, though -
1. He had gotten wisdom beyond all men;
Read full note →
2. Wealth and honours more than any other;
3. Practical wisdom more than all his predecessors;
4. Had tried pleasure and animal gratification, even to their extremes; yet after all this he had nothing but vexation of spirit.
None of these four things, nor the whole of them conjoined, could afford him such a happiness as satisfies the soul. Why was all this? Because the soul was made for God, and in the possession of him alone can it find happiness.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain Ecc 1:16-17. I communed with mine own heart —…
Ecc 1:16-17. I communed with mine own heart — I considered within myself in what condition I was, and what degrees of knowledge I had gained; and whether it was not my ignorance that made me unable to rectify those errors, and supply those wants of which I complain; and whether wiser men could not do it, though I could not; saying, Lo! I am come to great estate — Hebrew, הגדלתי, I am grown great, namely, in wisdom, or, I have magnified, or greatly enlarged; and have gotten —
Hebrew, והוספתי, have added, more wisdom — As I had a large stock of wisdom infused into me by God, so I have greatly improved it by conversation, study, and experience; than all they that were before me — Whether governors, priests, or private persons. This was no vain boast, but a known and confessed truth, and the profession of it was necessary to demonstrate his assertion; in Jerusalem — Which was then the most eminent place in the world for wisdom and knowledge. I gave my heart to know wisdom, &c. — That I might thoroughly understand the nature and difference of truth, and error, of virtue and vice. I perceived that this is vexation, &c. — Or, feeding upon wind, as the Hebrew רעיון רוח, may be properly rendered, and as a similar phrase is rendered by many, both ancient and modern translators, in Ecc 1:14, and by our translators, Hos 12:1.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain I am come ... - Rather, I have accumulated…
I am come ... - Rather, I have accumulated (literally “enlarged and added”) wisdom more than etc.
They that have been ... - The reference is probably to the line of Canaanite kings who lived in Jerusalem before David took it, such as Melchizedek Gen 14:18, Adonizedek Jos 10:1, and Araunah 2Sa 24:23; or, it may be, to Solomon’s contemporaries of his own country 1Ki 4:31 and of other countries who visited him 1Ki 4:34; 1Ki 10:24. for “in” Jerusalem render over.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain Learned. Solomon was blessed both with a natural genius,…
Learned. Solomon was blessed both with a natural genius, which he improved by study, and also he had the gift of supernatural wisdom. Yet he declares that all is vanity and pain.
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain communed with . . . heart-- (Gen 24:45).
communed with . . . heart-- (Gen 24:45).
come to great estate--Rather, "I have magnified and gotten" (literally, "added," increased), &c.
Read full note →
all . . . before me in Jerusalem--namely, the priests, judges, and two kings that preceded Solomon. His wisdom exceeded that of all before Jesus Christ, the antitypical Koheleth, or "Gatherer of men," (Luk 13:34), and "Wisdom" incarnate (Mat 11:19; Mat 12:42).
had . . . experience--literally, "had seen" (Jer 2:31). Contrast with this glorying in worldly wisdom (Jer 9:23-24).
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 16. After his first failure Koheleth computes his resources…
16. After his first failure Koheleth computes his resources for a new effort.
Communed — That is, “conversed.” The entire phrase, I am come to great estate, and have gotten more wisdom, is in Hebrew, I made great and increased in wisdom, that is, “I gained a very great amount of wisdom.” It has been remarked above that Koheleth refers here to a long succession of kings at Jerusalem, which the real Solomon could not have done. [Nothing, however, is said about kings. The all means all preceding thoughtful men, or sages.] 17. I gave… to know — Here is stated how this wisdom and knowledge had been gained. Hebrew, Indeed I had given my heart to know wisdom and knowledge, though this devotion to wisdom, etc., is a grasping at wind.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 16. Lo, I am come to great estate] The…
16. Lo, I am come to great estate] The pronoun is used emphatically. The verb in the Hebrew is connected closely with what follows and speaks not of outward majesty but of “becoming great,” in wisdom. So taken we may read, “I became great and increased in wisdom more than all.” We note again, as in Ecc_1:13, the kind of dialogue which the Debater holds with his inner consciousness. He “communes with his heart” (comp. Psa_4:4; Psa_77:6). So Marcus Aurelius gave to the book which we call his Meditations, the title τὰ εἰς ἑαυτόν—literally, “Things for myself” or “Self-communings.”
they that have been before me in Jerusalem] Better, “over Jerusalem.” Those who maintain the late origin of the book point to this apparent retrospect over a long series of predecessors as betraying, or possibly as intended to indicate, the pseudonymous authorship. The historical Solomon, it is said, had but one predecessor over Jerusalem. The inference is, however, scarcely conclusive. Even on the theory of personated authorship, the writer would scarcely have slipped into so glaring an anachronism, and the words admit of being referred, on either view, either to the line of unknown Jebusite rulers, including perhaps Melchizedek (Gen_14:18), Adonizedek (Jos_15:63; 2Sa_5:7) and others, or to the sages “Ethan the Ezrahite and Heman and Chalcol and Darda the sons of Mahol,” who are named in 1Ki_4:31, and who may, in some sense, as teachers and guides, have been “over” as well as “in” Jerusalem. Some MSS. indeed give the preposition “in” instead of “over.”
Read full note →
my heart had great experience] More literally, and at the same time more poetically, my heart hath seen much wisdom and knowledge. The two nouns are related, like the Greek σοφία and ἐπιστημὴ, the former expressing the ethical, the latter the speculative, scientific side of knowledge.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (16) Wisdom and knowledge.—Isa_30:6; Rom_11:33.
(16) Wisdom and knowledge.—Isa_30:6; Rom_11:33.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain Koheleth now arrives at his first conclusion, that wisdom…
Koheleth now arrives at his first conclusion, that wisdom is vanity. I communed with mine own heart. The expression suggests, as it were, an internal dialogue, as the Greek Venetian puts it, Dieilegmai ejgw xua mou (comp. Ecc_2:1, Ecc_2:15) Lo, I am come to great estate. If this be taken by itself, it makes Koheleth speak of his power and majesty first, and of his progress in wisdom afterwards; but it is best to connect it with what follows, and to confine the clause to one idea; thus: "I have obtained great and ever greater wisdom I have continually added to my stores of knowledge and experience. Than all they (above all) that have been before me in ( over) Jerusalem. Who are the rulers alluded to? Solomon himself was only the second of the Israelite kings who reigned there; of the Canaanite princes who may have made that their capital, we have no knowledge, nor is R likely that Solomon would compare himself with them. The Targum has altered the approved reading, and gives, "Above all the wise men that were in Jerusalem before me." The reading, "in instead of "over" Jerusalem," has indeed some manuscript authority, and is confirmed by the Septuagint, Vulgate, and Syriac, but it is evidently a correction of the text by critics who saw the difficulty of the authorized wording. Motais and others assert that the preposition in the Masoretic text, l(all, often means "in," as well as "over," when the reference is to an elevated spot; e.g. Isa_38:20; Hos_11:11. But even granting this, we are still uncertain who are the persons meant. Commentators point to Melchizedek, Adonizedek, and Araunah among rulers, and to Ethan, Heman, Chalcol, and Darda (1Ki_4:31) among sages. But we know nothing of the wisdom of the former, and there is no tangible reason why the latter should be designated "before me in Jerusalem." Doubtless the words point to a succession of kings who had reigned in Jerusalem, and the writer, involuntarily, perhaps, betrays his assumed character, in relying an excusable anachronism, while giving to the personated monarch a position which could not belong to the historical Solomon. Yea, my heart had great experience of (hath seen abundantly, kata Venetian) wisdom and knowledge, hberh used adverbially qualifies the word before it, "hath seen." The heart, as we have observed (ver. 13), is considered the seat of the intellectual life. In saying that the heart hath seen wisdom, the writer means that his mind has taken it in, apprehended and appropriated it (comp. Ecc_8:16 Job_4:8) Wisdom and knowledge; chokmah and daath; sofian kai gnwsin (Septuagint), the former regarding the ethical and practical side, the latter the speculative, which leads to the other. (comp. Isa_33:6; Rom_11:33)
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain I communed with mine own heart.
Ecc_1:16
I communed with mine own heart.
Read full note →
The wisdom, of self-communion
I communed with mine own heart. Solomon, by self-communion, by questioning his own consciousness, and by contemplating the facts of his career, guided by the Spirit of his God, evolved a theory of morals concerning the highest good for man. This royal genius, and genius royal, gives us a list of all his experiences undertaken in the search after What was that good for the sons of men which they should do. I communed with mine own heart. Yes, and he communicated the result of his self-communings for the benefit of mankind. Like all who approach him nearest in genius he was communicative and not secretive. A cunning man would have hidden his experiences as the hypocrite hides his sin; but this man was too wise to be cunning. Solomons self-communing was not of the sort of one of your hermit philosophers, who write about a world with which they have little consorted, and whose throbbing life-pulse they have seldom felt; who are busy dissecting the body of its dead past while the living present is dying before them. His self-communing was not the brooding pessimism and acrid egotism of the lonely, self-isolated cynic: his chair of study was the seat of judgment; his college, the thronged courts of royalty; his books, the men and women of his time. He was a philosopher who was a man of affairs and busy, not with theories and truisms alone, but with the political and social commerce of his epoch. He stood in the eye of the world, and the world lay open to his eye; and this man, who with largest outsight could look abroad upon the world, could also look with keenest insight upon the world within himself. These powers of prospection and introspection lifted him, and according to the degree in which we possess them, lift us out of the dust of mere animal existence: they are the motor of our wills responsibility. Self-introspection, self-communion, is as a mirror, wherein the ego beholds the reflection of itself, and plays the spy upon the secret movements of the soul; it is the keenest detector of furtive faults, and the severest monitor of sly sins. Commune with your own heart frequently, if you would learn to know your own self truly. Commune with your own heart, and you will learn the necessity of its closer communion with Sod, in order that you may gain from Him the wisdom and knowledge necessary to reform and renew its sad estate. Do you ever commune with your own hearts, saying, Lo, I am come to great estate in the kingdom of Jesus Christ;--lo, that kingdom which, if it be not, should be within you? Are you able to say, in the words of the text, Yea, my heart hath great experience of wisdom and knowledge--experience of Him who is the Wisdom of God and the First Fruits of knowledge? Have your hearts this experience, this knowledge? If you have, you shall obtain your allotted part in the freehold of a spiritual estate unencumbered by vanity and vexation of spirit, to which you are called to be heirs in the everlasting kingdom of Jesus Christ. (C. R. Panter, LL. D.)
My heart had great experience of wisdom and knowledge.--
The experience of wisdom and knowledge
In order to realize the goodness or badness of a thing, there is nothing like experience: not simply under favourable circumstances alone, but under unfavourable ones; not now and then, by mere fits and starts, but uniformly so. Now, we do not hesitate to affirm that the general experience of a careless and sinfully-disposed person is, on the whole, one of a most unsatisfactory character: for, while such an individual may appear to the eye of others free from all alarm of danger, and under the most pleasurable excitements, yet, as long as the conscience is not absolutely deadened, and there is any impressive idea of Gods existence and power, and an apprehension of a future retribution, the soul of such an individual cannot be otherwise than restless, and far from peaceful. On the other hand, the upright, honest, sincere, and trustful Christian, although struggling against his own corrupt tendencies, and daily striving to obtain a mastery over himself, experiences within his own heart the unspeakable satisfaction of knowing that he is on the path of duty and of safety. That path, we all know, is sometimes a troubled one: yet, withal, the Christian is more substantially and lastingly happy than the ungodly and reckless, be their outward circumstances ever so flourishing, and their aspect ever so imposing. And this fact is palpably and unmistakably so, when the test of experience is brought to the bar of death.
I. The experimental knowledge of the life which is temporal.
1. With respect to wisdom, the word has various meanings in Scripture. Thus it is put for prudence and discretion, which enables us to perceive what is fit to be done, at the right time, in the right place, and by the right person. The word wisdom is taken for the faculty of invention, skill, and ingenuity, as when God told Moses He had filled with wisdom, and understanding, and knowledge, Bezaleel and Aholiab; to invent several sorts of work for completing the tabernacle. Wisdom is used for craft or subtilty--as when Pharaoh said, Come on, let us deal wisely with the Israelites. It is also taken for doctrine, learning, and experience. There can be no doubt about the excellency of this wisdom, when judiciously, or rather legitimately employed. We do not blame the artisan for his skill, the man of science for his discoveries, the politician for his conscientious part in legislation, the tradesman for his forethought, industry and skill of management, and the housewife for her careful economy. No; but the evil of worldly wisdom is when it is exercised in the pursuit of worthless objects; when it schemes and plans for the mere gratification of some fleshly passion; when it wraps itself up in disguise, in order to lead astray the innocent, and to entrap wickedly the virtuous; when it plans only for time, without a due reference to eternity: when all its superstructures bear the character of earth, and have written upon their portals, Ichabod: their glory vain, perishable, and passing away.
2. And then, with respect to the knowledge of Solomon: he was well acquainted with the various principles, and passions, and objects, and pursuits, and tendencies of human nature. This royal king, gifted with a large and capacious intellect, well versed in the affairs of human life, as they apply to human character and station, raised to a throne in his day among the greatest seats of royal power, fed with every dainty the earth could produce, and constantly encircled with the charms of beauty, and all the enchanting glory of a rich and prosperous princedom, was nevertheless a stranger to the sweet peace of the humble-minded, of the Divinely trustful and obedient--a peace which sometimes passes by the couch of the palace, and rests softly and sweetly upon the hard pillow of the cottage.
II. Consider experience as it applies itself to the wisdom and knowledge of the Christian.
1. Here also is a knowledge which is experimental, that is to say, not a mere thing of hearsay or of theory, but something which is felt; realized as a daily matter-of-fact truth. It is not altogether a knowledge gathered from books, or from intercourse with man, but it is a Divinely communicated knowledge. It is a light from above, revealing new and striking aspects of God, as He stands related to us under the titles of Father, Saviour, Friend.
2. The experimental fact of Christian wisdom is very strikingly illustrated in the conduct of the five wise virgins waiting at midnight for the coming of the bridegroom; and it is practically exemplified in the daily life and character of the man who acts in strict accordance with the laws of God, and with the dictates of conscience. Wisdom, in this instance, is the very opposite of folly. It is not seen to build upon the sand of earthly trust, but upon the rock of Divine faith. It is not seen in the midst of widely built up barns, but in the calm of patience, and in the endurance of hope. (W. D. Horwood.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 I have spoken to my heart
I have spoken to my heart
Here the author refers to himself by his "heart" to emphasize his feelings. AT: "I have spoken to myself" (See: Synecdoche)
Read full note →
My mind has seen
Here the author refers to himself by his "mind" to emphasize what he has learned. AT: "I have gained" or "I have learned"
I applied my heart
Here the author refers to himself by his "heart" to emphasize his feelings. AT: "I determined" or "I applied myself" (See: Synecdoche)
madness and folly
The words "madness" and "folly" share similar meanings and refer to foolish thinking and behavior, respectively. (See: Doublet)
an attempt to shepherd the wind
The author says learning wisdom and madness and folly is as useless as trying to control the wind. See how you translated this in Ecclesiastes 1:14. AT: "as useless as trying to control the wind" (See: Metaphor)
translationWords
heart
Jerusalem
wise
know
fool
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.