Ecclesiastes 1:16 New English Translation
Futility of Secular Wisdom
16 I thought to myself,[a]
“I have become much wiser[b] than any of my predecessors who ruled[c] over Jerusalem;
I[d] have acquired much wisdom and knowledge.”[e]
Footnotes
- Ecclesiastes 1:16 tn Heb “I spoke, I, with my heart.”
- Ecclesiastes 1:16 tn Heb “I, look, I have made great and increased wisdom.” The expression הִגְדַּלְתִּי וְהוֹסַפְתִּי (higdalti vehosafti) is a verbal hendiadys; it means that Qoheleth had become the wisest man in the history of Jerusalem.
- Ecclesiastes 1:16 tn The phrase “who ruled” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity.
- Ecclesiastes 1:16 tn Heb “my heart” (לִבִּי, libbi). The term “heart” is a metonymy of part for the whole (“my heart” = myself).
- Ecclesiastes 1:16 tn Heb “My heart has seen much wisdom and knowledge.”
New English Translation (NET)
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