Ecclesiastes Chapter 7 verse 23 Holy Bible
All this have I proved in wisdom: I said, I will be wise; but it was far from me.
read chapter 7 in ASV
All this I have put to the test by wisdom; I said, I will be wise, but it was far from me.
read chapter 7 in BBE
All this have I tried by wisdom: I said, I will be wise; but it was far from me.
read chapter 7 in DARBY
All this have I proved by wisdom: I said, I will be wise; but it was far from me.
read chapter 7 in KJV
read chapter 7 in WBT
All this have I proved in wisdom. I said, "I will be wise;" but it was far from me.
read chapter 7 in WEB
All this I have tried by wisdom; I have said, `I am wise,' and it `is' far from me.
read chapter 7 in YLT
Pulpit Commentary
Pulpit CommentaryVerses 23-29. - Section 4. Further in sight into essential wisdom was not obtain able; but Koheleth learned some other practical lessons, viz. that wickedness was folly and madness; that woman was the most evil thing in the world; that man had perverted his nature, which was made originally good. Verse 23. - All this have I proved by wisdom; i.e. wisdom was the means by which he arrived at the practical conclusions given above (vers. 1-22). Would wisdom solve deeper questions? And if so, could he ever hope to attain it? I said, I will be wise. This was his strong resolve. He desired to grow in wisdom, to use it in order to unfold mysteries and explain anomalies. Hitherto he had been content to watch the course of men's lives, and find by experience what was good and what was evil for them; now he craves for an insight into the secret laws that regulate those external circumstances: he wants a philosophy or theosophy. His desire is expressed by his imitator in the Book of Wisdom (9.), "O God of my fathers,... give me Wisdom, that sitteth by thy throne.... O send her out of thy holy heavens, and from the throne of thy glory, that being present she may labor with me." But it was far from me. It remained in the far distance, out of reach. Job's experience (28.) was his. Practical rules of life he might gain, and had mastered, but essential, absolute wisdom was beyond mortal grasp. Man's knowledge and capacity are limited.
Ellicott's Commentary
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers(23) The confession of failure to attain speculative knowledge gives energy to the preacher's next following enunciation of the practical lesson which he has learned from his experience.
