Ecclesiastes 1:17-18 NIV

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Ecclesiastes 1:12-18

Solomon, having asserted in general that all is vanity, and having given some general proofs of it, now takes the most effectual method to evince the truth of it, 1. By his own experience; he tried them all, and found them vanity. 2. By an induction of particulars; and here he begins with that which bids fairest of all to be the happiness of a reasonable creature, and that is knowledge and learning; if this be vanity, every thing else must needs be so. Now as to this, I. Solomon tells us here... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Ecclesiastes 1:17

And I gave my heart to know wisdom ,.... Which is repeated, for the confirmation of it, from Ecclesiastes 1:13 , and that it might be taken notice of how assiduous and diligent he had been in acquiring it; a circumstance not to be overlooked; and to know madness and folly : that he might the better know wisdom, and learn the difference between the one and the other, since opposites illustrate each other; and that he might shun madness and folly, and the ways thereof, and expose the... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Ecclesiastes 1:18

For in much wisdom is much grief ,.... In getting it, and losing it when it is gotten: or "indignation" F20 רב כעס "multa ira", Pagninus, Montanus; "indignatio", V. L. Tigurine version, Vatablus, Drusius; "multum indignationis", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator. , at himself and others; being more sensible of the follies and weakness of human nature; and he that increaseth knowledge increaseth sorrow : for, the more he knows, the more he would know, and is more eager after... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Ecclesiastes 1:17

To know madness and folly - ושכלות הוללות holloth vesichluth . Παραβολας και επιστημην , "Parables and science." - Septuagint. So the Syriac; nearly so the Arabic. "What were error and foolishness." - Coverdale. Perhaps gayety and sobriety may be the better meaning for these two difficult words. I can scarcely think they are taken in that bad sense in which our translation exhibits them. "I tried pleasure in all its forms; and sobriety and self-abnegation to their utmost extent."... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Ecclesiastes 1:18

For in much wisdom is much grief - The more we know of ourselves the less satisfied shall we be with our own hearts; and the more we know of mankind the less willing shall we be to trust them, and the less shall we admire them. Be that increaseth knowledge increaseth sorrow - And why so? Because, independently of God, the principal objects of knowledge are natural and moral evils. The Targum gives a curious paraphrase here: "The man who multiplies wisdom, when he sins and is not... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Ecclesiastes 1:12-18

Section 1. Vanity of striving for wisdom and knowledge. Esther 1:12 I the Preacher was king over Israel in Jerusalem . Koheleth relates his own experience as king, in accordance with his assumption of the person of Solomon. The use of the past tense in this verse is regarded by many as strong evidence against the Solomonic authorship of the book. "I have been king" (not "I have become king," as Gratz would translate) is a statement introducing the supposed speaker, not as a reigning... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Ecclesiastes 1:17

And I gave my heart . He reiterates the expression in order to emphasize his earnestness and energy in the pursuit of wisdom. And knowing, as St. Jerome says, that "contrariis contraria inteiliguntur," he studies the opposite of wisdom, and learns the truth by contrasting it with error. And to know madness and folly ( Ecclesiastes 2:12 ). The former word, holeloth (intensive plural), by its etymology points to a confusion of thought, i . e . an unwisdom which deranges all ideas... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Ecclesiastes 1:18

For in much wisdom is much grief. The more one knows of men's lives, the deeper insight one obtains of their actions and circumstances, the greater is the cause of grief at the incomplete and unsatisfactory nature of all human affairs. He that increaseth knowledge increaseth sorrow; not in others, but in himself. With added experience and more minute examination, the wise man becomes more conscious of his own ignorance and impotence, of the unsympathizing and uncontrollable course of... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Ecclesiastes 1:17

To know madness and folly - A knowledge of folly would help him to discern wisdom, and to exercise that chief function of practical wisdom - to avoid folly. read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Ecclesiastes 1:18

We become more sensible of our ignorance and impotence, and therefore sorrowful, in proportion as we discover more of the constitution of nature and the scheme of Providence in the government of the world; every discovery serving to convince us that more remains concealed of which we had no suspicion before. read more

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Ecclesiastes 1:12-18

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Ecclesiastes 1:17

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Ecclesiastes 1:18

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Ecclesiastes 1:17

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Ecclesiastes 1:18

The Pulpit Commentary - Ecclesiastes 1:12-18

The Pulpit Commentary - Ecclesiastes 1:17

The Pulpit Commentary - Ecclesiastes 1:18

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Ecclesiastes 1:17

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Ecclesiastes 1:18

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