Ecclesiastes
Ecclesiastes 7:25–26
25I directed my mind to understand, to explore, to search out wisdom and explanations, and to understand the stupidity of wickedness and the folly of madness. 26And I find more bitter than death the woman who is a snare, whose heart is a net, and whose hands are chains. The man who pleases God escapes her, but the sinner is ensnared.
Word by word
Each English word or phrase beside the Hebrew it translates, in the order of the English. Choose a number to open that word’s study.
Ecclesiastes 7:25
| English | Hebrew | Sounds like | Grammar | Word study |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| I | אֲנִ֤י | ’ă·nî | Pronoun - first person common singular | H589 I |
| directed | סַבּ֨וֹתִֽי | sab·bō·w·ṯî | Verb - Qal - Perfect - first person common singular | H5437 turn about, go around, surround |
| my mind | וְלִבִּי֙ | wə·lib·bî | Conjunctive waw; Noun - masculine singular construct; first person common singular | H3820 inner man, mind, will, heart |
| to understand | לָדַ֣עַת | lā·ḏa·‘aṯ | Preposition-l; Verb - Qal - Infinitive construct | H3045 know |
| to explore | וְלָת֔וּר | wə·lā·ṯūr | Conjunctive waw, Preposition-l; Verb - Qal - Infinitive construct | H8446 seek out, spy out, explore |
| to search out | וּבַקֵּ֥שׁ | ū·ḇaq·qêš | Conjunctive waw; Verb - Piel - Infinitive construct | H1245 seek |
| wisdom | חָכְמָ֖ה | ḥāḵ·māh | Noun - feminine singular | H2451 wisdom |
| and explanations | וְחֶשְׁבּ֑וֹן | wə·ḥeš·bō·wn | Conjunctive waw; Noun - masculine singular | H2808 reckoning, account |
| and to understand | וְלָדַ֙עַת֙ | wə·lā·ḏa·‘aṯ | Conjunctive waw, Preposition-l; Verb - Qal - Infinitive construct | H3045 know |
| the stupidity | כֶּ֔סֶל | ke·sel | Noun - masculine singular | H3689 loins |
| of wickedness | רֶ֣שַׁע | re·ša‘ | Noun - masculine singular | H7562 wickedness |
| and the folly | וְהַסִּכְל֖וּת | wə·has·siḵ·lūṯ | Conjunctive waw, Article; Noun - feminine singular | H5531 folly |
| of madness | הוֹלֵלֽוֹת׃ | hō·w·lê·lō·wṯ | Noun - feminine plural | H1947 madness |
Ecclesiastes 7:26
| English | Hebrew | Sounds like | Grammar | Word study |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| And I | אֲנִ֜י | ’ă·nî | Pronoun - first person common singular | H589 I |
| find | וּמוֹצֶ֨א | ū·mō·w·ṣe | Conjunctive waw; Verb - Qal - Participle - masculine singular | H4672 attain to, find |
| more bitter | מַ֣ר | mar | Adjective - masculine singular | H4751 bitter, bitterness |
| than death | מִמָּ֗וֶת | mim·mā·weṯ | Preposition-m; Noun - masculine singular | H4194 death |
| the woman | הָֽאִשָּׁה֙ | hā·’iš·šāh | Article; Noun - feminine singular | H802 woman, wife, female |
| who | אֲשֶׁר־ | ’ă·šer- | Pronoun - relative | H834 particle of relation |
| a snare | מְצוֹדִ֧ים | mə·ṣō·w·ḏîm | Noun - masculine plural | H4685 siege-works |
| whose heart | לִבָּ֖הּ | lib·bāh | Noun - masculine singular construct; third person feminine singular | H3820 inner man, mind, will, heart |
| a net | וַחֲרָמִ֛ים | wa·ḥă·rā·mîm | Conjunctive waw; Noun - masculine plural | H2764 devoted thing |
| and whose hands | יָדֶ֑יהָ | yā·ḏe·hā | Noun - feminine dual construct; third person feminine singular | H3027 hand |
| chains | אֲסוּרִ֣ים | ’ă·sū·rîm | Noun - masculine plural | H612 tie, bind, imprison |
| The man who pleases | ט֞וֹב | ṭō·wḇ | Adjective - masculine singular | H2896 pleasant, agreeable, good |
| God | הָאֱלֹהִים֙ | hā·’ĕ·lō·hîm | Article; Noun - masculine plural | H430 God |
| escapes | יִמָּלֵ֣ט | yim·mā·lêṭ | Verb - Nifal - Imperfect - third person masculine singular | H4422 slip away |
| her | מִמֶּ֔נָּה | mim·men·nāh | Preposition; third person feminine singular | H4480 out of, from, on account of, off, on the side of, since, above, than, so that not |
| but the sinner | וְחוֹטֵ֖א | wə·ḥō·w·ṭê | Conjunctive waw; Verb - Qal - Participle - masculine singular | H2398 miss |
| is ensnared | יִלָּ֥כֶד | yil·lā·ḵeḏ | Verb - Nifal - Imperfect - third person masculine singular | H3920 capture, seize, take (by lot) |
Cross-references
Other passages that speak to the same thing. Point at one to read it.
Ecclesiastes 7:25 Ecclesiastes 10:13 · Joshua 7:13
Ecclesiastes 7:26 Proverbs 22:14 · Proverbs 5:3–5 · Proverbs 2:16 · Proverbs 2:18–19 · Ecclesiastes 2:26 · Proverbs 23:27–28 · Proverbs 7:21–27 · Judges 16:18–21 · Proverbs 9:18
Cross-references from OpenBible.info, used under CC BY 4.0. The best-supported references for each verse are shown.
Scripture text: Berean Standard Bible.