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Ecclesiastes 1:15

Discouragement and depressionWisdom

13 And I set my mind to seek and explore by wisdom all that is done under heaven. What a heavy burden God has laid upon the sons of men to occupy them!

14 I have seen all the things that are done under the sun, and have found them all to be futile, a pursuit of the wind.

What is crooked cannot be straightened, and what is lacking cannot be counted.

16 I said to myself, “Behold, I have grown and increased in wisdom beyond all those before me who were over Jerusalem, and my mind has observed a wealth of wisdom and knowledge.”

17 So I set my mind to know wisdom and madness and folly; I learned that this, too, is a pursuit of the wind.

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Do read the surrounding verses too, because the context often says more than a single verse.

Compare

BSB
What is crooked cannot be straightened, and what is lacking cannot be counted.
KJV
That which is crooked cannot be made straight: and that which is wanting cannot be numbered.
WEB
That which is crooked can’t be made straight; and that which is lacking can’t be counted.
ASV
That which is crooked cannot be made straight; and that which is wanting cannot be numbered.
DARBY
That which is crooked cannot be made straight; and that which is wanting cannot be numbered.
BLB
What is crooked is not able to be straightened, and what is lacking is not able to be counted.
ÅB
Det som er kroket, kan ikke bli rett, og det som mangler, kan ingen regne med.
OTB
Det som er kroket kan ikke gjøres rett; det som mangler kan ikke telles.
B1930
Det som er kroket, kan ikke bli rett, og det som mangler, kan ingen regne med.

Study notes (Tyndale)

Original text and word study

Cross references

  • Ecclesiastes 7:12–13

    For wisdom, like money, is a shelter, and the advantage of knowledge is that wisdom preserves the life of its owner.

    Read in context

  • Matthew 6:27

    Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?

    Read in context

  • Ecclesiastes 3:14

    I know that everything God does endures forever; nothing can be added to it or taken from it. God does it so that they should fear Him.

    Read in context

  • Isaiah 40:4

    Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill made low; the uneven ground will become smooth, and the rugged land a plain.

    Read in context

  • Lamentations 3:37

    Who has spoken and it came to pass, unless the Lord has ordained it?

    Read in context

  • Job 34:29

    But when He remains silent, who can condemn Him? When He hides His face, who can see Him? Yet He watches over both man and nation,

    Read in context

  • Job 11:6

    and disclose to you the secrets of wisdom, for true wisdom has two sides. Know then that God exacts from you less than your iniquity deserves.

    Read in context

  • Daniel 4:35

    All the peoples of the earth are counted as nothing, and He does as He pleases with the army of heaven and the peoples of the earth. There is no one who can restrain His hand or say to Him, ‘What have You done?’”

    Read in context