25 (A)I turned my heart to know and to search out and to seek wisdom and the scheme of things, and to know the wickedness of folly and the foolishness that is madness. 26 And I find something more (B)bitter than death: (C)the woman whose heart is (D)snares and nets, and whose hands are fetters. He who pleases God escapes her, but (E)the sinner is taken by her. 27 Behold, this is what I found, says (F)the Preacher, while adding one thing to another to find the scheme of things— 28 which my soul has sought repeatedly, but I have not found. (G)One man among a thousand I found, but (H)a woman among all these I have not found. 29 See, this alone I found, that (I)God made man upright, but (J)they have sought out many schemes.

Read full chapter

25 So I turned my mind to understand,
    to investigate and to search out wisdom and the scheme of things(A)
and to understand the stupidity of wickedness
    and the madness of folly.(B)

26 I find more bitter than death
    the woman who is a snare,(C)
whose heart is a trap
    and whose hands are chains.
The man who pleases God will escape her,
    but the sinner she will ensnare.(D)

27 “Look,” says the Teacher,[a](E) “this is what I have discovered:

“Adding one thing to another to discover the scheme of things—
28     while I was still searching
    but not finding—
I found one upright man among a thousand,
    but not one upright woman(F) among them all.
29 This only have I found:
    God created mankind upright,
    but they have gone in search of many schemes.”

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. Ecclesiastes 7:27 Or the leader of the assembly