Ecclesiastes 7:28 kjv
Which yet my soul seeketh, but I find not: one man among a thousand have I found; but a woman among all those have I not found.
Ecclesiastes 7:28 nkjv
Which my soul still seeks but I cannot find: One man among a thousand I have found, But a woman among all these I have not found.
Ecclesiastes 7:28 niv
while I was still searching but not finding? I found one upright man among a thousand, but not one upright woman among them all.
Ecclesiastes 7:28 esv
which my soul has sought repeatedly, but I have not found. One man among a thousand I found, but a woman among all these I have not found.
Ecclesiastes 7:28 nlt
Though I have searched repeatedly, I have not found what I was looking for. Only one out of a thousand men is virtuous, but not one woman!
Ecclesiastes 7 28 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Gen 6:5 | "The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually." | Universal human depravity. |
| Gen 18:32 | "Then he said, “Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak yet this once. Suppose ten are found there.” He answered, “For the sake of ten I will not destroy it.”" | Rarity of the righteous, God seeking. |
| Ps 14:2-3 | "The Lord looks down from heaven on the children of man, to see if there are any who understand, who seek after God. They have all turned aside; together they have become corrupt; there is none who does good, not even one." | God's universal search, humanity's fallen state. |
| Prov 20:6 | "Many a man proclaims his own steadfast love, but who can find a trustworthy man?" | Difficulty finding reliable character. |
| Prov 31:10 | "An excellent wife who can find? She is far more precious than jewels." | High value but rarity of a virtuous woman (counterpoint). |
| Jer 5:1 | "Run to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem, look and take note! Search her squares! See if you can find a man, one who does justice and seeks truth, that I may pardon her." | Prophet searching for one righteous person. |
| Jer 17:9 | "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?" | Inherent human wickedness. |
| Ezek 22:30 | "And I sought for a man among them who should build up the wall and stand in the breach before me for the land, that I should not destroy it, but I found none." | God seeking, found no intercessor. |
| Mic 7:1-2 | "Woe is me! For I have become as when the summer fruit has been gathered, as when the grapes have been gleaned; there is no cluster to eat, no first-ripe fig that my soul desires. The godly has perished from the earth, and there is none upright among mankind." | Lament over absence of the upright. |
| Isa 59:15-16 | "Truth is lacking, and he who departs from evil makes himself a prey. The Lord saw it, and it displeased him that there was no justice. He saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no one to intercede." | Absence of justice and intercessors. |
| Rom 3:10-12 | "as it is written: 'None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.'" | Theological explanation of universal human sinfulness. |
| Eph 2:1-3 | "And you were dead in the trespasses and sins... and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind." | Spiritual state of fallen humanity. |
| Mt 7:13-14 | "Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many, For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few." | The path to true life/righteousness is found by few. |
| Lk 18:8 | "Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?" | Questioning the scarcity of faith. |
| Phil 2:20-21 | "For I have no one like him, who will be genuinely concerned for your welfare. For they all seek their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ." | Rarity of selfless dedication among associates. |
| Job 28:12-21 | "But where shall wisdom be found? And where is the place of understanding?...It is hidden from the eyes of all living and concealed from the birds of the air." | The deep elusiveness of true wisdom. |
| 1 Jn 5:19 | "We know that we are from God, and the whole world lies in the power of the evil one." | World's pervasive evil, contrast with God's children. |
| Ecc 7:26 | "And I found more bitter than death the woman whose heart is snares and nets, and whose hands are fetters; he who pleases God escapes her, but the sinner is caught by her." | Immediate context: bitterness regarding certain women. |
| Ecc 12:13 | "The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man." | The Teacher's ultimate conclusion for human purpose. |
| Jn 6:44 | "No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him." | Spiritual inability apart from divine drawing. |
| Is 64:6 | "We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment." | Humanity's self-righteousness is unacceptable to God. |
| Tit 1:15 | "To the pure, all things are pure, but to the defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure; but instead, both their minds and their consciences are defiled." | The defilement of unbelieving minds. |
Ecclesiastes 7 verses
Ecclesiastes 7 28 Meaning
Ecclesiastes 7:28 reveals Qoheleth's disheartening conclusion after his relentless intellectual quest to discern wisdom and folly, good and evil, among humanity. The verse signifies the extreme rarity of true wisdom or uprightness discovered in his experience: out of a vast number of people he examined, he found only one individual, specifically a man, who embodied this ideal, yet he found no such woman among them. It underscores the profound moral failure and depravity Qoheleth observed in his deep investigation of human nature and societal behavior, reflecting a jaded, pessimistic viewpoint "under the sun."
Ecclesiastes 7 28 Context
Ecclesiastes 7:28 is situated within Qoheleth's extensive personal investigation into the nature of wisdom, folly, wickedness, and righteousness (Ecc 7:23-29). Having asserted the unsearchable depth of true wisdom (Ecc 7:24), he explains his methodical effort to comprehend the 'reason of things,' even evil itself. His preceding verse, Ecc 7:26, specifically mentions a deeply negative encounter with a "woman whose heart is snares and nets," describing her as "more bitter than death," from whom "he who pleases God escapes." This provides a direct backdrop, implying his observation about women in Ecc 7:28 is colored by such experiences with seductive and dangerous women, rather than being a universal statement about female gender. Qoheleth's quest is an intellectual and experiential one "under the sun," aiming to find ultimate meaning or pure wisdom within human effort and observation, often leading to cynical and frustrating conclusions about life's perceived futility and human moral shortcomings.
Ecclesiastes 7 28 Word analysis
- which yet: From the Hebrew
עוֹד(od), meaning "still," "yet," or "again." It signifies the ongoing or persistent nature of his quest, highlighting that after much searching, this specific observation remained true. - my soul seeks: From
נַפְשִׁי בִּקְשָׁה(nafshi biqshah).Nefesh(soul) refers to the innermost being, the seat of desire, emotion, and will; it denotes a deep, personal, and intense search.Biqshah(sought/desired) indicates a determined, persistent inquiry or quest. Qoheleth's entire being was committed to this search for truth and understanding. - but I find not: From
וְלֹא מָצָאתִי(welo' matzati). A direct negation, indicating the objective failure of his persistent search to yield what he sought in the following statement. - one man: From
אָדָם אֶחָד(adam echad).Adamhere refers to a human being generally, often used to refer to a male, especially in contrast withishshah(woman) later in the verse.Echadmeans "one," emphasizing singular rarity. It's not a boast for masculinity, but a sober observation of extreme scarcity. - among a thousand: From
מֵאֶלֶף(me'elef), literally "from a thousand." This number is not literal but a hyperbolic expression for a vast multitude. It stresses the profound statistical anomaly or extreme rarity of finding even one upright or truly wise individual in such a large pool of people. - have I found: From
מָצָאתִי(matzati), meaning "I found." This directly contrasts with "I find not" earlier, showing that in one specific regard (finding a man), his search did yield a result, albeit an extremely rare one. - but a woman: From
וְאִשָּׁה(we'ishshah). Specifically denotes a female human. The immediate proximity to the previous phrase highlights the contrast in his empirical findings. - among all those: From
בְּכֹל אֵלֶּה(bekol 'elleh), meaning "among all these" or "among all of them." It refers to the entirety of the vast multitude (the "thousand" or similar numbers) that he had examined, encompassing both men and women. - have I not found: Again,
לֹא מָצָאתִי(lo' matzati), an absolute negation. It emphatically states that not even a single woman fitting his criteria of wisdom or uprightness was found during his extensive and intense search, making the scarcity even more pronounced than for men.
Words-group analysis:
- "which yet my soul seeks, but I find not": This opening phrase sets the tone of relentless, introspective pursuit leading to unfulfilled desires or difficult conclusions. It reflects Qoheleth's personal, exhaustive intellectual and experiential journey, characteristic of his inquiry into the meaning of life.
- "one man among a thousand have I found; but a woman among all those have I not found": This juxtaposed statement forms the crux of the verse. It is a profound declaration of the Teacher's empirical finding concerning human morality and wisdom. It highlights an extreme, startling disproportion, suggesting that finding true wisdom/uprightness (or people embodying it) is incredibly rare, almost nonexistent, especially for women in his specific observations. It should be understood within the context of Qoheleth's jaded perspective on fallen humanity and his negative experiences with certain types of women mentioned immediately before this verse (Ecc 7:26), rather than a definitive theological statement on gender. It speaks to the pervasiveness of folly and corruption in his perceived world.
Ecclesiastes 7 28 Bonus section
The observation in Ecclesiastes 7:28 reflects Qoheleth's empirical and often cynical assessment of human nature. It's vital to recognize that this statement is from his experience, within his "under the sun" philosophical framework, and not a definitive divine declaration about the inherent righteousness or lack thereof in specific genders. Biblical wisdom (e.g., Proverbs 31:10) celebrates the "excellent wife" and other passages affirm virtuous women. Qoheleth’s personal investigation here may be particularly skewed by his prior pursuit of pleasure and the wisdom that ultimately found them lacking, leading to a general frustration with widespread moral depravity. The scarcity described here aligns with broader biblical themes of human sinfulness and the difficulty of finding those who truly seek God's righteousness without divine intervention. It highlights how utterly corrupted human hearts can become (Jer 17:9, Rom 3:10-12), making true wisdom a precious and rare commodity indeed.
Ecclesiastes 7 28 Commentary
Ecclesiastes 7:28 expresses a deep lament over the moral state of humanity as observed by Qoheleth. Following his exhaustive quest for ultimate wisdom and understanding of the human condition, he concludes with striking despair. The "one man among a thousand" signifies the extreme rarity of genuine uprightness or wisdom found in his survey of society. This is not a praise of masculinity but an indictment of universal human fallenness, so pervasive that only a statistical anomaly could be considered truly wise or righteous. His failure to find any woman fitting this criterion is not necessarily a misogynistic statement but stems from his unique, and often pessimistic, "under the sun" perspective, potentially influenced by his bitter experience with a morally destructive woman described in the preceding verses. The verse fundamentally portrays Qoheleth's profound disillusionment with humanity's capacity for true goodness and understanding when left to its own devices, without an explicit grounding in divine wisdom, which is distinct from his quest for earthly wisdom.