Ecclesiastes 7:27-29
Ecclesiastes 7:26-29 The Message (MSG)
One discovery: A woman can be a bitter pill to swallow, full of seductive scheming and grasping. The lucky escape her; the undiscerning get caught. At least this is my experience—what I, the Quester, have pieced together as I’ve tried to make sense of life. But the wisdom I’ve looked for I haven’t found. I didn’t find one man or woman in a thousand worth my while. Yet I did spot one ray of light in this murk: God made men and women true and upright; we’re the ones who’ve made a mess of things.
Ecclesiastes 7:27-29 King James Version (KJV)
Behold, this have I found, saith the Preacher, counting one by one, to find out the account: 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. Lo, this only have I found, that God hath made man upright; but they have sought out many inventions.
Ecclesiastes 7:27-29 New American Standard Bible - NASB 1995 (NASB1995)
“Behold, I have discovered this,” says the Preacher, “adding one thing to another to find an explanation, which I am still seeking but have not found. I have found one man among a thousand, but I have not found a woman among all these. Behold, I have found only this, that God made men upright, but they have sought out many devices.”
Ecclesiastes 7:27-29 New Century Version (NCV)
The Teacher says, “This is what I learned: I added all these things together to find some meaning for everything. While I was searching, I did not find one man among the thousands I found. Nor did I find a woman among all these. One thing I have learned: God made people good, but they have found all kinds of ways to be bad.”
Ecclesiastes 7:27-29 American Standard Version (ASV)
Behold, this have I found, saith the Preacher, laying one thing to another, to find out the account; which my soul still seeketh, but I have not found: one man among a thousand have I found; but a woman among all those have I not found. Behold, this only have I found: that God made man upright; but they have sought out many inventions.
Ecclesiastes 7:27-29 New International Version (NIV)
“Look,” says the Teacher, “this is what I have discovered: “Adding one thing to another to discover the scheme of things— while I was still searching but not finding— I found one upright man among a thousand, but not one upright woman among them all. This only have I found: God created mankind upright, but they have gone in search of many schemes.”
Ecclesiastes 7:27-29 New King James Version (NKJV)
Here is what I have found,” says the Preacher, “Adding one thing to the other to find out the reason, 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. Truly, this only I have found: That God made man upright, But they have sought out many schemes.”
Ecclesiastes 7:27-29 Amplified Bible (AMP)
“Behold, I have discovered this,” says the Preacher, “while adding one thing to another to find an explanation, which I am still seeking but have not found. I have found one man among a thousand [who pleases God], but I have not found [such] a woman among all these [a thousand in my harem]. [1 Kin 11:3] Behold, I have found only this [as a reason]: God made man upright and uncorrupted, but they [both men and women] have sought out many devices [for evil].”
Ecclesiastes 7:27-29 New Living Translation (NLT)
“This is my conclusion,” says the Teacher. “I discovered this after looking at the matter from every possible angle. 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! But I did find this: God created people to be virtuous, but they have each turned to follow their own downward path.”
Ecclesiastes 7:27-29 English Standard Version 2016 (ESV)
Behold, this is what I found, says the Preacher, while adding one thing to another to find the scheme of things— 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. See, this alone I found, that God made man upright, but they have sought out many schemes.