Ecclesiastes 7:28

While my soul was still searching but not finding, among a thousand I have found one upright man, but among all these I have not found one such woman.

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — The Teacher addresses his readers while compiling observations to explain the nature of human virtue and vice. He speaks from a position of exhaustive inquiry into human relationships and moral character.

The words — נַפְשִׁי (naf.Sh/i) translates to my self or soul, and מָצָאתִי (ma.Tza.ti) means I have found. These terms anchor the speaker’s personal investigation into the scarcity of upright individuals.

The thread — The motif of searching for a reliable figure recurs in Job 33:23, while the lament over the disappearance of the faithful appears in Psalm 12:1. The narrative context of Solomon’s marital alliances is documented in 1 Kings 11:1.

Why it lands — The text states that exhaustive human searching yields few upright men and none comparable among women, directly preceding the declaration that God created humanity upright while people devise many schemes. Readers must acknowledge the limits of human reliability and ground their expectations in the stated origin of human nature rather than in interpersonal perfection.

Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.

The Hebrew words

אֲשֶׁ֛ר'a.Sherwhich עוֹד־'od-again בִּקְשָׁ֥הbik.Shahit has sought נַפְשִׁ֖יnaf.Sh/iself/ my וְלֹ֣אve./Lo'and/ not מָצָ֑אתִיma.Tza.tiI have found אָדָ֞ם'a.Dama man אֶחָ֤ד'e.Chadone מֵאֶ֙לֶף֙me./'E.lefof/ a thousand מָצָ֔אתִיma.Tza.tiI have found וְאִשָּׁ֥הve./'i.Shahand/ a woman בְכָל־ve./khol-among/ all אֵ֖לֶּה'E.lehthese לֹ֥אlo'not מָצָֽאתִי׃ma.Tza.tiI have found

King James Version

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.

Cross-references

Job 33:23 Yet if there is a messenger on his side, one mediator in a thousand, to tell a man what is right for him,
Psalms 12:1 For the choirmaster. According to Sheminith. A Psalm of David. Help, O LORD, for the godly are no more; the faithful have vanished from among men.
1 Kings 11:1 King Solomon, however, loved many foreign women along with the daughter of Pharaoh—women of Moab, Ammon, Edom, and Sidon, as well as Hittite women.
Ecclesiastes 7:23 All this I tested by wisdom, saying, “I resolve to be wise.” But it was beyond me.
Isaiah 26:9 My soul longs for You in the night; indeed, my spirit seeks You at dawn. For when Your judgments come upon the earth, the people of the world learn righteousness.