²⁷Behold, this have I found, ^zsaith the preacher, ^||counting one by one, to find out the account: ²⁸Which yet my soul seeketh, but I find not: ^a^bone man among a thousand have I found; but a woman ^camong all those have I not found.

Read in Logos

Footnotes

zSee ch. 1:1.
||Or, weighing one thing after another, to find out the u reason.
aComp. ver. 20.
cComp. 1 Kin. 11:3. Ecclus. 47:20. See ver. 25.

Cross references

b Job 33:23.

Public Domain

In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

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.

NIVNew International Version (2011)

“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.

CSBChristian Standard Bible

“Look,” says the Teacher, “I have discovered this by adding one thing to another to find out the explanation, which my soul continually searches for but does not find: I found one person in a thousand, but none of those was a woman.

NLTNew Living Translation

“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!

LEBThe Lexham English Bible

“Look! I found this,” said the Teacher, “while trying to find how the plan fits together. What my heart sought, I did not find. Although I found one righteous man among one thousand, I did not find one upright woman among all these.