Ecclesiastes 1:12-18 - Qohelet Introduces His Quest
12 I, the Preacher, have been king over Israel in Jerusalem. 13 And I set my mind to seek and explore by [man’s]
15 What is crooked cannot be straightened and what is defective and lacking cannot be counted.
16 I spoke with my heart, saying, “Behold, I have acquired great [human] wisdom and experience, more than all who were over Jerusalem before me; and my mind has observed a wealth of [moral] wisdom and [scientific] knowledge.” 17 And I set my mind to know [practical] wisdom and to discern [the character of] madness and folly [in which men seem to find satisfaction]; I realized that this too is a futile grasping and chasing after the wind.
18 For in much [human] wisdom there is much displeasure and exasperation; increasing knowledge increases sorrow.