Ecclesiastes 7:24 (DBY)

Passage

Whatever hath been, is far off, and exceeding deep: who will find it out?

Nearby Context

Ecclesiastes 7:22 For also thine own heart knoweth that oftentimes thou thyself likewise hast cursed others.

Ecclesiastes 7:23 All this have I tried by wisdom: I said, I will be wise; but it was far from me.

Ecclesiastes 7:24 Whatever hath been, is far off, and exceeding deep: who will find it out?

Ecclesiastes 7:25 I turned, I and my heart, to know, and to search, and to seek out wisdom and reason, and to know wickedness to be folly, and foolishness to be madness;

Ecclesiastes 7:26 and I found more bitter than death the woman whose heart is nets and snares, [and] whose hands are bands: whoso pleaseth God shall escape from her; but the sinner shall be caught by her.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "whatever", "hath", "been", "exceeding", "deep", and "find". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "whatever" and "hath", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 23's "All this have I tried by wisdom..." into verse 25's "I turned I and my heart to...", so "whatever" and "hath" belong inside that flow. In Ecclesiastes context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "whatever" and "hath" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.