Ecclesiastes 7:25 (GNV)

Passage

All this haue I prooued by wisedome: I thought I will be wise, but it went farre from me.

Nearby Context

Ecclesiastes 7:23 Giue not thine heart also to all ye wordes that men speake, lest thou doe heare thy seruant cursing thee.

Ecclesiastes 7:24 For often times also thine heart knoweth that thou likewise hast cursed others.

Ecclesiastes 7:25 All this haue I prooued by wisedome: I thought I will be wise, but it went farre from me.

Ecclesiastes 7:26 It is farre off, what may it be? and it is a profound deepenesse, who can finde it?

Ecclesiastes 7:27 I haue compassed about, both I and mine heart to knowe and to enquire and to search wisedome, and reason, and to knowe the wickednesse of follie, and the foolishnesse of madnesse,

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "haue", "prooued", "wisedome", "thought", "went", and "farre". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "haue" and "prooued", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 24's "For often times also thine heart knoweth..." into verse 26's "It is farre off what may it...", so "haue" and "prooued" 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 "haue" and "prooued" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.