Ecclesiastes 7:28 (GNV)

Passage

And I finde more bitter then death the woman whose heart is as nettes and snares, and her handes, as bands: he that is good before God, shalbe deliuered from her, but the sinner shall be taken by her.

Nearby Context

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,

Ecclesiastes 7:28 And I finde more bitter then death the woman whose heart is as nettes and snares, and her handes, as bands: he that is good before God, shalbe deliuered from her, but the sinner shall be taken by her.

Ecclesiastes 7:29 Beholde, sayth the Preacher, this haue I found, seeking one by one to finde the count: And yet my soule seeketh, but I finde it not: I haue found one man of a thousand: but a woman among them all haue I not founde. Onely loe, this haue I founde, that God hath made man righteous: but they haue sought many inuentions.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "finde", "bitter", "death", "woman", "whose", "heart", "nettes", and "snares". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "finde" and "bitter", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 27's "I haue compassed about both I and..." into verse 29's "Beholde sayth the Preacher this haue I...", so "finde" and "bitter" 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 "finde" and "bitter" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.