Ecclesiastes 7:13

Consider the work of God: for who can make that straight, which he hath made crooked?

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Word by word — the Hebrew

Word	Hebrew	Strong’s	Meaning
Consider	רְאֵ֖ה re.'Eh	H7200	to see · verb, qal imperative, 2nd person masculine singular
work	מַעֲשֵׂ֣ה ma.'a.Seh	H4639	an action (good or bad) · noun, common masculine singular construct
God	הָאֱלֹהִ֑ים ha.'E.lo.Him	H430	gods in the ordinary sense · definite article + noun, common masculine plural absolute
can	יוּכַל֙ yu.Khal	H3201	to be able · verb, qal imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
straight	לְתַקֵּ֔ן le.ta.Ken	H8626	to equalize · preposition + verb, piel infinitive construct
crooked	עִוְּתֽוֹ i.ve.To	H5791	to wrest · verb, piel perfect, 3rd person masculine singular + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Cross-references

Ecclesiastes 1:15 That which is crooked cannot be made straight: and that which is wanting cannot be numbered.
Job 12:14 Behold, he breaketh down, and it cannot be built again: he shutteth up a man, and there can be no opening.
Psalms 107:43 Whoso is wise, and will observe these things, even they shall understand the lovingkindness of the LORD.
Ecclesiastes 3:11 He hath made every thing beautiful in his time: also he hath set the world in their heart, so that no man can find out the work that God mak…
Isaiah 5:12 And the harp, and the viol, the tabret, and pipe, and wine, are in their feasts: but they regard not the work of the LORD, neither consider…
Isaiah 14:27 For the LORD of hosts hath purposed, and who shall disannul it? and his hand is stretched out, and who shall turn it back?
Romans 9:15 For he saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.
Ephesians 1:11 In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel o…

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Ecclesiastes 7:11-22

Solomon, in these verses, recommends wisdom to us as the best antidote against those distempers of mind which we are liable to, by reason of the vanity and vexation of spirit that there are in the things of this world. Here are some of the praises and the precepts of wisdom. I. The praises of wisdom. Many things are here said in its commendation, to engage us to get and retain wisdom. 1. Wisdom is necessary to the right managing and improving of our worldly possessions: Wisdom is good with an inheritance, that is, an inheritance is good for little without wisdom. Though a man have a great estate, though it come easily to him, by descent from his ancestors, if he have not wisdom to use it for…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Ecclesiastes 7:13

Consider as to God's work, that it is impossible to alter His dispensations; for who can, &c. straight . . . crooked--Man cannot amend what God wills to be "wanting" and "adverse" (Ecc 1:15; Job 12:14).

John Gill on Ecclesiastes 7:13

Consider the work of God,.... This is dressed to those who thought the former days better than the present, and were ready to quarrel with the providence of God, Ecclesiastes 7:10; and are therefore advised to consider the work of God; not the work of creation, but of providence; which is the effect of divine sovereignty, and is conducted and directed according to the counsel of his will, and is always wisely done to answer the best ends and purposes: everything is beautiful in its season; contemplate, adore, and admire the wisdom, power, and goodness of God, displayed therein; it is such as cannot be made better, nor otherwise than it is; for who can make that straight which he hath made c…

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Keil & Delitzsch on Ecclesiastes 7:13-14

There now follows a proverb of devout submission to the providence of God, connecting itself with the contents of Ecc 7:10 : "Consider the work of God: for who can make that straight which He hath made crooked! In the good day be of good cheer, and in the day of misfortune observe: God hath also made this equal to that, to the end that man need not experience anything (further) after his death." While ראה, Ecc 1:10; Ecc 7:27, Ecc 7:29, is not different from הנּה, and in Ecc 9:9 has the meaning of "enjoy," here the meaning of contemplative observation, mental seeing, connects itself both times with it. כּי before מי can as little mean quod, as asher, Ecc 6:12, before mi can mean quoniam. "Con…

The Church Fathers

God does not make crooked by causing destruction but by showing that someone is crooked.… It is written, "Those who turn to crooked ways, the Lord will lead away together with those who have committed injustice." It is not God himself who leads them away against their will together with those who have committed injustice, but he has shown that those who turn from the way after their own moral decision are such people.
— Didymus the Blind, COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES 212:12

Even among the Greeks there were many opponents to those who claimed that the cosmos came into being by itself.… Since providence of necessity is concerned with the details and God is providence, his providence concerns the cosmos that he himself has created. Now admit even something else: God watches over the cosmos that he himself has created out of providence, so that it might go well.… God knows the reasons for everything that came into being, and he knows why they are hidden.… In no way do you have sufficient knowledge of God's creations, if you take offence at them, because you are not reasonable. Watch God's creatures! What for others is a reason for offence will be for you knowledge of the Creator and of the created.
— Didymus the Blind, COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES 209:26

The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).

Dictionary and topics

Impenitence · 2:4,5;3:1-11,19,26;12:2;20:8,13,21;33:4,5,9; — 2:4,5;3:1-11,19,26;12:2;20:8,13,21;33:4,5,9;

Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).

Ecclesiastes 7:13

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Ecclesiastes 7:11-22

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Ecclesiastes 7:13

John Gill on Ecclesiastes 7:13

Keil & Delitzsch on Ecclesiastes 7:13-14

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Ecclesiastes 7:13

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Ecclesiastes 7:11-22

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Ecclesiastes 7:13

John Gill on Ecclesiastes 7:13

Keil & Delitzsch on Ecclesiastes 7:13-14

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Tyndale Open Study Notes on Ecclesiastes 7:13

Rashi on Ecclesiastes 7:13