1:16 I thought to myself,
“I have become much wiser than any of my predecessors who ruled over Jerusalem;
I have acquired much wisdom and knowledge.”
2:17 So I loathed life because what
happens on earth seems awful to me;
for all the benefits of wisdom are futile – like chasing the wind.
7:23 I have examined all this by wisdom;
I said, “I am determined to comprehend this” – but it was beyond my grasp.
7:25 I tried to understand, examine, and comprehend
the role of wisdom in the scheme of things,
and to understand the stupidity of wickedness and the insanity of folly.
8:1 Who is a wise person? Who knows the solution to a problem?
A person’s wisdom brightens his appearance, and softens his harsh countenance.
8:16 When I tried to gain wisdom
and to observe the activity on earth –
even though it prevents anyone from sleeping day or night –
9:15 However, a poor but wise man lived in the city,
and he could have delivered the city by his wisdom,
but no one listened to that poor man.
10:1 One dead fly makes the perfumer’s ointment give off a rancid stench,
so a little folly can outweigh much wisdom.