Verses 16-18 form another short section. Qoheleth adds further statements about how wise and knowledgeable he became (verses 16-17a), and then concludes (verse 17b) that his research was fruitless; it was like trying to tell the wind where to blow (as in verse 14b). To support this conclusion he cites another proverb (verse 18), following the pattern in verses 13-15 above.

Verse 16 falls into two parts, both expressing Qoheleth’s vast store of wisdom.

I said to myself: when Qoheleth tells about his reflections on any matter, he often uses this phrase (see 2.1; 3.17, 18). The Hebrew says literally “I said in my heart.” The Hebrew idiom has a parallel in many languages; “I said in my liver,” for example. Others will prefer a verb of thinking or knowing, like “I thought to myself.”

The quote that follows opens with the hinneh particle (see comments in verse 14 above). Good News Translation, Revised Standard Version, Jerusalem Bible are typical of those translations that omit it in this case, but New Jerusalem Bible renders it “Here I….” In English it is possible to say “Look” or “Well now,” as when people reason with themselves.

Qoheleth recognized that he had been very successful, but we must wait until 2.4-11 before he gives us information about the ways he was successful. In verse 16 we simply have a summary of his life’s work. He describes his achievement by saying I have acquired great wisdom. In Hebrew two verbs are linked together here, “I became great” and “I increased [in wisdom].” Where a language permits serial constructions (two verbs within the same clause), the two verbs may be retained. Other languages will prefer one verb with adverbial or adjectival modifiers: “I increased greatly in wisdom,” “I became much wiser,” or “I acquired great wisdom.” We may even find it more natural to say “My wisdom increased greatly,” bringing the noun to the head of the clause. Good News Translation “I became a great man, far wiser than…” offers an alternative form with the same meaning.

Surpassing all who were over Jerusalem before me: Qoheleth claims that his wisdom was superior to that of all past kings of Jerusalem. All is used here in the collective and personal sense of “every person.” It is the addition of the phrase “over Jerusalem” that gives us the clue that these people were kings, and Good News Translation makes this clear. The full expression can be rendered then as “all previous kings in Jerusalem.”

And my mind has had great experience of wisdom and knowledge: Qoheleth uses the word “heart” where in English the word mind would be used to describe that part of the body where thinking takes place. Translators should use the appropriate body part (mind, insides, bile, liver) for a natural rendering. “My heart saw” is Qoheleth’s way of saying that he gained some insight. There is an emphasis in this part of the verse on Qoheleth’s intellectual achievement, so the verb “saw” means that he had a deep insight into things.

Qoheleth has used the word wisdom already (1.13), but here he joins it to the word knowledge. “Wisdom” is different from “knowledge” because “wisdom” can come only with maturity, broad experience, and thoughtful reflection. It also has the specialized meanings mentioned in the notes on verse 13 above. “Knowledge” can be gained by reading, listening, and so on, but it is only the starting point for becoming mature. Also “knowledge” can be of evil things, whereas “wisdom” can only describe some positive value. If the distinction between these two terms cannot be made using two nouns, a verbal clause may substitute; for example, “I came to know what it is to be wise, and I learned many things [about the world].” Idiomatic forms may also be available: “I got to the bottom of wisdom” or “I understood the inside of wisdom.”

Another possibility is that a language may prefer to reverse the order of the sentences here, such as “I thought to myself, … ‘I have found out what wisdom and knowledge really are. I have become very wise, more than all those who ruled as kings in Jerusalem before me.’ ”

Quoted with permission from Ogden, Graham S. and Zogbo, Lynell. A Handbook on the Book of Ecclesiates. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1997. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .