Ecclesiastes 1:16

I said to myself, “Behold, I have grown and increased in wisdom beyond all those before me who were over Jerusalem, and my mind has observed a wealth of wisdom and knowledge.”
Ecclesiastes 1:16
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Original language and places

Reference data from open datasets, shown as published by their sources. Word-by-word English is a literal guide, not a translation.

Original language (Hebrew)

דִּבַּ֨רְתִּי אֲנִ֤י עִם־לִבִּי֙ לֵאמֹ֔ר אֲנִ֗י הִנֵּ֨ה הִגְדַּ֤לְתִּי וְהוֹסַ֙פְתִּי֙ חָכְמָ֔ה עַ֛ל כָּל־אֲשֶׁר־הָיָ֥ה לְפָנַ֖י עַל־יְרוּשָׁלִָ֑ם וְלִבִּ֛י רָאָ֥ה הַרְבֵּ֖ה חָכְמָ֥ה וָדָֽעַת׃

  1. דִּבַּ֨רְתִּיdi.Bar.ti“I have spoken”
    Verb, piel, perfect, 1st person, common, singular · from דָבַר · “speak” · Strong's H1696G
  2. אֲנִ֤י'a.Ni“I”
    Pronoun, personal, 1st person, both genders, singular · from אֲנִי, אָֽנֹכִ֫י · “I” · Strong's H0589
  3. עִם־'im-“with”
    Preposition · from עִם · “with” · Strong's H5973A
  4. לִבִּי֙li.Bi“heart my”
    Noun, masculine, singular, construct + Suffix, pronominal, 1st person, both genders, singular · from לֵב · “heart” · Strong's H3820A
  5. לֵאמֹ֔רle.Mor“<to> saying”
    Preposition + Verb, qal, infinitive construct, common · from אָמַר · “to say” · Strong's H0559
  6. אֲנִ֗י'a.Ni“I”
    Pronoun, personal, 1st person, both genders, singular · from אֲנִי, אָֽנֹכִ֫י · “I” · Strong's H0589
  7. הִנֵּ֨הhi.Neh“here!”
    Particle, interjection · from הִנֵּה · “behold” · Strong's H2009
  8. הִגְדַּ֤לְתִּיhig.Dal.ti“I have made great”
    Verb, hiphil, perfect, 1st person, common, singular · from גָּדַל · “to magnify” · Strong's H1431
  9. וְהוֹסַ֙פְתִּי֙ve.ho.Saf.ti“and I have increased”
    Conjunction + Verb, hiphil, perfect, 1st person, common, singular · from יָסַף · “add” · Strong's H3254H
  10. חָכְמָ֔הchokh.mah“wisdom”
    Noun, feminine, singular, absolute · from חׇכְמָה · “wisdom” · Strong's H2451
  11. עַ֛ל'al“above”
    Preposition · from עַל · “upon” · Strong's H5921A
  12. כָּל־kol-“every”
    Noun, masculine, singular, absolute · from כֹּל · “all” · Strong's H3605
  13. אֲשֶׁר־'a.Sher-“[one] who”
    Particle, relative · from אֲשֶׁר · “which” · Strong's H0834A
  14. הָיָ֥הha.Yah“he was”
    Verb, qal, perfect, 3rd person, masculine, singular · from הָיָה · “to be” · Strong's H1961
  15. לְפָנַ֖יle.fa.Nai“<to> before me”
    Preposition + Noun, masculine, plural, construct + Suffix, pronominal, 1st person, both genders, singular · from פָּנֶה · “before” · Strong's H6440G
  16. עַל־'al-“over”
    Preposition · from עַל · “upon” · Strong's H5921A
  17. יְרוּשָׁלִָ֑םye.ru.sha.Lim“Jerusalem”
    Noun, proper name of a place · from יְרוּשָׁלִַ֫ם, יְרוּשְׁלֵם · “Jerusalem” · Strong's H3389
  18. וְלִבִּ֛יve.li.Bi“and heart my”
    Conjunction + Noun, masculine, singular, construct + Suffix, pronominal, 1st person, both genders, singular · from לֵב · “heart” · Strong's H3820A
  19. רָאָ֥הra.'Ah“it has seen”
    Verb, qal, perfect, 3rd person, masculine, singular · from רָאָה · “examine” · Strong's H7200H
  20. הַרְבֵּ֖הhar.Beh“much”
    Verb, hiphil, infinitive absolute, absolute · from רָבָה · “to multiply” · Strong's H7235A
  21. חָכְמָ֥הchokh.mah“wisdom”
    Noun, feminine, singular, absolute · from חׇכְמָה · “wisdom” · Strong's H2451
  22. וָדָֽעַת׃va.Da.'at“and knowledge”
    Conjunction + Noun, feminine, singular, absolute · from דַּ֫עַת · “knowledge” · Strong's H1847
Places named in this verse
  • Places: OpenBible.info Bible Geocoding Data, CC BY 4.0. Coordinates from OpenStreetMap (ODbL) are left out. Source (version 7eb18a5)
  • Hebrew and Aramaic words: STEP Bible (STEPBible.org), based on work at Tyndale House, Cambridge. CC BY 4.0. Source (version ed476a8)