Do not say, “Why were the old days better than these?” For it is unwise of you to ask about this.Ecclesiastes 7:10
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)
אַל־תֹּאמַר֙ מֶ֣ה הָיָ֔ה שֶׁ֤הַיָּמִים֙ הָרִ֣אשֹׁנִ֔ים הָי֥וּ טוֹבִ֖ים מֵאֵ֑לֶּה כִּ֛י לֹ֥א מֵחָכְמָ֖ה שָׁאַ֥לְתָּ עַל־זֶֽה׃
- אַל־'al-“may not”Particle, negative · from אַל · “not” · Strong's H0408
- תֹּאמַר֙to.Mar“you say”Verb, qal, jussive, 2nd person, masculine, singular · from אָמַר · “to say” · Strong's H0559
- מֶ֣הmeh“why?”Pronoun, interrogative · from מָה · “what?” · Strong's H4100
- הָיָ֔הha.Yah“was it”Verb, qal, perfect, 3rd person, masculine, singular · from הָיָה · “to be” · Strong's H1961
- שֶׁ֤הַיָּמִים֙she.hai.ya.mim“that the days”Particle, relative + Definite article + Noun, masculine, plural, absolute · from יוֹם · “day” · Strong's H3117G
- הָרִ֣אשֹׁנִ֔יםha.Ri.sho.Nim“<the> former”Definite article + Adjective, ordinal number, masculine, plural, absolute · from רִאשׁוֹן · “previous” · Strong's H7223H
- הָי֥וּha.Yu“they were”Verb, qal, perfect, 3rd person, common, plural · from הָיָה · “to be” · Strong's H1961
- טוֹבִ֖יםto.Vim“good”Adjective, masculine, plural, absolute · from טוֹב · “pleasant” · Strong's H2896A
- מֵאֵ֑לֶּהme.'E.leh“more than these”Preposition + Particle, demonstrative · from אֵ֫לֶּה · “these” · Strong's H0428
- כִּ֛יki“for”Particle · from כִּי · “for” · Strong's H3588A
- לֹ֥אlo'“not”Particle, negative · from לֹא · “not” · Strong's H3808
- מֵחָכְמָ֖הme.cha.khe.Mah“from wisdom”Preposition + Noun, feminine, singular, absolute · from חׇכְמָה · “wisdom” · Strong's H2451
- שָׁאַ֥לְתָּsha.'Al.ta“you have asked”Verb, qal, perfect, 2nd person, masculine, singular · from שָׁאַל · “to ask” · Strong's H7592
- עַל־'al-“on”Preposition · from עַל · “upon” · Strong's H5921A
- זֶֽה׃Zeh“this”Particle, demonstrative · from זֶה · “this” · Strong's H2088
- Hebrew and Aramaic words: STEP Bible (STEPBible.org), based on work at Tyndale House, Cambridge. CC BY 4.0. Source (version ed476a8)