Ecclesiastes 7:10

Do not say, “Why were the old days better than these?” For it is unwise of you to ask about this.
Ecclesiastes 7:10
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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)

אַל־תֹּאמַר֙ מֶ֣ה הָיָ֔ה שֶׁ֤הַיָּמִים֙ הָרִ֣אשֹׁנִ֔ים הָי֥וּ טוֹבִ֖ים מֵאֵ֑לֶּה כִּ֛י לֹ֥א מֵחָכְמָ֖ה שָׁאַ֥לְתָּ עַל־זֶֽה׃

  1. אַל־'al-“may not”
    Particle, negative · from אַל · “not” · Strong's H0408
  2. תֹּאמַר֙to.Mar“you say”
    Verb, qal, jussive, 2nd person, masculine, singular · from אָמַר · “to say” · Strong's H0559
  3. מֶ֣הmeh“why?”
    Pronoun, interrogative · from מָה · “what?” · Strong's H4100
  4. הָיָ֔הha.Yah“was it”
    Verb, qal, perfect, 3rd person, masculine, singular · from הָיָה · “to be” · Strong's H1961
  5. שֶׁ֤הַיָּמִים֙she.hai.ya.mim“that the days”
    Particle, relative + Definite article + Noun, masculine, plural, absolute · from יוֹם · “day” · Strong's H3117G
  6. הָרִ֣אשֹׁנִ֔יםha.Ri.sho.Nim“<the> former”
    Definite article + Adjective, ordinal number, masculine, plural, absolute · from רִאשׁוֹן · “previous” · Strong's H7223H
  7. הָי֥וּha.Yu“they were”
    Verb, qal, perfect, 3rd person, common, plural · from הָיָה · “to be” · Strong's H1961
  8. טוֹבִ֖יםto.Vim“good”
    Adjective, masculine, plural, absolute · from טוֹב · “pleasant” · Strong's H2896A
  9. מֵאֵ֑לֶּהme.'E.leh“more than these”
    Preposition + Particle, demonstrative · from אֵ֫לֶּה · “these” · Strong's H0428
  10. כִּ֛יki“for”
    Particle · from כִּי · “for” · Strong's H3588A
  11. לֹ֥אlo'“not”
    Particle, negative · from לֹא · “not” · Strong's H3808
  12. מֵחָכְמָ֖הme.cha.khe.Mah“from wisdom”
    Preposition + Noun, feminine, singular, absolute · from חׇכְמָה · “wisdom” · Strong's H2451
  13. שָׁאַ֥לְתָּsha.'Al.ta“you have asked”
    Verb, qal, perfect, 2nd person, masculine, singular · from שָׁאַל · “to ask” · Strong's H7592
  14. עַל־'al-“on”
    Preposition · from עַל · “upon” · Strong's H5921A
  15. 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)