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Ecclesiastes 7

Eccl. 7:12 KJV (With Strong’s)

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12
For wisdom
chokmah (Hebrew #2451)
wisdom (in a good sense)
KJV usage: skilful, wisdom, wisely, wit.
Pronounce: khok-maw'
Origin: from 2449
is a ρdefence
tsel (Hebrew #6738)
shade, whether literal or figurative
KJV usage: defence, shade(-ow).
Pronounce: tsale
Origin: from 6751
, and money
keceph (Hebrew #3701)
silver (from its pale color); by implication, money
KJV usage: money, price, silver(-ling).
Pronounce: keh'-sef
Origin: from 3700
is a defence
tsel (Hebrew #6738)
shade, whether literal or figurative
KJV usage: defence, shade(-ow).
Pronounce: tsale
Origin: from 6751
: but the excellency
yithrown (Hebrew #3504)
preeminence, gain
KJV usage: better, excellency(-leth), profit(-able).
Pronounce: yith-rone'
Origin: from 3498
of knowledge
da`ath (Hebrew #1847)
knowledge
KJV usage: cunning, (ig-)norantly, know(-ledge), (un-)awares (wittingly).
Pronounce: dah'-ath
Origin: from 3045
is, that wisdom
chokmah (Hebrew #2451)
wisdom (in a good sense)
KJV usage: skilful, wisdom, wisely, wit.
Pronounce: khok-maw'
Origin: from 2449
d giveth life
chayah (Hebrew #2421)
to live, whether literally or figuratively; causatively, to revive
KJV usage: keep (leave, make) alive, X certainly, give (promise) life, (let, suffer to) live, nourish up, preserve (alive), quicken, recover, repair, restore (to life), revive, (X God) save (alive, life, lives), X surely, be whole.
Pronounce: khaw-yaw'
Origin: a primitive root (compare 2331, 2421)
to them that have
ba`al (Hebrew #1167)
a master; hence, a husband, or (figuratively) owner (often used with another noun in modifications of this latter sense)
KJV usage: + archer, + babbler, + bird, captain, chief man, + confederate, + have to do, + dreamer, those to whom it is due, + furious, those that are given to it, great, + hairy, he that hath it, have, + horseman, husband, lord, man, + married, master, person, + sworn, they of.
Pronounce: bah'-al
Origin: from 1166
it.
ρ
shadow.
d
Prov. 8:35• 35For whoso findeth me findeth life,{HR}And shall obtain favour of Jehovah. (Prov. 8:35)

More on:

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Life,
Money

Cross References

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Ministry on This Verse

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wisdom.
Job 1:10• 10Hast not thou made an hedge about him, and about his house, and about all that he hath on every side? Thou hast blessed the work of his hands, and his substance is increased in the land: (Job 1:10)
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Job 22:21‑25• 21Acquaint thyself, I pray thee, with him, and be at peace;{HR}Thereby shall good come to thee.
 22Receive, I pray thee, law from his mouth,{HR}And lay up his words in thy heart.
 23If thou return to the Almighty, thou shalt be built up;{HR}([If] thou put iniquity far away from thy tent),
 24And put precious ore on the dust,{HR}And that of Ophir as stones of brooks;
 25And the Almighty shall be thy precious ores,{HR}And silver of toilings to thee. (Job 22:21‑25)
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Prov. 2:7,11• 7He layeth up sound wisdom for the upright,{HR}A shield to those that walk in integrity;
 11Discretion shall watch over thee,{HR}Understanding shall keep thee:— (Prov. 2:7,11)
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Prov. 14:20• 20The poor is hated even of his own neighbour;{HR}But the rich have many lovers. (Prov. 14:20)
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Prov. 18:10‑11• 10The name of Jehovah [is] a strong tower:{HR}The righteous runneth into it, and is set in a high retreat.
 11The rich man's wealth [is] his strong city,{HR}And as a high wall in his own imagination. (Prov. 18:10‑11)
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Isa. 33:6• 6And the riches of salvation, wisdom, and knowledge shall be the stability of thy times: the fear of Jehovah [shall be] his treasure. (Isa. 33:6)
a defence.
Heb. a shadow.
Judg. 9:15• 15{i}And the thorn-bush said to the trees, If in truth ye anoint me king over you, come, put confidence in my shadow; but if not, fire shall come out of the thorn-bush and devour the cedars of Lebanon.{/i} (Judg. 9:15)
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Psa. 57:1• 1To the chief musician; Al-tascheth , of David, Michtam, on his fleeing from Saul in the cave.{HR}Be gracious unto me, O God, be gracious unto me;{HR}For my soul [is] trusting in thee;{HR}And in the shadow of thy wings will I trust until mischiefs shall pass. (Psa. 57:1)
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Isa. 30:2• 2that walk to go down into Egypt, and have not asked at my mouth; to strengthen themselves in the strength of Pharaoh, and to trust in the shadow of Egypt! (Isa. 30:2)
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Isa. 32:2• 2And a man shall be as a hiding place from the wind, and a covert from the tempest; as rivers of water in a dry place, as the shadow of a great rock in a weary land. (Isa. 32:2)
the excellency.
Deut. 30:19‑20• 19{i}I call heaven and earth to witness this day against you: life and death have I set before you, blessing and cursing: choose then life, that thou mayest live, thou and thy seed,{/i}
 20{i}in loving Jehovah thy God, in hearkening to his voice, and in cleaving to him—for this is thy life and the length of thy days—that thou mayest dwell in the land which Jehovah swore unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them.{/i} (Deut. 30:19‑20)
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Deut. 32:47• 47{i}For it is no vain word for you, but it is your life, and through this word ye shall prolong your days on the land whereunto ye pass over the Jordan to possess it.{/i} (Deut. 32:47)
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Prov. 3:18• 18She [is] a tree of life to them that lay hold on her;{HR}And blessed [is] he that retaineth her. (Prov. 3:18)
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Prov. 8:35• 35For whoso findeth me findeth life,{HR}And shall obtain favour of Jehovah. (Prov. 8:35)
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Prov. 9:11• 11For by me thy days shall be multiplied,{HR}And years of life shall be added to thee. (Prov. 9:11)
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Prov. 11:4• 4Wealth profiteth not in the day of wrath;{HR}But righteousness delivereth from death. (Prov. 11:4)
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John 12:50• 50and I know that his commandment is life eternal. What things then I speak, as the Father hath said to me, so I speak. (John 12:50)
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John 17:3• 3And this is the eternal life, that they know thee, the only true God, and him whom thou didst send, Jesus Christ. (John 17:3)
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Phil. 3:8• 8But moreover also I count all things to be loss on account of the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, on whose account I lost all things and count them to be refuse that I may win Christ, (Phil. 3:8)
• Our writer, ignorant as he confessedly is of this glorious light of divine revelation, still speaks in praise of the feeble glimmer that human wisdom gives. From his point of view, wealth and wisdom are both good―are a “defense” or “shadow” to their possessors; but still that which men generally esteem the most―wealth―is given the second place; for knowledge, or wisdom, has in itself a positive virtue that money lacks. (“Ecclesiastes 7” by F.C. Jennings)
• It “gives life to them that have it,” animates, preserves in life, modifies, at least in measure, the evils from which it cannot altogether guard its possessor. (“Ecclesiastes 7” by F.C. Jennings)

J. N. Darby Translation

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12
For wisdom is a defence as money is a defenceb; but the excellency of knowledge is, that wisdom maketh them that possess it to live.

JND Translation Notes

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b
Lit. "[one is] in the shadow of wisdom [as] in the shadow of money." see Ps. 91.1.

W. Kelly Translation

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12
For wisdom is a defence, [even as] money [is] a defence:{HR}But the excellency of knowledge [is, that]{HR}Wisdom preserveth the life of him that hath it.