Verse (Click for Chapter) New International Version What is crooked cannot be straightened; what is lacking cannot be counted. New Living Translation What is wrong cannot be made right. What is missing cannot be recovered. English Standard Version What is crooked cannot be made straight, and what is lacking cannot be counted. Berean Standard Bible What is crooked cannot be straightened, and what is lacking cannot be counted. King James Bible That which is crooked cannot be made straight: and that which is wanting cannot be numbered. New King James Version What is crooked cannot be made straight, And what is lacking cannot be numbered. New American Standard Bible What is crooked cannot be straightened, and what is lacking cannot be counted. NASB 1995 What is crooked cannot be straightened and what is lacking cannot be counted. NASB 1977 What is crooked cannot be straightened, and what is lacking cannot be counted. Legacy Standard Bible What is bent cannot be straightened, and what is lacking cannot be counted. Amplified Bible What is crooked cannot be straightened and what is defective and lacking cannot be counted. Christian Standard Bible What is crooked cannot be straightened; what is lacking cannot be counted. Holman Christian Standard Bible What is crooked cannot be straightened; what is lacking cannot be counted. American Standard Version That which is crooked cannot be made straight; and that which is wanting cannot be numbered. Contemporary English Version If something is crooked, it can't be made straight; if something isn't there, it can't be counted. English Revised Version That which is crooked cannot be made straight: and that which is wanting cannot be numbered. GOD'S WORD® Translation No one can straighten what is bent. No one can count what is not there. Good News Translation You can't straighten out what is crooked; you can't count things that aren't there. International Standard Version What is crooked cannot be made straight; what is not there cannot be counted. Majority Standard Bible What is crooked cannot be straightened, and what is lacking cannot be counted. NET Bible What is bent cannot be straightened, and what is missing cannot be supplied. New Heart English Bible That which is crooked can't be made straight; and that which is lacking can't be counted. Webster's Bible Translation That which is crooked cannot be made straight: and that which is wanting cannot be numbered. World English Bible That which is crooked can’t be made straight; and that which is lacking can’t be counted. Literal Translations Literal Standard VersionA crooked thing [one] is not able to make straight, and a lacking thing is not able to be numbered. Young's Literal Translation A crooked thing one is not able to make straight, and a lacking thing is not able to be numbered. Smith's Literal Translation The crooked thing shall not be able to be made straight: and the deficiency shall not be able to be numbered. Catholic Translations Douay-Rheims BibleThe perverse are hard to be corrected, and the number of fools is infinite. Catholic Public Domain Version The perverse are unwilling to be corrected, and the number of the foolish is boundless. New American Bible What is crooked cannot be made straight, and you cannot count what is not there. New Revised Standard Version What is crooked cannot be made straight, and what is lacking cannot be counted. Translations from Aramaic Lamsa BibleThe chaotic cannot be made orderly; and he who is lacking knowledge cannot be supplied with it. Peshitta Holy Bible Translated The disturbed cannot be set in order and the lacking cannot be numbered. OT Translations JPS Tanakh 1917That which is crooked cannot be made straight; And that which is wanting cannot be numbered. Brenton Septuagint Translation That which is crooked cannot be made straight: and deficiency cannot be numbered. Additional Translations ... Audio Bible Context With Wisdom Comes Sorrow…14I have seen all the things that are done under the sun, and have found them all to be futile, a pursuit of the wind. 15What is crooked cannot be straightened, and what is lacking cannot be counted. 16I 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.”… Cross References Job 14:4 Who can bring out clean from unclean? No one! Job 11:7 Can you fathom the deep things of God or discover the limits of the Almighty? Job 9:10 He does great things beyond searching out, and wonders without number. Job 11:8-9 They are higher than the heavens—what can you do? They are deeper than Sheol—what can you know? / Their measure is longer than the earth and wider than the sea. Job 26:14 Indeed, these are but the fringes of His ways; how faint is the whisper we hear of Him! Who then can understand the thunder of His power?” Isaiah 40:4 Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill made low; the uneven ground will become smooth, and the rugged land a plain. Isaiah 40:29 He gives power to the faint and increases the strength of the weak. Isaiah 55:8-9 “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways,” declares the LORD. / “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so My ways are higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts. Jeremiah 13:23 Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his spots? Neither are you able to do good—you who are accustomed to doing evil. Jeremiah 10:23 I know, O LORD, that a man’s way is not his own; no one who walks directs his own steps. Romans 8:20 For the creation was subjected to futility, not by its own will, but because of the One who subjected it, in hope Romans 11:33 O, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments, and untraceable His ways! 1 Corinthians 1:25 For the foolishness of God is wiser than man’s wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man’s strength. 1 Corinthians 13:9-10 For we know in part and we prophesy in part, / but when the perfect comes, the partial passes away. 1 Corinthians 13:12 Now we see but a dim reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known. Treasury of Scripture That which is crooked cannot be made straight: and that which is wanting cannot be numbered. crooked Ecclesiastes 3:14 I know that, whatsoever God doeth, it shall be for ever: nothing can be put to it, nor any thing taken from it: and God doeth it, that men should fear before him. Ecclesiastes 7:12,13 For wisdom is a defence, and money is a defence: but the excellency of knowledge is, that wisdom giveth life to them that have it… Job 11:6 And that he would shew thee the secrets of wisdom, that they are double to that which is! Know therefore that God exacteth of thee less than thine iniquity deserveth. wanting or a defect Jump to Previous Able Bent Counted Crooked Lacking Numbered Straight Straightened Twisted WantingJump to Next Able Bent Counted Crooked Lacking Numbered Straight Straightened Twisted WantingEcclesiastes 1 1. the preacher shows that all human courses are vain4. because the creatures are restless in their courses 9. they bring forth nothing new, and all old things are forgotten 12. and because he has found it so in the studies of wisdom What is crooked cannot be straightened This phrase reflects the limitations of human effort and wisdom in addressing the inherent flaws and complexities of life. The term "crooked" suggests moral and existential distortions that are beyond human ability to rectify. In the biblical context, this can be seen as a reflection on the fallen state of the world due to sin, as described in Genesis 3. The inability to "straighten" what is crooked points to the futility of human endeavors without divine intervention. This theme is echoed in Romans 8:20-22, where creation is described as being subjected to frustration and bondage to decay. The phrase also anticipates the need for a savior, as only through Christ can the crooked be made straight, as prophesied in Isaiah 40:3-4, where the coming of the Lord will make the rough places smooth. and what is lacking cannot be counted Persons / Places / Events 1. SolomonTraditionally considered the author of Ecclesiastes, Solomon was the son of King David and known for his wisdom. He reflects on the futility and vanity of human endeavors without God. 2. Jerusalem The city where Solomon reigned as king. It serves as the backdrop for much of his wisdom literature, including Ecclesiastes. 3. The Preacher (Qoheleth) The voice in Ecclesiastes, often identified with Solomon, who explores the meaning of life and the limitations of human wisdom. Teaching Points The Limitations of Human EffortHuman efforts are insufficient to correct the fundamental brokenness of the world. This should lead us to rely on God rather than our own understanding or abilities. The Reality of a Fallen World Recognize that the world is inherently flawed due to sin. This understanding should drive us to seek redemption and restoration through Christ. The Importance of Divine Perspective Acknowledge that only God can bring true order and fulfillment. Our role is to align our lives with His will and purposes. Contentment in God's Sovereignty Accept that some things are beyond our control and find peace in God's sovereignty, trusting that He is working all things for good. The Call to Wisdom Pursue wisdom that begins with the fear of the Lord, recognizing that true wisdom comes from God and leads to a life that honors Him.(15) Made straight.--The verb occurs only in this book (Ecclesiastes 7:13; Ecclesiastes 12:9, "set in order") and in Rabbinical Hebrew. So likewise "that which is wanting" is peculiar to this passage, and to later Hebrew.Verse 15. - That which is crooked cannot be made straight. This is intended as a confirmation of ver. 14. By the utmost exercise of his powers and faculties man cannot change the course of events; he is constantly met by anomalies which he can neither explain nor rectify (comp. Ecclesiastes 7:13). The above is probably a proverbial saying. Knobel quotes Suidas: Χύλον ἀγκύλον οὐδέποτ ὀρθόν. The Vulgate takes the whole maxim as applying only to morals: "Perverse men are hardly corrected, and the number of tools is infinite." So too the Syriac and Targum. The Septuagint rightly as the Authorized Version. The writer is not referring merely to man's sins and delinquencies, but to the perplexities in which he finds himself involved, and extrication from which is impracticable. That which is wanting cannot be numbered. The word חֶסְדון, "loss, defect," is ἅπαξ λεγόμενον in the Old Testament. We cannot reckon where there is nothing to count; no skill in arithmetic will avail to make up for a substantial deficit. So nothing man can do is able to remedy the anomalies by which he is surrounded, or to supply the defects which are pressed upon his notice. Parallel Commentaries ... Hebrew What is crookedמְעֻוָּ֖ת (mə·‘uw·wāṯ) Verb - Pual - Participle - masculine singular Strong's 5791: To be bent or crooked cannot לֹא־ (lō-) Adverb - Negative particle Strong's 3808: Not, no be straightened, לִתְקֹ֑ן (liṯ·qōn) Preposition-l | Verb - Qal - Infinitive construct Strong's 8626: To equalize, straighten, to compose and what is lacking וְחֶסְר֖וֹן (wə·ḥes·rō·wn) Conjunctive waw | Noun - masculine singular Strong's 2642: A thing lacking, deficiency cannot לֹא־ (lō-) Adverb - Negative particle Strong's 3808: Not, no be counted. לְהִמָּנֽוֹת׃ (lə·him·mā·nō·wṯ) Preposition-l | Verb - Nifal - Infinitive construct Strong's 4487: To weigh out, to allot, constitute officially, to enumerate, enroll Links Ecclesiastes 1:15 NIVEcclesiastes 1:15 NLT Ecclesiastes 1:15 ESV Ecclesiastes 1:15 NASB Ecclesiastes 1:15 KJV Ecclesiastes 1:15 BibleApps.com Ecclesiastes 1:15 Biblia Paralela Ecclesiastes 1:15 Chinese Bible Ecclesiastes 1:15 French Bible Ecclesiastes 1:15 Catholic Bible OT Poetry: Ecclesiastes 1:15 That which is crooked can't be made (Ecclesiast. 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