Ecclesiastes 1:12

I the Preacher was king over Israel in Jerusalem.
- King James Version

I, the Preacher, have been king over Israel in Jerusalem.
- New American Standard Version (1995)

I the Preacher was king over Israel in Jerusalem.
- American Standard Version (1901)

I, the Preacher, was king over Israel in Jerusalem.
- Basic English Bible

I, the Preacher, was king over Israel in Jerusalem.
- Darby Bible

I the preacher was king over Israel in Jerusalem.
- Webster's Bible

I, the Preacher, was king over Israel in Jerusalem.
- World English Bible

I, a preacher, have been king over Israel in Jerusalem.
- Youngs Literal Bible

I Koheleth have been king over Israel in Jerusalem.
- Jewish Publication Society Bible

Wesley's Notes for Ecclesiastes 1:12

1:12 I was king - Having asserted the vanity of all things in the general, he now comes to prove his assertion in those particulars wherein men commonly seek, and with greatest probability expect to find, true happiness. He begins with secular wisdom. And to shew how competent a judge he was of this matter, he lays down this character, That he was the preacher, which implies eminent knowledge; and a king, who therefore had all imaginable opportunities and advantages for the attainment of happiness, and particularly for the getting of wisdom, by consulting all sorts of books and men, by trying all manner of experiments; and no ordinary king, but king over Israel, God's own people, a wise and an happy people, whose king he was by God's special appointment and furnished by God, with singular wisdom for that great trust; and whose abode was in Jerusalem where were the house of God and the most wise and learned of the priests attending upon it, and the seats of justice, and colleges or assemblies of the wisest men of their nation. All these concurring in him, which rarely do in any other men, make the argument drawn from his experience more convincing.