אַל־תֹּאמַר֙ מֶ֣ה הָיָ֔ה שֶׁ֤הַיָּמִים֙ הָרִ֣אשֹׁנִ֔ים הָי֥וּ טוֹבִ֖ים מֵאֵ֑לֶּה כִּ֛י לֹ֥א מֵחָכְמָ֖ה שָׁאַ֥לְתָּ עַל־זֶֽה׃
Janganlah engkau berkata, “Mengapa zaman dahulu lebih baik daripada zaman sekarang?” sebab bukan karena hikmat engkau menanyakan hal itu.
Rashi
Do not say, was it that the former days, etc. Do not wonder about the goodness that was bestowed upon the righteous men of yore, such as the generation of the wilderness, the generation of Yehoshua and the generation of Dovid.
Rashi
For it is not out of wisdom that you ask. For everything depends upon the merit of the generations.29Alternatively, the answer to this question is beyond human comprehension. (Metsudas Dovid)