Ecclesiastes 7:15-20 - Compare All Versions

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In this meaningless life of mine I have seen both of these: the righteous perishing in their righteousness, and the wicked living long in their wickedness. Do not be overrighteous, neither be overwise— why destroy yourself? Do not be overwicked, and do not be a fool— why die before your time? It is good to grasp the one and not let go of the other. Whoever fears God will avoid all extremes. Wisdom makes one wise person more powerful than ten rulers in a city. Indeed, there is no one on earth who is righteous, no one who does what is right and never sins.

In my vain life I have seen everything. There is a righteous man who perishes in his righteousness, and there is a wicked man who prolongs his life in his evildoing. Be not overly righteous, and do not make yourself too wise. Why should you destroy yourself? Be not overly wicked, neither be a fool. Why should you die before your time? It is good that you should take hold of this, and from that withhold not your hand, for the one who fears God shall come out from both of them. Wisdom gives strength to the wise man more than ten rulers who are in a city. Surely there is not a righteous man on earth who does good and never sins.

I have seen everything in this meaningless life, including the death of good young people and the long life of wicked people. So don’t be too good or too wise! Why destroy yourself? On the other hand, don’t be too wicked either. Don’t be a fool! Why die before your time? Pay attention to these instructions, for anyone who fears God will avoid both extremes. One wise person is stronger than ten leading citizens of a town! Not a single person on earth is always good and never sins.

In my futile life  I have seen everything:  someone righteous perishes in spite of his righteousness,  and someone wicked lives long in spite of his evil.  Don’t be excessively righteous, and don’t be overly wise.  Why should you destroy yourself? Don’t be excessively wicked, and don’t be foolish. Why should you die before your time?  It is good that you grasp the one and do not let the other slip from your hand. For the one who fears God will end up with both of them. Wisdom makes the wise person stronger than ten rulers of a city.  There is certainly no one righteous on the earth who does good and never sins.

All things have I seen in the days of my vanity: there is a just man that perisheth in his righteousness, and there is a wicked man that prolongeth his life in his wickedness. Be not righteous over much; neither make thyself over wise: why shouldest thou destroy thyself? Be not over much wicked, neither be thou foolish: why shouldest thou die before thy time? It is good that thou shouldest take hold of this; yea, also from this withdraw not thine hand: for he that feareth God shall come forth of them all. Wisdom strengtheneth the wise more than ten mighty men which are in the city. For there is not a just man upon earth, that doeth good, and sinneth not.

I have seen everything in my days of vanity: There is a just man who perishes in his righteousness, And there is a wicked man who prolongs life in his wickedness. Do not be overly righteous, Nor be overly wise: Why should you destroy yourself? Do not be overly wicked, Nor be foolish: Why should you die before your time? It is good that you grasp this, And also not remove your hand from the other; For he who fears God will escape them all. Wisdom strengthens the wise More than ten rulers of the city. For there is not a just man on earth who does good And does not sin.

I’ve seen it all in my brief and pointless life—here a good person cut down in the middle of doing good, there a bad person living a long life of sheer evil. So don’t knock yourself out being good, and don’t go overboard being wise. Believe me, you won’t get anything out of it. But don’t press your luck by being bad, either. And don’t be reckless. Why die needlessly? It’s best to stay in touch with both sides of an issue. A person who fears God deals responsibly with all of reality, not just a piece of it. Wisdom puts more strength in one wise person Than ten strong men give to a city. There’s not one totally good person on earth, Not one who is truly pure and sinless.

I have seen everything during my lifetime of futility; there is a righteous person who perishes in his righteousness, and there is a wicked person who prolongs his life in his wickedness. Do not be excessively righteous, and do not be overly wise. Why should you ruin yourself? Do not be excessively wicked, and do not be foolish. Why should you die before your time? It is good that you grasp one thing while not letting go of the other; for one who fears God comes out with both of them. Wisdom strengthens a wise person more than ten rulers who are in a city. Indeed, there is not a righteous person on earth who always does good and does not ever sin.

I have seen everything during my [fleeting] days of futility; there is a righteous man who perishes in [spite of] his righteousness, and there is a wicked man who lives a long life in [spite of] his wickedness. Do not be excessively righteous [like those given to self-conceit], and do not be overly wise (pretentious)—why should you bring yourself to ruin? Do not be excessively or willfully wicked and do not be a fool. Why should you die before your time? It is good that you take hold of one thing (righteousness) and also not let go of the other (wisdom); for the one who fears and worships God [with awe-filled reverence] will come forth with both of them. Wisdom strengthens the wise man more than ten rulers who are in a city. [Ps 127:1; 2 Tim 3:15] Indeed, there is not a righteous man on earth who always does good and who never sins. [Is 53:6; Rom 3:23]

During the days of my fleeting life I have seen both of these things: Sometimes a righteous person dies prematurely in spite of his righteousness, and sometimes a wicked person lives long in spite of his evil deeds. So do not be excessively righteous or excessively wise; otherwise you might be disappointed. Do not be excessively wicked and do not be a fool; otherwise you might die before your time. It is best to take hold of one warning without letting go of the other warning; for the one who fears God will follow both warnings. Wisdom gives a wise person more protection than ten rulers in a city. For there is not one truly righteous person on the earth who continually does good and never sins.