EasyEnglish Bible 2018
Ecclesiastes 7:16
16So do not try to be too good or too wise. That might cause you to have trouble.
Ecclesiastes 7:16 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Be not righteous over much; neither make thyself over wise: why shouldest thou destroy thyself?
- New International Version (NIV)Do not be overrighteous, neither be overwise— why destroy yourself?
- English Standard Version (ESV)Be not overly righteous, and do not make yourself too wise. Why should you destroy yourself?
- New King James Version (NKJV)Do not be overly righteous, Nor be overly wise: Why should you destroy yourself?
Context of Ecclesiastes 7:16
14If your life is good, you should be happy. But if you have trouble, think about this: God causes both joy and trouble in our lives. We do not know what will happen next. 15In my short life on the earth I have seen these things which have no purpose: Sometimes righteous people may die when they are still young. They did good things, but they died. And sometimes wicked people continue to live for along time. They did evil things, but they continued to live. So do not try to be too good or too wise. That might cause you to have trouble. 17But do not be too wicked. Do not be a fool. That might cause you to die when you are still young. 18Remember both these things. Do not forget either of them. You can do that if you respect God and you obey him.
Read all of Ecclesiastes 7Ecclesiastes 7:16 word by word
אַל־תְּהִ֤י צַדִּיק֙ הַרְבֵּ֔ה וְאַל־תִּתְחַכַּ֖ם יוֹתֵ֑ר לָ֖מָּה תִּשּׁוֹמֵֽם׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Ecclesiastes 7:16
- Proverbs 25:16When you find honey, never eat more than you need. If you eat too much, you will become very sick.
- Matthew 6:1Jesus then said to them, ‘You should do good things to help people. But be careful! Do not do this so that other people see you. If you want other people to praise you, your Father in heaven will not praise you.
- Matthew 9:14Then the disciples of John the Baptist came to Jesus. They said to him, ‘We often decide to fast for a time. The disciples of the Pharisees also do that. Why do your disciples never do that?’
- Matthew 15:2They said, ‘Our leaders in past times taught us the right way to do everything. But your disciples do not obey the things that our leaders taught us. They do not wash their hands in the right way before they eat a meal. Why is that?’
- Matthew 23:5The Pharisees do things only so that people will see them. They wear little boxes with words from the Bible in them, but they make them really big. They also make the tassels on their clothes very long.
- Luke 18:12I fast for two days of each week. I give to you one tenth of all the things and money that I receive.”
- Romans 10:2I can say this about them: They really want to serve God well. But they do not understand the right way to do this.
- Philippians 3:6I tried very much to please God. So I caused a lot of trouble and pain for the Christians. I obeyed the rules of God's Law, and nobody could say that I did anything wrong.
- 1 Timothy 4:3They say that it is wrong for anyone to marry. They tell people not to eat certain kinds of food. But God made those foods for people to eat! We should understand God's true message and trust him. Then we will receive the food that he has given us and we will thank him for it.
- Ecclesiastes 12:12My son, I warn you to be careful about any other teaching. There will always be more and more books to read. If you try to study everything, you will be very weak and tired.
- Genesis 3:6The woman looked at the fruit on the tree. She saw that it would be good to eat, and it was beautiful to look at. She wanted to eat it because it would make her become wise. So she took some fruit and she ate it. Then she gave some of the fruit to her husband who was with her. He also ate it.
- Job 11:12Wild donkeys never give birth to human children. And foolish people never become wise!
- Job 28:28God said this to us humans: “If you want to be wise, learn to respect the Lord with fear. If you want to understand things properly, turn away from evil acts.” ’
- Proverbs 23:47. Do not work so hard to become rich that you make yourself ill. Be wise and rest when you need to.
- Romans 11:25My Christian friends, I want to help you to understand about Israel's people. It is a secret that God has shown to us. If you really understand it, you will not be proud that you are so clever. Many of Israel's people have refused to believe in Christ. They will continue to refuse him until the complete number of Gentiles have believed.
- Romans 12:3God has been kind to me so that I can serve him. Because of that, I say this to every one of you: Do not think that you are better than you really are. Instead, think about yourself carefully. Decide how much God has helped you to trust him. Then you will know how to serve him well.
Commentaries on Ecclesiastes 7:16
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 16Why shouldest thou destroy thyself? - תשומם tishshomem, make thyself desolate, so that thou shalt be obliged to stand alone; neither make thyself over-wise, תתחכם tithchaccam, do not pretend to abundance of wisdom. Why shouldest thou be so singular? In other words, and in modern language, "There is no need of all this watching, fasting, praying, self-denial, etc., you carry things to extremes. Why should you wish to be reputed singular and precise?" To…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 15-17Verses 15-17 The days of my vanity - This does not imply that those days of vanity were ended (see Ecclesiastes 1:12 note). The meaning may be best explained by a paraphrase. Solomon states how the wise man should regard the “crooked Ecclesiastes 7:13 work of God” when it bears upon him. He says in effect, “Do not think that thou couldest alter the two instances (described in Ecclesiastes 7:15) of such crooked work so as to make it straight, that thou art…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 11-22Verses 11-22 Wisdom is as good as an inheritance, yea better. It shelters from the storms and scorching heat of trouble. Wealth will not lengthen out the natural life; but true wisdom will give spiritual life, and strengthen men for services under their sufferings. Let us look upon the disposal of our condition as the work of God, and at last all will appear to have been for the best. In acts of righteousness, be not carried into heats or passions, no…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 16No matter how hard we work, there is always more to do, and we might harm ourselves in the process.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1616. Holden makes Ec 7:16 the scoffing inference of the objector, and Ec 7:17 the answer of Solomon, now repentant. So (1Co 15:32) the skeptic's objection; (1Co 15:33) the answer. However, "Be not righteous over much," may be taken as Solomon's words, forbidding a self-made righteousness of outward performances, which would wrest salvation from God, instead of receiving it as the gift of His grace. It is a fanatical, pharisaical righteousness, separated…Read the comment
Topics related to Ecclesiastes 7:16
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Ecclesiastes 7
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
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