EasyEnglish Bible 2018
Ecclesiastes 7:20
20There is nobody on the earth who is so righteous that they always do what is right. There is nobody who never does a wrong thing.
Ecclesiastes 7:20 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)For there is not a just man upon earth, that doeth good, and sinneth not.
- New International Version (NIV)Indeed, there is no one on earth who is righteous, no one who does what is right and never sins.
- English Standard Version (ESV)Surely there is not a righteous man on earth who does good and never sins.
- New King James Version (NKJV)For there is not a just man on earth who does good And does not sin.
Context of Ecclesiastes 7:20
18Remember both these things. Do not forget either of them. You can do that if you respect God and you obey him. 19Wisdom makes a wise person more powerful than ten rulers in a city. There is nobody on the earth who is so righteous that they always do what is right. There is nobody who never does a wrong thing. 21Do not listen to all the things that people say about you. You might hear your servant when he is cursing you! 22Do not forget that you also have often cursed other people.
Read all of Ecclesiastes 7Ecclesiastes 7:20 word by word
כִּ֣י אָדָ֔ם אֵ֥ין צַדִּ֖יק בָּאָ֑רֶץ אֲשֶׁ֥ר יַעֲשֶׂה־טּ֖וֹב וְלֹ֥א יֶחֱטָֽא׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Ecclesiastes 7:20
- 1 Kings 8:46There is nobody who never does a wrong thing. So when your people do not obey you, you will be angry with them. You will put them under the power of their enemies. Those enemies will take them as prisoners to their own country. Perhaps it will be a country that is far away. Perhaps it will be near.
- 2 Chronicles 6:36There is nobody who never does a wrong thing. So when your people do not obey you, you will be angry with them. You will put them under the power of their enemies. Those enemies will take them away as their prisoners. Perhaps they will take them to a country that is far away. Perhaps it will be near.
- Job 15:14No one who is human can be truly pure and righteous.
- Psalms 130:3Lord, if you should write down all our sins, nobody could stand as a righteous person.
- Psalms 143:2Do not judge me, your servant. Nobody is righteous when they stand in front of you.
- Proverbs 20:9Nobody can say, ‘My thoughts are completely pure. There is no sin in me.’
- Isaiah 53:6We have all turned away, like sheep that take the wrong path. Each of us has turned to follow our own way. But the Lord has taken all our sins and put the punishment on him.
- Romans 3:23All people have done wrong things. Nobody can be good and great, as God wanted them to be.
- James 3:2We all make many mistakes. So, if someone never says anything that is bad, that person is completely good. It shows that he has authority over his whole body.
- 1 John 1:8If we say that we never do any wrong thing, we are deceiving ourselves. Even though we may think it is true, it is a lie.
- Isaiah 64:6Our sins have made us all like unclean people, who cannot worship you. Even the good things that we try to do are like dirty bits of cloth. Our sins will blow us all away, as the wind blows away dead leaves.
Commentaries on Ecclesiastes 7:20
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 20There is not a just man upon earth, that doeth good, and sinneth not - יחטא לא lo yechta, that may not sin. There is not a man upon earth, however just he may be, and habituated to do good, but is peccable - liable to commit sin; and therefore should continually watch and pray, and depend upon the Lord. But the text does not say, the just man does commit sin, but simply that he may sin; and so our translators have rendered it in 1 Samuel 2:25, twice in 1…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 20The connection of this verse with Ecclesiastes 7:18-19 becomes clearer if it is borne in mind that the fear of God, wisdom, and justice, are merely different sides of one and the same character, the formation of which is the aim of all the precepts in this chapter. The words “just” Ecclesiastes 7:15, Ecclesiastes 7:20 and “righteous” Ecclesiastes 7:16 are exactly the same in Hebrew.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. 20no righteous man...never sins: See 1 Kings 8:46; Proverbs 20:9; Romans 3:23.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 2020. Referring to Ec 7:16. Be not "self-righteous," seek not to make thyself "just" before God by a superabundance of self-imposed performances; "for true 'wisdom,' or 'righteousness,' shows that there is not a just man," &c.Read the comment
Topics related to Ecclesiastes 7:20
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
EasyEnglish Bible 2018 — Copyright © MissionAssist 2018
Commentaries