New English Translation
Ecclesiastes 7:20
20For there is not one truly righteous person on the earth who continually does good and never sins.
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
18It 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. 19Wisdom 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. 21Also, do not pay attention to everything that people say; otherwise, you might even hear your servant cursing you. 22For you know in your own heart that you also have cursed others many times.
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 8:46“The time will come when your people will sin against you (for there is no one who is sinless!) and you will be angry with them and deliver them over to their enemies, who will take them as prisoners to their own land, whether far away or close by.
- 2 Chronicles 6:36“The time will come when your people will sin against you (for there is no one who is sinless!) and you will be angry at them and deliver them over to their enemies, who will take them as prisoners to their land, whether far away or close by.
- Job 15:14What is man that he should be pure, or one born of woman, that he should be righteous?
- Psalms 130:3If you, O Lord, were to keep track of sins, O Lord, who could stand before you?
- Psalms 143:2Do not sit in judgment on your servant, for no one alive is innocent before you.
- Proverbs 20:9Who can say, “I have kept my heart clean; I am pure from my sin”?
- Isaiah 53:6All of us had wandered off like sheep; each of us had strayed off on his own path, but the Lord caused the sin of all of us to attack him.
- Romans 3:23for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
- James 3:2For we all stumble in many ways. If someone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect individual, able to control the entire body as well.
- 1 John 1:8If we say we do not bear the guilt of sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us.
- Isaiah 64:6We are all like one who is unclean, all our so-called righteous acts are like a menstrual rag in your sight. We all wither like a leaf; our sins carry us away like the wind.
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
New English Translation — © 1996-2016 Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C.
Commentaries