Ecclesiastes 7:17

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Ecclesiastes 7:11-22

Solomon, in these verses, recommends wisdom to us as the best antidote against those distempers of mind which we are liable to, by reason of the vanity and vexation of spirit that there are in the things of this world. Here are some of the praises and the precepts of wisdom. I. The praises of wisdom. Many things are here said in its commendation, to engage us to get and retain wisdom. 1. Wisdom is necessary to the right managing and improving of our worldly possessions: Wisdom is good with an... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Ecclesiastes 7:17

Be not over much wicked ,.... Not that a man should be wicked at all; but some, observing that wicked men prolong their days in wickedness, are encouraged to go into greater lengths in sin than they have yet done, and give up themselves to all iniquity; and run into excess of not, into the grossest and most scandalous enormities. Some render it, "do not disturb" or "frighten thyself" F1 אל תרשע "ne paveas", Pagninus; "ne te occupes multum, aut distrahas te, sive inquietes", some in... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Ecclesiastes 7:17

Be not overmuch wicked, neither be thou foolish: why shouldest thou die before thy time? - הרבה תרשע אל al tirsha harbeh . Do not multiply wickedness, do not add direct opposition to godliness to the rest of your crimes. Why should you provoke God to destroy you before your time? Perdition will come soon enough. If you will not turn from your sins, and avoid it finally, yet keep out of it as long as you can. It cannot be supposed, except by those who are totally unacquainted with the... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Ecclesiastes 7:15-22

Section 3. Warnings against excesses , and praise of the golden mean , which is practical wisdom and the art of living happily. read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Ecclesiastes 7:17

Be not over much wicked neither be thou foolish. These two injunctions are parallel and correlative to those in Ecclesiastes 7:16 concerning over-righteousness and over-wisdom. But the present verse cannot be meant, as at first sight it seems to do, to sanction a certain amount of wickedness provided it does not exceed due measure. To surmount this difficulty some have undefined to modify the term "wicked" ( rasha ), taking it to mean "engaged in worldly matters," or "not subject to... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Ecclesiastes 7:15-17

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 more righteous or more wise than He is Who ordained... read more

Donald C. Fleming

Bridgeway Bible Commentary - Ecclesiastes 7:15-29

Avoid extremes (7:15-29)One of the puzzles of life is that bad people often have long and prosperous lives, but good people suffer and sometimes die before they have had a chance to enjoy life. The writer suggests that people follow a middle course through life, where they do not ruin their lives through being either over-zealous for goodness and wisdom or over-tolerant towards sin and foolishness. Those who fear God will be successful in avoiding both extremes (15-18).Certainly, wisdom is... read more

E.W. Bullinger

E.W. Bullinger's Companion Bible Notes - Ecclesiastes 7:17

Be not over much wicked = Be not very wicked: i.e. Be not wicked at all. For violation of nature's laws surely end in premature death. foolish = stupid. Hebrew. sakal; not the same word as in verses: Ecclesiastes 4:5 , Ecclesiastes 4:6 , Ecclesiastes 4:9 , Ecc 4:25 ("folly"). See note on Proverbs 1:7 . why . . . ? Figure of speech Erotesis. App-6 . read more

Robert Jamieson; A. R. Fausset; David Brown

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible - Ecclesiastes 7:17

17. over much wicked—so worded, to answer to "righteous over much." For if not taken thus, it would seem to imply that we may be wicked a little. "Wicked" refers to "wicked man" (Ecclesiastes 7:15); "die before thy time," to "prolongeth his life," antithetically. There may be a wicked man spared to "live long," owing to his avoiding gross excesses (Ecclesiastes 7:15). Solomon says, therefore, Be not so foolish (answering antithetically to "over wise," Ecclesiastes 7:16), as to run to such... read more

Thomas Constable

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Ecclesiastes 7:1-17

B. God’s Inscrutable Plan chs. 7-8Solomon proceeded in this section to focus on the comprehensive plan of God: His decree. His point was that we cannot fathom it completely. read more

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