Verse (Click for Chapter) New International Version Do not be overwicked, and do not be a fool— why die before your time? New Living Translation On the other hand, don’t be too wicked either. Don’t be a fool! Why die before your time? English Standard Version Be not overly wicked, neither be a fool. Why should you die before your time? Berean Standard Bible Do not be excessively wicked, and do not be a fool. Why should you die before your time? King James Bible Be not over much wicked, neither be thou foolish: why shouldest thou die before thy time? New King James Version Do not be overly wicked, Nor be foolish: Why should you die before your time? New American Standard Bible Do not be excessively wicked, and do not be foolish. Why should you die before your time? NASB 1995 Do not be excessively wicked and do not be a fool. Why should you die before your time? NASB 1977 Do not be excessively wicked, and do not be a fool. Why should you die before your time? Legacy Standard Bible Do not be excessively wicked, and do not be a simpleminded fool. Why should you die before your time? Amplified Bible Do not be excessively or willfully wicked and do not be a fool. Why should you die before your time? Christian Standard Bible Don’t be excessively wicked, and don’t be foolish. Why should you die before your time? Holman Christian Standard Bible Don’t be excessively wicked, and don’t be foolish. Why should you die before your time? American Standard Version Be not overmuch wicked, neither be thou foolish: why shouldest thou die before thy time? Aramaic Bible in Plain English You shall not be greatly irreverent so that you be not greatly hated; do not be foolish, lest you die when not in your time Brenton Septuagint Translation Be not very wicked; and be not stubborn: lest thou shouldest die before thy time. Contemporary English Version Don't die before your time by being too evil or acting like a fool. Douay-Rheims Bible Be not overmuch wicked: and be not foolish, lest thou die before thy time. English Revised Version Be not over much wicked, neither be thou foolish: why shouldest thou die before thy time? GOD'S WORD® Translation Don't be too wicked, and don't be a fool. Why should you die before your time is up? Good News Translation But don't be too wicked or too foolish, either--why die before you have to? International Standard Version Do not excel at wickedness, nor be a fool. Why die before your time? JPS Tanakh 1917 Be not overmuch wicked, neither be thou foolish; why shouldest thou die before thy time? Literal Standard Version Do not do much wrong, neither be a fool, why do you die within your time? Majority Standard Bible Do not be excessively wicked, and do not be a fool. Why should you die before your time? New American Bible Be not wicked to excess, and be not foolish. Why should you die before your time?” NET Bible Do not be excessively wicked and do not be a fool; otherwise you might die before your time. New Revised Standard Version Do not be too wicked, and do not be a fool; why should you die before your time? New Heart English Bible Do not be too wicked, neither be foolish. Why should you die before your time? Webster's Bible Translation Be not over much wicked, neither be thou foolish: why shouldst thou die before thy time? World English Bible Don’t be too wicked, neither be foolish. Why should you die before your time? Young's Literal Translation Do not much wrong, neither be thou a fool, why dost thou die within thy time? Additional Translations ... Audio Bible Context The Limits of Human Wisdom…16Do not be overly righteous, and do not make yourself too wise. Why should you destroy yourself? 17Do not be excessively wicked, and do not be a fool. Why should you die before your time? 18It is good to grasp the one and not let the other slip from your hand. For he who fears God will follow both warnings.… Cross References 2 Samuel 6:20 As soon as David returned home to bless his own household, Saul's daughter Michal came out to meet him. "How the king of Israel has distinguished himself today!" she said. "He has uncovered himself today in the sight of the maidservants of his subjects, like a vulgar person would do." Job 15:32 It will be paid in full before his time, and his branch will not flourish. Job 22:16 They were snatched away before their time, and their foundations were swept away by a flood. Psalm 55:23 But You, O God, will bring them down to the Pit of destruction; men of bloodshed and deceit will not live out half their days. But I will trust in You. Proverbs 10:27 The fear of the LORD prolongs life, but the years of the wicked will be cut short. Treasury of Scripture Be not over much wicked, neither be you foolish: why should you die before your time? not Jeremiah 2:33,34 Why trimmest thou thy way to seek love? therefore hast thou also taught the wicked ones thy ways… Ezekiel 8:17 Then he said unto me, Hast thou seen this, O son of man? Is it a light thing to the house of Judah that they commit the abominations which they commit here? for they have filled the land with violence, and have returned to provoke me to anger: and, lo, they put the branch to their nose. Ezekiel 16:20 Moreover thou hast taken thy sons and thy daughters, whom thou hast borne unto me, and these hast thou sacrificed unto them to be devoured. Is this of thy whoredoms a small matter, why Genesis 38:7-10 And Er, Judah's firstborn, was wicked in the sight of the LORD; and the LORD slew him… 1 Samuel 25:38 And it came to pass about ten days after, that the LORD smote Nabal, that he died. Job 15:32,33 It shall be accomplished before his time, and his branch shall not be green… before thy time Jump to Previous Die End Evil Excessively Fool Foolish Overmuch Shouldest Shouldst Time Wicked Within WrongJump to Next Die End Evil Excessively Fool Foolish Overmuch Shouldest Shouldst Time Wicked Within WrongEcclesiastes 7 1. remedies against vanity are, a good name2. mortification 7. patience 11. wisdom 23. The difficulty of wisdom Verse 17. - Be not over much wicked neither be thou foolish. These two injunctions are parallel and correlative to those in ver. 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 undeavored to modify the term "wicked" (rasha), taking it to mean "engaged in worldly matters," or "not subject to rule," "lax," or again "restless," as some translate the word in Job 3:17. But the word seems not to be used in any such senses, and bears uniformly the uncompromising signification assigned to it, "to be wicked, unrighteous, guilty." The difficulty is not overcome by Plumptre's suggestion of the introduction of a little "playful irony learned from Greek teachers," as if Koheleth meant, "I have warned you, my friends, against over-righteousness, but do not jump at the conclusion that license is allowable. That was very far from my meaning." The connection of thought is this: in the previous verse Koheleth had denounced the Pharisaical spirit which virtually condemned the Divine ordering of circumstances, because vice was not at once and visibly punished, and virtue at once rewarded; and now he proceeds to warn against the deliberate and abominable wickedness which infers from God's long-suffering his absolute neglect and non- interference in mortal matters, and on this view plunges audaciously into vice and immorality, saying to itself, "God hath forgotten: he hideth his face; he will never see it" (Psalm 10:11). Such conduct may well be called "foolish;" it is that of "the fool who says in his heart, There is no God" (Psalm 14:1). The actual wording of the injunction sounds to us somewhat strange; but its form is determined by the requirements of parallelism, and the aphorism must not be pressed beyond its general intention, "Be not righteous nor wise to excess; be not wicked nor foolish to excess." Septuagint, "Be not very wicked, and be not stubborn (σκληρός)." Why shouldest thou die before thy time? literally, not in thy time; prematurely, tempting God to punish thee by retributive judgment, or shortening thy days by vicious excesses. (For the former, see Job 22:16; Psalm 55:23; Proverbs 10:27; and comp. 1 Samuel 2:31, 33; and for the latter, Proverbs 5:23; Proverbs 7:23-27; Proverbs 10:21.) The Syriac contains a clause not given in any other version, "that thou mayest not be hated." As is often the case, both in this book and in Proverbs, a general statement in one place is reduced by a contrariant or modified opinion in another. Thus the prolongation of the life of the wicked, noticed in ver. 15, is here shown to be abnormal, impiety in the usual course of events having a tendency to shorten life. In this way hasty generalization is corrected, and the Divine arrangement is vindicated. Parallel Commentaries ... Hebrew Do notאַל־ (’al-) Adverb Strong's 408: Not be excessively הַרְבֵּ֖ה (har·bêh) Verb - Hifil - Infinitive absolute Strong's 7235: To be or become much, many or great wicked, תִּרְשַׁ֥ע (tir·ša‘) Verb - Qal - Imperfect - second person masculine singular Strong's 7561: To be, wrong, to disturb, violate and do not וְאַל־ (wə·’al-) Conjunctive waw | Adverb Strong's 408: Not be תְּהִ֣י (tə·hî) Verb - Qal - Imperfect Jussive - second person masculine singular Strong's 1961: To fall out, come to pass, become, be a fool. סָכָ֑ל (sā·ḵāl) Noun - masculine singular Strong's 5530: A fool Why לָ֥מָּה (lām·māh) Interrogative Strong's 4100: What?, what!, indefinitely what should you die תָמ֖וּת (ṯā·mūṯ) Verb - Qal - Imperfect - second person masculine singular Strong's 4191: To die, to kill before בְּלֹ֥א (bə·lō) Preposition-b | Adverb - Negative particle Strong's 3808: Not, no your time? עִתֶּֽךָ׃ (‘it·te·ḵā) Noun - common singular construct | second person masculine singular Strong's 6256: Time, now, when Links Ecclesiastes 7:17 NIVEcclesiastes 7:17 NLT Ecclesiastes 7:17 ESV Ecclesiastes 7:17 NASB Ecclesiastes 7:17 KJV Ecclesiastes 7:17 BibleApps.com Ecclesiastes 7:17 Biblia Paralela Ecclesiastes 7:17 Chinese Bible Ecclesiastes 7:17 French Bible Ecclesiastes 7:17 Catholic Bible OT Poetry: Ecclesiastes 7:17 Don't be too wicked neither be foolish (Ecclesiast. Ec Ecc Eccles.) |