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Ecclesiastes 7:15-29
King James Version
Ecclesiastes 7:15-29
King James Version
15 All things have I seen in the days of my vanity: there is a just man that perisheth in his righteousness, and there is a wicked man that prolongeth his life in his wickedness.
16 Be not righteous over much; neither make thyself over wise: why shouldest thou destroy thyself ?
17 Be not over much wicked, neither be thou foolish: why shouldest thou die before thy time?
18 It is good that thou shouldest take hold of this; yea, also from this withdraw not thine hand: for he that feareth God shall come forth of them all.
19 Wisdom strengtheneth the wise more than ten mighty men which are in the city.
20 For there is not a just man upon earth, that doeth good, and sinneth not.
21 Also take no heed unto all words that are spoken; lest thou hear thy servant curse thee:
22 For oftentimes also thine own heart knoweth that thou thyself likewise hast cursed others.
23 All this have I proved by wisdom: I said, I will be wise; but it was far from me.
24 That which is far off, and exceeding deep, who can find it out?
25 I applied mine heart to know, and to search, and to seek out wisdom, and the reason of things, and to know the wickedness of folly, even of foolishness and madness:
26 And I find more bitter than death the woman, whose heart is snares and nets, and her hands as bands: whoso pleaseth God shall escape from her; but the sinner shall be taken by her.
27 Behold, this have I found, saith the preacher, counting one by one, to find out the account:
28 Which yet my soul seeketh, but I find not: one man among a thousand have I found; but a woman among all those have I not found.
29 Lo, this only have I found, that God hath made man upright; but they have sought out many inventions.
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Ecclesiastes 7:15-29
New International Version
Ecclesiastes 7:15-29
New International Version
15 In this meaningless life(A) of mine I have seen both of these:
the righteous perishing in their righteousness,
and the wicked living long in their wickedness.(B)
16 Do not be overrighteous,
neither be overwise—
why destroy yourself?
17 Do not be overwicked,
and do not be a fool—
why die before your time?(C)
18 It is good to grasp the one
and not let go of the other.
Whoever fears God(D) will avoid all extremes.[a]
20 Indeed, there is no one on earth who is righteous,(G)
no one who does what is right and never sins.(H)
21 Do not pay attention to every word people say,
or you(I) may hear your servant cursing you—
22 for you know in your heart
that many times you yourself have cursed others.
23 All this I tested by wisdom and I said,
“I am determined to be wise”(J)—
but this was beyond me.
24 Whatever exists is far off and most profound—
who can discover it?(K)
25 So I turned my mind to understand,
to investigate and to search out wisdom and the scheme of things(L)
and to understand the stupidity of wickedness
and the madness of folly.(M)
26 I find more bitter than death
the woman who is a snare,(N)
whose heart is a trap
and whose hands are chains.
The man who pleases God will escape her,
but the sinner she will ensnare.(O)
27 “Look,” says the Teacher,[b](P) “this is what I have discovered:
“Adding one thing to another to discover the scheme of things—
28 while I was still searching
but not finding—
I found one upright man among a thousand,
but not one upright woman(Q) among them all.
29 This only have I found:
God created mankind upright,
but they have gone in search of many schemes.”
Footnotes
- Ecclesiastes 7:18 Or will follow them both
- Ecclesiastes 7:27 Or the leader of the assembly
Ecclesiastes 7:15-29
New King James Version
Ecclesiastes 7:15-29
New King James Version
15 I have seen everything in my days of vanity:
(A)There is a just man who perishes in his righteousness,
And there is a wicked man who prolongs life in his wickedness.
16 (B)Do not be overly righteous,
(C)Nor be overly wise:
Why should you destroy yourself?
17 Do not be overly wicked,
Nor be foolish:
(D)Why should you die before your time?
18 It is good that you grasp this,
And also not remove your hand from the other;
For he who (E)fears God will [a]escape them all.
19 (F)Wisdom strengthens the wise
More than ten rulers of the city.
20 (G)For there is not a just man on earth who does good
And does not sin.
21 Also do not take to heart everything people say,
Lest you hear your servant cursing you.
22 For many times, also, your own heart has known
That even you have cursed others.
23 All this I have [b]proved by wisdom.
(H)I said, “I will be wise”;
But it was far from me.
24 (I)As for that which is far off and (J)exceedingly deep,
Who can find it out?
25 (K)I applied my heart to know,
To search and seek out wisdom and the reason of things,
To know the wickedness of folly,
Even of foolishness and madness.
26 (L)And I find more bitter than death
The woman whose heart is snares and nets,
Whose hands are fetters.
[c]He who pleases God shall escape from her,
But the sinner shall be trapped by her.
27 “Here is what I have found,” says (M)the Preacher,
“Adding one thing to the other to find out the reason,
28 Which my soul still seeks but I cannot find:
(N)One man among a thousand I have found,
But a woman among all these I have not found.
29 Truly, this only I have found:
(O)That God made man upright,
But (P)they have sought out many schemes.”
Footnotes
- Ecclesiastes 7:18 Lit. come forth from all of them
- Ecclesiastes 7:23 tested
- Ecclesiastes 7:26 Lit. He who is good before God
Ecclesiastes 7:15-29
English Standard Version
Ecclesiastes 7:15-29
English Standard Version
15 In my (A)vain[a] life I have seen everything. There is (B)a righteous man who perishes in his righteousness, and there is a wicked man who (C)prolongs his life in his evildoing. 16 Be not overly righteous, and do not (D)make yourself too wise. Why should you destroy yourself? 17 Be not overly wicked, neither be a fool. (E)Why should you die before your time? 18 It is good that you should take hold of (F)this, and from (G)that (H)withhold not your hand, for the one who fears God shall come out from both of them.
19 (I)Wisdom gives strength to the wise man more than ten rulers who are in a city.
20 Surely (J)there is not a righteous man on earth who does good and never sins.
21 Do not take to heart all the things that people say, lest you hear (K)your servant cursing you. 22 Your heart knows that (L)many times you yourself have cursed others.
23 All this I have tested by wisdom. (M)I said, “I will be wise,” but it was far from me. 24 That which has been is far off, and (N)deep, very deep; (O)who can find it out?
25 (P)I turned my heart to know and to search out and to seek wisdom and the scheme of things, and to know the wickedness of folly and the foolishness that is madness. 26 And I find something more (Q)bitter than death: (R)the woman whose heart is (S)snares and nets, and whose hands are fetters. He who pleases God escapes her, but (T)the sinner is taken by her. 27 Behold, this is what I found, says (U)the Preacher, while adding one thing to another to find the scheme of things— 28 which my soul has sought repeatedly, but I have not found. (V)One man among a thousand I found, but (W)a woman among all these I have not found. 29 See, this alone I found, that (X)God made man upright, but (Y)they have sought out many schemes.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Ecclesiastes 7:15 The Hebrew term hebel can refer to a “vapor” or “mere breath” (see note on 1:2)
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.
New King James Version (NKJV) 
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
English Standard Version (ESV) 
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.