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Selected Verse: Ecclesiates 7:20 - King James
| Verse |
Translation |
Text |
| Ec 7:20 |
King James |
For there is not a just man upon earth, that doeth good, and sinneth not. |
Summary Of Commentaries Associated With The Selected Verse
| A Commentary, Critical, Practical, and Explanatory on the Old and New Testaments, by Robert Jamieson, A.R. Fausset and David Brown [1882] |
| Referring to Ecc 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. |
| Notes on the Bible, by Albert Barnes, [1834] |
| The connection of this verse with Ecc 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" Ecc 7:15, Ecc 7:20 and "righteous" Ecc 7:16 are exactly the same in Hebrew. |
| Commentary on the Old Testament, by Carl Friedrich Keil and Franz Delitzsch [1857-78] |
| "For among men there is not a righteous man on the earth, who doeth good, and sinneth not." The original passage, found in Solomon's prayer at the consecration of the temple, is briefer, Kg1 8:46 : "There is no man who sinneth not." Here the words might be וגו צדּיק אדם אין, there is no righteous man ... . Adam stands here as representing the species, as when we say in Germ.: Menschen gibt es keine gerechten auf Erden [men, there are none righteous on earth]; cf. Exo 5:16 : "Straw, none was given." The verification of Ecc 7:19 by reference to the fact of the common sinfulness from which even the most righteous cannot free himself, does not contradict all expectation to the same degree as the ki in Ecc 7:7; but yet it surprises us, so that Mercer and Grtz, with Aben Ezra, take Ecc 7:20 as the verification of Ecc 7:16, here first adduced, and Knobel and Heiligst. and others connect it with Ecc 7:21, Ecc 7:22, translating: "Because there is not a just man ... , therefore it is also the part of wisdom to take no heed unto all words," etc. But these are all forced interpretations; instead of the latter, we would rather suppose that Ecc 7:20 originally stood after Ecc 7:22, and is separated from its correct place. But yet the sequence of thought lying before us may be conceived, and that not merely as of necessity, but as that which was intended by the author. On the whole, Hitzig is correct: "For every one, even the wise man, sins; in which case virtue, which has forsaken him, does not protect him, but wisdom proves itself as his means of defence." Zckler adds: "against the judicial justice of God;" but one escapes from this by a penitent appeal to grace, for which there is no need for the personal property of wisdom; there is thus reason rather for thinking on the dangerous consequences which often a single false step has for a man in other respects moral; in the threatening complications in which he is thereby involved, it is wisdom which then protects him and delivers him. Otherwise Tyler, who by the עז, which the wise has in wisdom, understands power over evil, which is always moving itself even in the righteous. But the sinning spoken of in Ecc 7:20 is that which is unavoidable, which even wisdom cannot prevent or make inefficacious. On the contrary, it knows how to prevent the destruction which threatens man from his transgressions, and to remove the difficulties and derangements which thence arise. The good counsel following is connected by gam with the foregoing. The exhortation to strive after wisdom, contained in Ecc 7:19, which affords protection against the evil effects of the failures which run through the life of the righteous, is followed by the exhortation, that one conscious that he himself is not free from transgression, should take heed to avoid that tale-bearing which finds pleasure in exposing to view the shortcomings of others. |
| Explanatory Notes on the Whole Bible, by John Wesley [1754-65] |
| Sinneth not - Who is universally and perfectly good. |
| Adam Clarke Commentary on the Whole Bible - Published 1810-1826 |
| There is not a just man upon earth, that doeth good, and sinneth not - לא יחטא 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 Sa1 2:25, twice in Kg1 8:31, Kg1 8:46, and Ch2 6:36; and the reader is requested to consult the note on Kg1 8:46, where the proper construction of this word may be found, and the doctrine in question is fully considered. |
16 Be not righteous over much; neither make thyself over wise: why shouldest thou destroy thyself?
16 Be not righteous over much; neither make thyself over wise: why shouldest thou destroy thyself?
20 For there is not a just man upon earth, that doeth good, and sinneth not.
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.
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.
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.
22 For oftentimes also thine own heart knoweth that thou thyself likewise hast cursed others.
20 For there is not a just man upon earth, that doeth good, and sinneth not.
22 For oftentimes also thine own heart knoweth that thou thyself likewise hast cursed others.
21 Also take no heed unto all words that are spoken; lest thou hear thy servant curse thee:
16 Be not righteous over much; neither make thyself over wise: why shouldest thou destroy thyself?
20 For there is not a just man upon earth, that doeth good, and sinneth not.
7 Surely oppression maketh a wise man mad; and a gift destroyeth the heart.
19 Wisdom strengtheneth the wise more than ten mighty men which are in the city.
16 There is no straw given unto thy servants, and they say to us, Make brick: and, behold, thy servants are beaten; but the fault is in thine own people.
46 If they sin against thee, (for there is no man that sinneth not,) and thou be angry with them, and deliver them to the enemy, so that they carry them away captives unto the land of the enemy, far or near;
46 If they sin against thee, (for there is no man that sinneth not,) and thou be angry with them, and deliver them to the enemy, so that they carry them away captives unto the land of the enemy, far or near;
36 If they sin against thee, (for there is no man which sinneth not,) and thou be angry with them, and deliver them over before their enemies, and they carry them away captives unto a land far off or near;
46 If they sin against thee, (for there is no man that sinneth not,) and thou be angry with them, and deliver them to the enemy, so that they carry them away captives unto the land of the enemy, far or near;
31 If any man trespass against his neighbour, and an oath be laid upon him to cause him to swear, and the oath come before thine altar in this house:
25 If one man sin against another, the judge shall judge him: but if a man sin against the LORD, who shall intreat for him? Notwithstanding they hearkened not unto the voice of their father, because the LORD would slay them.