Ecclesiastes 7:16 (ASV)

Passage

Be not righteous overmuch; neither make thyself overwise: why shouldest thou destroy thyself?

Nearby Context

Ecclesiastes 7:14 In the day of prosperity be joyful, and in the day of adversity consider; yea, God hath made the one side by side with the other, to the end that man should not find out anything [that shall be] after him.

Ecclesiastes 7:15 All this have I seen in my days of vanity: there is a righteous man that perisheth in his righteousness, and there is a wicked man that prolongeth [his life] in his evil-doing.

Ecclesiastes 7:16 Be not righteous overmuch; neither make thyself overwise: why shouldest thou destroy thyself?

Ecclesiastes 7:17 Be not overmuch wicked, neither be thou foolish: why shouldest thou die before thy time?

Ecclesiastes 7:18 It is good that thou shouldest take hold of this; yea, also from that withdraw not thy hand: for he that feareth God shall come forth from them all.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "righteous", "overmuch", "neither", "make", "thyself", "overwise", "shouldest", and "thou". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "righteous" and "overmuch", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 15's "All this have I seen in my..." into verse 17's "Be not overmuch wicked neither be thou...", so "righteous" and "overmuch" belong inside that flow. In Ecclesiastes context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "righteous" and "overmuch" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.