Ecclesiastes 7:16 (DBY)

Passage

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

Nearby Context

Ecclesiastes 7:14 In the day of prosperity enjoy good, and in the day of adversity consider: God hath also set the one beside the other, to the end that man should find out nothing [of what shall be] after him.

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

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 cometh 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 the..." 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.