Ecclesiastes 7:23 (DRB)

Passage

For thy conscience knoweth that thou also hast often spoken evil of others.

Nearby Context

Ecclesiastes 7:21 For there is no just man upon earth, that doth good, and sinneth not.

Ecclesiastes 7:22 But do not apply thy heart to all words that are spoken: lest perhaps thou hear thy servant reviling thee.

Ecclesiastes 7:23 For thy conscience knoweth that thou also hast often spoken evil of others.

Ecclesiastes 7:24 I have tried all things in wisdom. I have said: I will be wise: and it departed farther from me,

Ecclesiastes 7:25 Much more than it was: it is a great depth, who shall find it out?

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "conscience", "knoweth", "thou", "hast", "often", "spoken", "evil", and "others". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "conscience" and "knoweth", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 22's "But do not apply thy heart to..." into verse 24's "I have tried all things in wisdom...", so "conscience" and "knoweth" 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 "conscience" and "knoweth" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.