It states to "not be over righteous or over wise" and of course "don't be over wicked" or "a fool".
Now, my "Living Translation bible has a footnote on this that goes as follows:
"How can a person be too good or too wise? This is a warning against pride--legalism or false righteousness..."
I'm going to take a leap here and say I think they're right in their interpretation. It really is hard to figure out what that means for me, my mind, and my actions. It seems actually to be saying don't worry about that so much. Going too far one way or the other is NOT good.
Ecclesiastes
Chapter 7
16 Do not be overrighteous,
neither be overwise—
why destroy yourself?
17 Do not be overwicked,<br> and do not be a fool—r> why die before your time?
18 It is good to grasp the oneand not let go of the other.
The man who fears God will avoid all extremes .
3 comments:
I just recently read this. Looked it up and it said the Hebrew verb for "be wise" can be rendered "think yourself wise" and "be overly righteous" would mean "righteous in your own eyes"
I'm not sure of the splitting of hairs on this one. If you're concentrating on righteousness wouldn't it become inevitable that you become righteous in your own eyes when that is your concentration? ...thus lending self to judging others and possibly getting into a dangerous mindset of prideful thought? After all we are human and have tendancies toward that whether we like to admit or not (at least that's the case for me)...
If we really seek God's face as we're told we need to do - it's pretty hard to think we've "arrived" at righteousness. Personally, never a day goes by when I don't need to beg God's forgiveness for sin. How He must shake His head at me. Impatience, irritability, pride- Big time! Oy! Still by God's grace I will keep trying. It's a long trip - lots of pitfalls...but worth it! Do I sound self righteous? hmm..hope not. ☺
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