Ecclesiastes 7:16
Do not be overly righteous, and do not make yourself too wise. Why should you destroy yourself?
Do not be overly righteous
The phrase "overly righteous" in Hebrew is "אַל־תִּהְיֶה צַדִּיק הַרְבֵּה" (al-tihyeh tzaddik harbeh). The term "tzaddik" refers to righteousness or being just. In the context of Ecclesiastes, this phrase warns against a self-righteousness that is excessive or ostentatious. Historically, the Jewish tradition has valued righteousness, but this verse cautions against a form of righteousness that is more about appearance or self-promotion than genuine piety. The wisdom literature of the Bible often emphasizes balance and humility, suggesting that an overemphasis on one's own righteousness can lead to pride and ultimately to one's downfall.

and do not make yourself too wise
The Hebrew for "make yourself too wise" is "וְאַל־תִּתְחַכַּם יוֹתֵר" (v'al-titchakem yoter). The root "chakam" means to be wise or skillful. This phrase advises against the pursuit of wisdom to the point of arrogance or self-reliance. In the biblical context, wisdom is a gift from God and should be sought with humility. The historical context of Ecclesiastes, attributed to Solomon, a king known for his wisdom, underscores the idea that wisdom without reverence for God can lead to vanity and self-destruction. The balance between wisdom and humility is a recurring theme in Scripture, reminding believers that true wisdom begins with the fear of the Lord (Proverbs 9:10).

Why should you destroy yourself?
The Hebrew phrase here is "לָמָּה תִּשּׁוֹמֵם" (lamah tishomem), which can be translated as "why should you be desolate" or "why should you ruin yourself." The root "shamem" implies desolation or ruin. This rhetorical question serves as a warning that excessive righteousness or wisdom, pursued for the wrong reasons, can lead to one's own destruction. In the broader scriptural context, this reflects the biblical principle that pride precedes a fall (Proverbs 16:18). The verse encourages a life of moderation, humility, and reliance on God rather than on one's own perceived righteousness or wisdom. It serves as a reminder that self-righteousness and intellectual pride can lead to spiritual desolation, whereas a humble walk with God leads to true fulfillment and peace.

Persons / Places / Events
1. Solomon
Traditionally considered the author of Ecclesiastes, Solomon was the son of King David and known for his wisdom. His reflections in Ecclesiastes are often seen as a culmination of his life experiences and insights.

2. Israel
The nation to which Solomon belonged and ruled as king. The cultural and religious context of Israel during Solomon's reign provides a backdrop for understanding the text.

3. The Preacher (Qoheleth)
The voice in Ecclesiastes, often identified with Solomon, who explores the meaning of life and the pursuit of wisdom.
Teaching Points
Balance in Righteousness
The verse warns against an excessive pursuit of righteousness that leads to self-destruction. True righteousness is balanced and rooted in humility and dependence on God.

The Danger of Self-Righteousness
Being "overly righteous" can lead to pride and a judgmental spirit. It is essential to remember that our righteousness comes from Christ, not our own efforts.

Wisdom and Humility
Pursuing wisdom is commendable, but it must be accompanied by humility. Recognizing our limitations and the need for God's guidance is crucial.

Avoiding Legalism
The verse cautions against a legalistic approach to faith that focuses on external compliance rather than a genuine relationship with God.

Self-Reflection and Growth
Regular self-examination can help us avoid the pitfalls of self-righteousness and encourage growth in grace and truth.
Bible Study Questions
1. How can we discern the difference between genuine righteousness and being "overly righteous" in our daily lives?

2. In what ways might the pursuit of wisdom become excessive, and how can we maintain a humble approach to learning?

3. How does the warning in Ecclesiastes 7:16 relate to Jesus' teachings on the Pharisees in the New Testament?

4. What practical steps can we take to ensure our pursuit of righteousness and wisdom is balanced and God-centered?

5. How can we apply the principle of avoiding self-destruction through excessive righteousness in our interactions with others, especially within the church community?
Connections to Other Scriptures
Proverbs 3:7
This verse warns against being wise in one's own eyes, emphasizing the importance of fearing the Lord and shunning evil. It connects to Ecclesiastes 7:16 by highlighting the dangers of self-righteousness and self-reliance.

Romans 12:3
Paul advises believers not to think of themselves more highly than they ought, but to think with sober judgment. This aligns with the caution against being "overly righteous" in Ecclesiastes 7:16.

Matthew 23:23-28
Jesus criticizes the Pharisees for their hypocrisy and focus on minor laws while neglecting justice, mercy, and faithfulness. This passage illustrates the pitfalls of being "overly righteous" in a legalistic sense.
Righteousness and WickednessJ. Willcock Ecclesiastes 7:15-18
The Lower and the Higher StandardW. Clarkson Ecclesiastes 7:15-22
A Perilous CompromiseJ. H. Jowett, M. A.Ecclesiastes 7:16-17
Be not Righteous OvermuchJ. Jortin, D. D.Ecclesiastes 7:16-17
ModerationD. Thomas Ecclesiastes 7:16, 17
OvermuchW. M. Taylor, D. D.Ecclesiastes 7:16-17
Righteous OvermuchG. D'Oyly, D. D.Ecclesiastes 7:16-17
Strained PietyW. L. Watkinson.Ecclesiastes 7:16-17
The Danger of Being Over-Righteous or Over-WiseBishop Stillingfleet.Ecclesiastes 7:16-17
The Righteous OvermuchDean Hook.Ecclesiastes 7:16-17
People
Solomon
Places
Jerusalem
Topics
Desolate, Destroy, Destruction, Excessively, Overly, Overmuch, Over-righteous, Overwise, Over-wise, Righteous, Righteousness, Ruin, Shouldest, Shouldst, Thyself, Wise
Dictionary of Bible Themes
Ecclesiastes 7:16-18

     8307   moderation

Library
Finis Coronat Opus
'Better is the end of a thing than the beginning.'--ECCLES. vii. 8. This Book of Ecclesiastes is the record of a quest after the chief good. The Preacher tries one thing after another, and tells his experiences. Amongst these are many blunders. It is the final lesson which he would have us learn, not the errors through which he reached it. 'The conclusion of the whole matter' is what he would commend to us, and to it he cleaves his way through a number of bitter exaggerations and of partial truths
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

A Preservative against Unsettled Notions, and Want of Principles, in Regard to Righteousness and Christian Perfection
Ecclesiastes 7:16 -- "Be not righteous over much; neither make thyself over wise: why shouldest thou destroy thyself?" To all the Members of Christ's Holy Church. Dear Fellow Christians, The great, and indeed the only motive which prompted me to publish this sermon, was the desire of providing for your security from error, at a time when the deviators from, and false pretenders to truth, are so numerous, that the most discerning find it a matter of the greatest difficulty to avoid being led astray
George Whitefield—Selected Sermons of George Whitefield

What the Scriptures Principally Teach: the Ruin and Recovery of Man. Faith and Love Towards Christ.
2 Tim. i. 13.--"Hold fast the form of sound words, which thou hast heard of me, in faith and love which is in Christ Jesus." Here is the sum of religion. Here you have a compend of the doctrine of the Scriptures. All divine truths may be reduced to these two heads,--faith and love; what we ought to believe, and what we ought to do. This is all the Scriptures teach, and this is all we have to learn. What have we to know, but what God hath revealed of himself to us? And what have we to do, but what
Hugh Binning—The Works of the Rev. Hugh Binning

Eusebius' Accession to the Bishopric of Cæsarea.
Not long after the close of the persecution, Eusebius became bishop of Cæsarea in Palestine, his own home, and held the position until his death. The exact date of his accession cannot be ascertained, indeed we cannot say that it did not take place even before the close of the persecution, but that is hardly probable; in fact, we know of no historian who places it earlier than 313. His immediate predecessor in the episcopate was Agapius, whom he mentions in terms of praise in H. E. VII. 32.
Eusebius Pamphilius—Church History

Sources and Literature
Acacius, the pupil and successor of Eusebius in the bishopric of Cæsarea, wrote a life of the latter (Socr. H. E. II. 4) which is unfortunately lost. He was a man of ability (Sozomen H. E. III. 2, IV. 23) and had exceptional opportunities for producing a full and accurate account of Eusebius' life; the disappearance of his work is therefore deeply to be regretted. Numerous notices of Eusebius are found in the works of Socrates, Sozomen, Theodoret, Athanasius, Jerome, and other writers of his
Eusebius Pamphilius—Church History

The Outbreak at Benares.
At no place was the shock felt more severely than at Benares, where I was residing with my family. In no place was the danger greater. We were living in the suburbs of the most superstitious and fanatical city in the land. Again and again during the eighty years of our rule there had been riots in the city, professedly to avenge religious wrongs--riots so formidable, that they were quelled by military force. A very few years previous to 1857 the city was thrown into violent commotion, in consequence
James Kennedy—Life and Work in Benares and Kumaon, 1839-1877

Of the First Covenant Made with Man
Gen. ii. 17.--"But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shall not eat of it, for in the day that thou eatest thereof, thou shalt surely die."--Gen. i. 26.--"And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth." The state wherein man was created at first, you heard was exceeding good,--all
Hugh Binning—The Works of the Rev. Hugh Binning

Covenanting Adapted to the Moral Constitution of Man.
The law of God originates in his nature, but the attributes of his creatures are due to his sovereignty. The former is, accordingly, to be viewed as necessarily obligatory on the moral subjects of his government, and the latter--which are all consistent with the holiness of the Divine nature, are to be considered as called into exercise according to his appointment. Hence, also, the law of God is independent of his creatures, though made known on their account; but the operation of their attributes
John Cunningham—The Ordinance of Covenanting

Adam's Sin
Q-15: WHAT WAS THE SIN WHEREBY OUR FIRST PARENTS FELL FROM THE ESTATE WHEREIN THEY WERE CREATED? A: That sin was eating the forbidden fruit. 'She took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also to her husband.' Gen 3:3. Here is implied, 1. That our first parents fell from their estate of innocence. 2. The sin by which they fell, was eating the forbidden fruit. I. Our first parents fell from their glorious state of innocence. God made man upright, but they have sought out many inventions.' Eccl
Thomas Watson—A Body of Divinity

Letter xxviii (Circa A. D. 1130) to the Abbots Assembled at Soissons
To the Abbots Assembled at Soissons [45] Bernard urges the abbots zealously to perform the duty for which they had met. He recommends to them a great desire of spiritual progress, and begs them not to be delayed in their work if lukewarm and lax persons should perhaps murmur. To the Reverend Abbots met in the name of the Lord in Chapter at Soissons, brother Bernard, Abbot of Clairvaux, the servant of their Holiness, health and prayer that they may see, establish, and observe the things which are
Saint Bernard of Clairvaux—Some Letters of Saint Bernard, Abbot of Clairvaux

Sin Charged Upon the Surety
All we like sheep have gone astray: we have turned every one to his own way, and the LORD hath laid upon Him the iniquity of us all. C omparisons, in the Scripture, are frequently to be understood with great limitation: perhaps, out of many circumstances, only one is justly applicable to the case. Thus, when our Lord says, Behold, I come as a thief (Revelation 16:15) , --common sense will fix the resemblance to a single point, that He will come suddenly, and unexpectedly. So when wandering sinners
John Newton—Messiah Vol. 1

Columban.
THE wild districts of Ireland were occupied with convents, after the example of Patrick, and cultivated by the hard labour of the monks. The Irish convents were distinguished by their strict Christian discipline, their diligence and their zeal in the study of the Scriptures, and of science in general, as far as they had the means of acquiring it. Irish monks brought learning from Britain and Gaul, they treasured up this learning and elaborated it in the solitude of the convent, and they are said
Augustus Neander—Light in the Dark Places

Sanctification.
VI. Objections answered. I will consider those passages of scripture which are by some supposed to contradict the doctrine we have been considering. 1 Kings viii. 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," etc. On this passage, I remark:-- 1. That this sentiment in nearly the same language, is repeated in 2 Chron. vi. 26, and in Eccl.
Charles Grandison Finney—Systematic Theology

How the Impatient and the Patient are to be Admonished.
(Admonition 10.) Differently to be admonished are the impatient and the patient. For the impatient are to be told that, while they neglect to bridle their spirit, they are hurried through many steep places of iniquity which they seek not after, inasmuch as fury drives the mind whither desire draws it not, and, when perturbed, it does, not knowing, what it afterwards grieves for when it knows. The impatient are also to be told that, when carried headlong by the impulse of emotion, they act in some
Leo the Great—Writings of Leo the Great

How to Make Use of Christ for Taking the Guilt of Our Daily Out-Breakings Away.
The next part of our sanctification is in reference to our daily failings and transgressions, committed partly through the violence of temptations, as we see in David and Peter, and other eminent men of God; partly through daily infirmities, because of our weakness and imperfections; for, "in many things we offend all," James iii. 2; and, "if we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us," 1 John i. 8; "a righteous man falleth seven times," Prov. xxiv. 16; "there is not
John Brown (of Wamphray)—Christ The Way, The Truth, and The Life

The Christian Man
Scripture references: Genesis 1:26-28; 2:7; 9:6; Job 33:4; Psalm 100:3; 8:4-9; Ecclesiastes 7:29; Acts 17:26-28; 1 Corinthians 11:7; Ephesians 4:24; Colossians 3:10; 1 Corinthians 15:45; Hebrews 2:6,7; Ephesians 6:10-18; 1 Corinthians 2:9. WHAT IS MAN? What Shall We Think of Man?--Who is he? What is his place on the earth and in the universe? What is his destiny? He is of necessity an object of thought. He is the subject of natural laws, instincts and passions. How far is he free; how far bound?
Henry T. Sell—Studies in the Life of the Christian

The Work of Jesus Christ as an Advocate,
CLEARLY EXPLAINED, AND LARGELY IMPROVED, FOR THE BENEFIT OF ALL BELIEVERS. 1 John 2:1--"And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous." By JOHN BUNYAN, Author of "The Pilgrim's Progress." London: Printed for Dorman Newman, at the King's Arms, in the Poultry, 1689. ADVERTISEMENT BY THE EDITOR. This is one of the most interesting of Bunyan's treatises, to edit which required the Bible at my right hand, and a law dictionary on my left. It was very frequently republished;
John Bunyan—The Works of John Bunyan Volumes 1-3

An Essay on the Mosaic Account of the Creation and Fall of Man
THERE are not a few difficulties in the account, which Moses has given of the creation of the world, and of the formation, and temptation, and fall of our first parents. Some by the six days of the creation have understood as many years. Whilst others have thought the creation of the world instantaneous: and that the number of days mentioned by Moses is only intended to assist our conception, who are best able to think of things in order of succession. No one part of this account is fuller of difficulties,
Nathaniel Lardner—An Essay on the Mosaic Account of the Creation and Fall of Man

A Believer's Privilege at Death
'For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.' Phil 1:1I. Hope is a Christian's anchor, which he casts within the veil. Rejoicing in hope.' Rom 12:12. A Christian's hope is not in this life, but he hash hope in his death.' Prov 14:42. The best of a saint's comfort begins when his life ends; but the wicked have all their heaven here. Woe unto you that are rich! for ye have received your consolation.' Luke 6:64. You may make your acquittance, and write Received in full payment.' Son, remember that
Thomas Watson—A Body of Divinity

Fourth Sunday after Epiphany
Text: Romans 13, 8-10. 8 Owe no man anything, save to love one another: for he that loveth his neighbor hath fulfilled the law. 9 For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not covet, and if there be any other commandment, it is summed up in this word, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. 10 Love worketh no ill to his neighbor; love therefore is the fulfilment of the law. CHRISTIAN LOVE AND THE COMMAND TO LOVE. 1. This, like the two
Martin Luther—Epistle Sermons, Vol. II

"And we all do Fade as a Leaf, and Our Iniquities, Like the Wind, have Taken us Away. "
Isaiah lxiv. 6.--"And we all do fade as a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away." Here they join the punishment with the deserving cause, their uncleanness and their iniquities, and so take it upon them, and subscribe to the righteousness of God's dealing. We would say this much in general--First, Nobody needeth to quarrel God for his dealing. He will always be justified when he is judged. If the Lord deal more sharply with you than with others, you may judge there is a difference
Hugh Binning—The Works of the Rev. Hugh Binning

"Now the God of Hope Fill You with all Joy and Peace in Believing," &C.
Rom. xv. 13.--"Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing," &c. It is usual for the Lord in his word to turn his precepts unto promises, which shows us, that the commandments of God do not so much import an ability in us, or suppose strength to fulfil them, as declare that obligation which lies upon us, and his purpose and intention to accomplish in some, what he requires of all: and therefore we should accordingly convert all his precepts unto prayers, seeing he hath made
Hugh Binning—The Works of the Rev. Hugh Binning

"The Carnal Mind is Enmity against God for it is not Subject to the Law of God, Neither Indeed Can Be. So Then they that Are
Rom. viii. s 7, 8.--"The carnal mind is enmity against God for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God." It is not the least of man's evils, that he knows not how evil he is, therefore the Searcher of the heart of man gives the most perfect account of it, Jer. xvii. 12. "The heart is deceitful above all things," as well as "desperately wicked," two things superlative and excessive in it, bordering upon an infiniteness, such
Hugh Binning—The Works of the Rev. Hugh Binning

The Necessity of Actual Grace
In treating of the necessity of actual grace we must avoid two extremes. The first is that mere nature is absolutely incapable of doing any thing good. This error was held by the early Protestants and the followers of Baius and Jansenius. The second is that nature is able to perform supernatural acts by its own power. This was taught by the Pelagians and Semipelagians. Between these two extremes Catholic theology keeps the golden mean. It defends the capacity of human nature against Protestants and
Joseph Pohle—Grace, Actual and Habitual

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