Ecclesiastes 13
Notes
Transcript
15 In my futile life I have seen everything: someone righteous perishes in spite of his righteousness, and someone wicked lives long in spite of his evil.
16 Don’t be excessively righteous, and don’t be overly wise. Why should you destroy yourself?
17 Don’t be excessively wicked, and don’t be foolish. Why should you die before your time?
18 It is good that you grasp the one and do not let the other slip from your hand. For the one who fears God will end up with both of them.
19 Wisdom makes the wise person stronger than ten rulers of a city.
20 There is certainly no one righteous on the earth who does good and never sins.
The Bible Knowledge Commentary (7:16–18)
Solomon closed his argument in this section by noting that it is good to follow both warnings and by recommending that one who fears God (cf. Ecc. 3:14; 5:7; 8:12; 12:13) should avoid all (or better, “both”) extremes (7:18). As in 2:14 and 3:19, the Hebrew word kōl can mean either “both” or “all.” The two extremes to avoid are (a) depending on one’s own righteousness and (b) becoming loose in one’s living (being overly wicked).
15 In my futile life I have seen everything: someone righteous perishes in spite of his righteousness, and someone wicked lives long in spite of his evil.
Holman Concise Bible Commentary On Wisdom and Religion (7:15–29)
Ecclesiastes here addresses those who follow the traditional teaching of wisdom that a disciplined life is prosperous and safe but a life of indulgence is fraught with disaster.
4 Humility, the fear of the Lord, results in wealth, honor, and life.
5 There are thorns and snares on the way of the crooked; the one who guards himself stays far from them.
6 Start a youth out on his way; even when he grows old he will not depart from it.
1 God is indeed good to Israel, to the pure in heart.
2 But as for me, my feet almost slipped; my steps nearly went astray.
3 For I envied the arrogant; I saw the prosperity of the wicked.
4 They have an easy time until they die, and their bodies are well fed.
5 They are not in trouble like others; they are not afflicted like most people.
6 Therefore, pride is their necklace, and violence covers them like a garment.
7 Their eyes bulge out from fatness; the imaginations of their hearts run wild.
8 They mock, and they speak maliciously; they arrogantly threaten oppression.
9 They set their mouths against heaven, and their tongues strut across the earth.
10 Therefore his people turn to them and drink in their overflowing words.
11 The wicked say, “How can God know? Does the Most High know everything?”
12 Look at them—the wicked! They are always at ease, and they increase their wealth.
16 Don’t be excessively righteous, and don’t be overly wise. Why should you destroy yourself?
17 Don’t be excessively wicked, and don’t be foolish. Why should you die before your time?
18 It is good that you grasp the one and do not let the other slip from your hand. For the one who fears God will end up with both of them.
13 Did I purify my heart and wash my hands in innocence for nothing?
14 For I am afflicted all day long and punished every morning.
15 If I had decided to say these things aloud, I would have betrayed your people.
16 When I tried to understand all this, it seemed hopeless
17 until I entered God’s sanctuary. Then I understood their destiny.
18 Indeed, you put them in slippery places; you make them fall into ruin.
19 How suddenly they become a desolation! They come to an end, swept away by terrors.
20 Like one waking from a dream, Lord, when arising, you will despise their image.
21 When I became embittered and my innermost being was wounded,
22 I was stupid and didn’t understand; I was an unthinking animal toward you.
23 Yet I am always with you; you hold my right hand.
24 You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will take me up in glory.
25 Who do I have in heaven but you? And I desire nothing on earth but you.
26 My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart, my portion forever.
27 Those far from you will certainly perish; you destroy all who are unfaithful to you.
28 But as for me, God’s presence is my good. I have made the Lord God my refuge, so I can tell about all you do.
19 Wisdom makes the wise person stronger than ten rulers of a city.
20 There is certainly no one righteous on the earth who does good and never sins.
Found in 1 Kings 8 Solomon’s prayer of dedication for the Temple
10 as it is written: There is no one righteous, not even one.
11 There is no one who understands; there is no one who seeks God.
12 All have turned away; all alike have become worthless. There is no one who does what is good, not even one.
13 Their throat is an open grave; they deceive with their tongues. Vipers’ venom is under their lips.
14 Their mouth is full of cursing and bitterness.
15 Their feet are swift to shed blood;
16 ruin and wretchedness are in their paths,
17 and the path of peace they have not known.
18 There is no fear of God before their eyes.
21 But now, apart from the law, the righteousness of God has been revealed, attested by the Law and the Prophets.
22 The righteousness of God is through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe, since there is no distinction.
23 For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God;
24 they are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.
28 But as for me, God’s presence is my good. I have made the Lord God my refuge, so I can tell about all you do.