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Results from: Answered Bible Questions, Answers, Unanswered Bible Questions, Notes Ordered by Verse | ||||||
Results | Verse | Author | ID# | |||
1 | Don't be too righteous; nor too wicked? | Eccl 7:16 | Just Read Mark | 110603 | ||
I would like to discuss this verse (Ecc 7:15-18), as well as Ecclesiates generally. This verse seems to expound a human wisdom: that, being radical for what is good is very costly, so one leads a happier life with some compromise with evil. The one who fears God will succeed in holding both good and evil simultaneously (v18). I notice the lengths the amplified version goes to, to rationalize this verse with our usual sense of scripture. Their rendering, however, seems to distort the sense of the text - especially taking the book as a whole. In many ways this is a cynical book, seeing no merit in righteousness. For all mortals come to the same end anyway. Even pursuing holiness and wisdom is vanity. (Thanks be to Jesus Christ, who rescues us from the vanity of life!) So, as the wise Teacher brings forward the critique of Vanity, what are we to hold onto? He offers advice here and there, but (as we see in this verse) it is not always good advice. It represents a human seeking after the good life, and often discovers only arbitrariness in God, and certainty in death. How do we weigh this advice? Yours, JRM. (P.S. the forum has another discussion of this passage, at Ecc7:18. Somehow it became a discussion of Balance, forgetting the text commends a balance of good and evil.) |
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2 | Don't be too righteous; nor too wicked? | Eccl 7:16 | kalos | 110604 | ||
Ecclesiastes 7:16 JRM: You write: "Their rendering [the amplified version], however, seems to distort the sense of the text - especially taking the book as a whole." What do you mean by that? Peace, kalos |
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3 | Don't be too righteous; nor too wicked? | Eccl 7:16 | Just Read Mark | 110618 | ||
What does "righteous" mean here? Hi Kalos. I don't have clear answers, but here's what I'm thinking. A general theme throughout the Bible is that we should strive for holiness. Admittedly, we fall short. But the New Testament reiterates the refrain of the Olde: "Be Holy, for I am Holy" (ie. 1Peter 1:16) This verse (I think) contradicts that instruction -- saying that seeking holiness can lead to a lot of problems. Look at Jeremiah being thrown in the cistern, and the persecution of the prophets in general. Look at people that stick up for justice today, and are punished. Holiness is very costly, and brings not peace but a sword. (Matt 10:34) One of the themes is Ecclesiastes seems to be "don't stand out. Just do your work, take pleasure in simple things." To strive for more than this is dangerous. So I would say "overly righteous" means to truely strive after holiness. The Amplified Version, I think, wants to gloss over the difficulty of this. Thus, they make the word righteous to mean "self-righteous" --- an arrogant attitude of legalism or pride. I see no reason for this in the text (other than to avoid difficult questions), and no echoes of it elsewhere in Ecclesiastes. If I am right about this, I am still left with a puzzle. How should I understand the moments of advice offered in this book? I see a struggling philosopher, trying on various approaches to life (work, pleasure, family, etc) - and then discarding them. So, is "be neither too righteous nor too wicked" advice to follow, or is this an opionion he experiments with and then rejects? How do we read this verse in context? |
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4 | Don't be too righteous; nor too wicked? | Eccl 7:16 | Morant61 | 110636 | ||
Greetings JustReadMark! I think that you have hit the nail on the head. Ecclesiastes contains many statements which are a man's attempts to understand life, and which are not necessarily true. Solomon struggles with many things. The one being mentioned in this passage is that both the righteous and the wicked die. But, when Solomon reaches the conclusion of his book, he says: Ecc. 12:13 - "Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. 14 For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil." So, no matter what Solomon may have thought about righteous living from his human perspective, his final conclusion was that we must obey God. So, I would not take Ecc. 7:16 as a command for us not to be holy. Further, we must always let the clear statements of Scripture interpret the less clear. The clear statements of Scripture specify that we are to be holy. Your Brother in Christ, Tim Moran |
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Questions and/or Subjects for Eccl 7:16 | Author | ||
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Just Read Mark | ||
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kalos | ||
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Just Read Mark | ||
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Morant61 |