Bible Strands
Ecclesiastes 7:16
Do not be overly righteous, and do not make yourself too wise. Why should you destroy yourself?
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Qohelet addresses a general audience, drawing a practical conclusion from the paradox he just described: the righteous perishing in their righteousness (7:15). The moment is a pivot from observation to instruction, bracketed by a parallel warning against excess wickedness (7:17).
The words — יוֹתֵר (yoter) = "excess," surplus past the point of usefulness; it marks a line crossed, not merely a high degree. The parallel הַרְבֵּה (harbeh) = "greatly" marks degree; yoter marks the boundary.
The thread — Proverbs 25:16 gives the same principle in image: eat only the honey you need, lest you vomit it. Romans 12:3 echoes the warning against self-assessment beyond what is given; the thread is moderation as survival, not moderation as virtue.
Why it lands — The verse does not condemn righteousness or wisdom; it condemns the self-directed project of being "more than" either. The question "Why should you destroy yourself?" reframes the cost: not moral failure, but self-annihilation.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
Be not righteous over much; neither make thyself over wise: why shouldest thou destroy thyself?
Cross-references
- Romans 12:3 For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but think of yourself with sober judgment, according to the measure of faith God has given you.
- Proverbs 25:16 If you find honey, eat just what you need, lest you have too much and vomit it up.
- Colossians 2:18 Do not let anyone who delights in false humility and the worship of angels disqualify you with speculation about what he has seen. Such a person is puffed up without basis by his unspiritual mind.
- Matthew 6:1 “Be careful not to perform your righteous acts before men to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.
- 1 Corinthians 3:18 Let no one deceive himself. If any of you thinks he is wise in this age, he should become a fool, so that he may become wise.
- James 3:13 Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show it by his good conduct, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom.
- Ecclesiastes 12:12 And by these, my son, be further warned: There is no end to the making of many books, and much study wearies the body.
- Genesis 3:6 When the woman saw that the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eyes, and that it was desirable for obtaining wisdom, she took the fruit and ate it. She also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate it.
- Colossians 2:23 Such restrictions indeed have an appearance of wisdom, with their self-prescribed worship, their false humility, and their harsh treatment of the body; but they are of no value against the indulgence of the flesh.
- Luke 18:12 I fast twice a week and pay tithes of all that I acquire.’