Ecclesiastes 7:16

Bible in Basic English (1941)

Be not given overmuch to righteousness and be not over-wise. Why let destruction come on you?

Additional Resources

Referenced Verses

  • Rom 12:3 : 3 But I say to every one of you, through the grace given to me, not to have an over-high opinion of himself, but to have wise thoughts, as God has given to every one a measure of faith.
  • Luke 18:12 : 12 Twice in the week I go without food; I give a tenth of all I have.
  • Prov 25:16 : 16 If you have honey, take only as much as is enough for you; for fear that, being full of it, you may not be able to keep it down.
  • Phil 3:6 : 6 In bitter hate I was cruel to the church; I kept all the righteousness of the law to the last detail.
  • Col 2:18 : 18 Let no man take your reward from you by consciously making little of himself and giving worship to angels; having his thoughts fixed on the things which he has seen, being foolishly lifted up in his natural mind,
  • Col 2:23 : 23 These things seem to have a sort of wisdom in self-ordered worship and making little of oneself, and being cruel to the body, not honouring it by giving it its natural use.
  • 1 Tim 4:3 : 3 Who keep men from being married and from taking food which God made to be taken with praise by those who have faith and true knowledge.
  • Jas 3:13-17 : 13 Who has wisdom and good sense among you? let him make his works clear by a life of gentle wisdom. 14 But if you have bitter envy in your heart and the desire to get the better of others, have no pride in this, talking falsely against what is true. 15 This wisdom is not from heaven, but is of the earth and the flesh and the Evil One. 16 For where envy is, and the desire to get the better of others, there is no order, but every sort of evil-doing. 17 But the wisdom which is from heaven is first holy, then gentle, readily giving way in argument, full of peace and mercy and good works, not doubting, not seeming other than it is.
  • Rev 18:19 : 19 And they put dust on their heads, and were sad, weeping and crying, and saying, Sorrow, sorrow for the great town, in which was increased the wealth of all who had their ships on the sea because of her great stores! for in one hour she is made waste.
  • Eccl 12:12 : 12 And further, my son, take note of this: of the making of books there is no end, and much learning is a weariness to the flesh.
  • Matt 6:1-7 : 1 Take care not to do your good works before men, to be seen by them; or you will have no reward from your Father in heaven. 2 When then you give money to the poor, do not make a noise about it, as the false-hearted men do in the Synagogues and in the streets, so that they may have glory from men. Truly, I say to you, They have their reward. 3 But when you give money, let not your left hand see what your right hand does: 4 So that your giving may be in secret; and your Father, who sees in secret, will give you your reward. 5 And when you make your prayers, be not like the false-hearted men, who take pleasure in getting up and saying their prayers in the Synagogues and at the street turnings so that they may be seen by men. Truly I say to you, They have their reward. 6 But when you make your prayer, go into your private room, and, shutting the door, say a prayer to your Father in secret, and your Father, who sees in secret, will give you your reward. 7 And in your prayer do not make use of the same words again and again, as the Gentiles do: for they have the idea that God will give attention to them because of the number of their words.
  • Matt 9:14 : 14 Then the disciples of John came to him, saying, Why do we and the Pharisees frequently go without food, but your disciples do not?
  • Matt 15:2-9 : 2 Why do your disciples go against the teaching of the fathers? for they take food with unwashed hands. 3 And in answer he said to them, Why do you, yourselves, go against the word of God on account of the teaching which has been handed down to you? 4 For God said, Give honour to your father and mother: and, He who says evil of father or mother will be put to death. 5 But you say, If a man says to his father or his mother, That by which you might have had profit from me is given to God; 6 There is no need for him to give honour to his father. And you have made the word of God without effect because of your teaching. 7 You false ones, well did Isaiah say of you, 8 These people give me honour with their lips, but their heart is far from me. 9 But their worship is to no purpose, while they give as their teaching the rules of men.
  • Matt 23:5 : 5 But all their works they do so as to be seen by men: for they make wide their phylacteries, and the edges of their robes,
  • Matt 23:23-24 : 23 A curse is on you, scribes and Pharisees, false ones! for you make men give a tenth of all sorts of sweet-smelling plants, but you give no thought to the more important things of the law, righteousness, and mercy, and faith; but it is right for you to do these, and not to let the others be undone. 24 You blind guides, who take out a fly from your drink, but make no trouble over a camel.
  • Matt 23:29 : 29 A curse is on you, scribes and Pharisees, false ones! because you put up buildings for housing the dead bodies of the prophets, and make fair the last resting-places of good men, and say,
  • Matt 23:38 : 38 See, your house is made waste.
  • Rom 10:2 : 2 For I give witness of them that they have a strong desire for God, but not with knowledge.
  • Rom 11:25 : 25 For it is my desire, brothers, that this secret may be clear to you, so that you may not have pride in your knowledge, that Israel has been made hard in part, till all the Gentiles have come in;
  • 1 Cor 3:18 : 18 Let no man have a false idea. If any man seems to himself to be wise among you, let him become foolish, so that he may be wise.
  • 1 Cor 3:20 : 20 And again, The Lord has knowledge of the reasonings of the wise, that they are nothing.
  • Gen 3:6 : 6 And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and a delight to the eyes, and to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit, and gave it to her husband.
  • Job 11:12 : 12 And so a hollow-minded man will get wisdom, when a young ass of the field gets teaching.
  • Job 28:28 : 28 And he said to man, Truly the fear of the Lord is wisdom, and to keep from evil is the way to knowledge.
  • Prov 23:4 : 4 Take no care to get wealth; let there be an end to your desire for money.

Similar Verses (AI)

These verses are found using AI-powered semantic similarity based on meaning and context. Results may occasionally include unexpected connections.

  • Eccl 7:17-23
    7 verses
    88%

    17 Be not evil overmuch, and be not foolish. Why come to your end before your time?

    18 It is good to take this in your hand and not to keep your hand from that; he who has the fear of God will be free of the two.

    19 Wisdom makes a wise man stronger than ten rulers in a town.

    20 There is no man on earth of such righteousness that he does good and is free from sin all his days.

    21 Do not give ear to all the words which men say, for fear of hearing the curses of your servant.

    22 Your heart has knowledge how frequently others have been cursed by you.

    23 All this I have put to the test by wisdom; I said, I will be wise, but it was far from me.

  • Eccl 7:13-15
    3 verses
    75%

    13 Give thought to the work of God. Who will make straight what he has made bent?

    14 In the day of wealth have joy, but in the day of evil take thought: God has put the one against the other, so that man may not be certain what will be after him.

    15 These two have I seen in my life which is to no purpose: a good man coming to his end in his righteousness, and an evil man whose days are long in his evil-doing.

  • Eccl 7:9-11
    3 verses
    75%

    9 Be not quick to let your spirit be angry; because wrath is in the heart of the foolish.

    10 Say not, Why were the days which have gone by better than these? Such a question comes not from wisdom.

    11 Wisdom together with a heritage is good, and a profit to those who see the sun.

  • Prov 3:7
    75%

    7 Put no high value on your wisdom: let the fear of the Lord be before you, and keep yourself from evil:

  • Prov 23:4
    75%

    4 Take no care to get wealth; let there be an end to your desire for money.

  • Eccl 7:4-7
    4 verses
    73%

    4 The hearts of the wise are in the house of weeping; but the hearts of the foolish are in the house of joy.

    5 It is better to take note of the protest of the wise, than for a man to give ear to the song of the foolish.

    6 Like the cracking of thorns under a pot, so is the laugh of a foolish man; and this again is to no purpose.

    7 The wise are troubled by the ways of the cruel, and the giving of money is the destruction of the heart.

  • Prov 14:12
    71%

    12 There is a way which seems straight before a man, but its end is the ways of death.

  • 1 Cor 3:18
    71%

    18 Let no man have a false idea. If any man seems to himself to be wise among you, let him become foolish, so that he may be wise.

  • Eccl 1:18
    71%

    18 Because in much wisdom is much grief, and increase of knowledge is increase of sorrow.

  • Eccl 2:15-16
    2 verses
    70%

    15 Then said I in my heart: As it comes to the foolish man, so will it come to me; so why have I been wise overmuch? Then I said in my heart: This again is to no purpose.

    16 Of the wise man, as of the foolish man, there is no memory for ever, seeing that those who now are will have gone from memory in the days to come. See how death comes to the wise as to the foolish!

  • Job 36:18
    70%

    18 ...

  • Jer 9:23
    70%

    23 This is the word of the Lord: Let not the wise man take pride in his wisdom, or the strong man in his strength, or the man of wealth in his wealth:

  • Prov 16:25
    70%

    25 There is a way which seems straight before a man, but its end is the ways of death.

  • Prov 19:3
    70%

    3 By his foolish behaviour a man's ways are turned upside down, and his heart is bitter against the Lord.

  • Prov 27:1
    70%

    1 Do not make a noise about tomorrow, for you are not certain what a day's outcome may be.

  • Isa 5:21
    70%

    21 Cursed are those who seem wise to themselves, and who take pride in their knowledge!

  • Prov 26:4-5
    2 verses
    70%

    4 Do not give to the foolish man a foolish answer, or you will be like him.

    5 Give a foolish man a foolish answer, or he will seem wise to himself.

  • Prov 11:4
    70%

    4 Wealth is of no profit in the day of wrath, but righteousness keeps a man safe from death.

  • Prov 25:27
    70%

    27 It is not good to take much honey: so he who is not looking for honour will be honoured.

  • Prov 1:32
    70%

    32 For the turning back of the simple from teaching will be the cause of their death, and the peace of the foolish will be their destruction.

  • Prov 13:6-7
    2 verses
    69%

    6 Righteousness keeps safe him whose way is without error, but evil-doers are overturned by sin.

    7 A man may be acting as if he had wealth, but have nothing; another may seem poor, but have great wealth.

  • Prov 24:15
    69%

    15 Do not keep a secret watch, O evil-doer, against the fields of the upright man, or send destruction on his resting-place:

  • Eccl 7:25
    69%

    25 I gave my mind to knowledge and to searching for wisdom and the reason of things, and to the discovery that sin is foolish, and that to be foolish is to be without one's senses.

  • Prov 10:2
    69%

    2 Wealth which comes from sin is of no profit, but righteousness gives salvation from death.

  • Eccl 11:9-10
    2 verses
    69%

    9 Have joy, O young man, while you are young; and let your heart be glad in the days of your strength, and go in the ways of your heart, and in the desire of your eyes; but be certain that for all these things God will be your judge.

    10 So put away trouble from your heart, and sorrow from your flesh; because the early years and the best years are to no purpose.

  • Prov 14:8
    69%

    8 The wisdom of the man of good sense makes his way clear; but the unwise behaviour of the foolish is deceit.

  • Prov 17:26
    69%

    26 To give punishment to the upright is not good, or to give blows to the noble for their righteousness.

  • Eccl 5:7
    69%

    7 If you see the poor under a cruel yoke, and law and right being violently overturned in a country, be not surprised, because one authority is keeping watch on another and there are higher than they.

  • Eccl 1:15
    69%

    15 That which is bent may not be made straight, and that which is not there may not be numbered.

  • Prov 21:12
    69%

    12 The Upright One, looking on the house of the evil-doer, lets sinners be overturned to their destruction.

  • Prov 19:10
    69%

    10 Material comfort is not good for the foolish; much less for a servant to be put over rulers.

  • Matt 7:1
    69%

    1 Be not judges of others, and you will not be judged.