TEXT [Commentary]

  3.   Wisdom and righteousness don’t help (7:15-22)

15 I have seen everything in this meaningless life, including the death of good young people and the long life of wicked people. 16 So don’t be too good or too wise! Why destroy yourself? 17 On the other hand, don’t be too wicked either. Don’t be a fool! Why die before your time? 18 Pay attention to these instructions, for anyone who fears God will avoid both extremes.[*]

19 One wise person is stronger than ten leading citizens of a town!

20 Not a single person on earth is always good and never sins.

21 Don’t eavesdrop on others—you may hear your servant curse you. 22 For you know how often you yourself have cursed others.

NOTES

7:15 good. The NLT translates the Heb. word tsaddiq [TH6662, ZH7404] and its related forms as “good” in this passage, which is certainly fitting in the context. However, the word is often translated “righteous” (e.g., 9:2; Gen 6:9) and has a broader sense (though difficult to define). It implies not only good behavior but also a right relationship with God.

7:16 don’t be . . . too wise. The Heb. verb here (khakam [TH2449, ZH2681]) is based on the hitpael stem and has given rise to considerable controversy. Some scholars have argued that the hitpael stem here indicates pretense, that is “don’t pretend to be wise” (see Kaiser 1979:85-87; Whybray 1978). Seow provides the right response in his study of this word when he simply says in response to this conclusion: “The Hithpael of khakam never indicates pretense anywhere” (1997:253). For an extensive discussion of this issue and this passage, see Strange (1969).

COMMENTARY [Text]

The overarching teaching of this section of Qoheleth’s speech is that, though wisdom has some benefit in relationship to other human qualities and attributes (7:19), it really does not help in the final analysis. Thus, one should not have too high an expectation of wisdom.

This teaching begins in 7:15-18, which clearly forms a paragraph and makes an argument for moderation. What is surprising is that it is a case for moderation in the pursuit of wisdom and righteousness! One would not find such attitudes expressed in Proverbs. Hear what the sage says in Proverbs 2:1-8:

My child, listen to what I say,

and treasure my commands.

Tune your ears to wisdom,

and concentrate on understanding.

Cry out for insight,

and ask for understanding.

Search for them as you would for silver;

seek them like hidden treasures.

Then you will understand what it means to fear the LORD,

and you will gain knowledge of God.

For the LORD grants wisdom!

From his mouth come knowledge and understanding.

He grants a treasure of common sense to the honest.

He is a shield to those who walk with integrity.

He guards the paths of the just

and protects those who are faithful to him.

In the book of Proverbs, wisdom is integrally connected to righteousness and is highly desired because it leads to life. So why does the Teacher here advise, “Don’t be too good or too wise!” Quite simply, he gives this advice because his observation and experience have led him to believe that wisdom and goodness have no reward. That’s his point in 7:15. As he has looked at life, which he has time and time again concluded is meaningless, he has seen that good people die young and wicked people live a long time. Of course, not every good person dies young and not every wicked person lives long, but the point is that a superficial reading of Proverbs might lead one to believe that every good person should have a good, long life.

If one isolates individual proverbs out of the book and treats them as universally true laws, then one could rationally conclude that the righteous would never be harmed. Take for instance, Proverbs 10:3, which declares, “The LORD will not let the godly go hungry, but he refuses to satisfy the craving of the wicked.”

As we look at this and similar sounding proverbs, we must be careful to keep in mind that the proverb form does not state law but, rather, generally true principles. They are not always true, but they describe behaviors that are normally true and advise living according to those principles. It is much less likely, the proverb suggests, that people will go hungry if they follow God (which would include not being lazy, see Prov 10:4-5) than if they turn their backs on him. Indeed, there are other proverbs that acknowledge that the wise sometimes suffer, at least for a period, and the wicked prosper (see the excellent article by van Leeuwen [1992]).

A problem develops if one understands the wisdom tradition of the Bible to teach that the wise or righteous are invariably blessed with material wealth and health and the wicked are not. We may take the three friends of Job—Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar—as a case in point. As they saw the sufferings of Job (who we know from the first two chapters of the book is innocent), they applied a rigid formula. “Sin is punished by suffering. Therefore, if one suffers, then one is a sinner.” The inevitable conclusion for them was that Job was a sinner.

Qoheleth seems to have shared the position of the three friends of Job regarding the ability of wisdom to guarantee reward or retribution, but when he observed that life did not bear this out, he questioned the value of wisdom. Wisdom is supposed to bring life, but too many wise people die young for that to be true. So, he concludes, what good is it ultimately to be wise? Indeed, to be too wise or righteous might bring attention to oneself and perhaps cause trouble. As he argues for an avoidance of extremes, he turns right around and, in 7:17, counsels that one avoid folly and wickedness as well. The bottom line of his advice seems to be to reach for moderation and avoid the extremes of both wisdom (or goodness) and folly (or wickedness). He specifically advises those who “fear God” to “avoid” the “extremes.” Qoheleth seems to use this phrase “fear God” in the oddest places (5:7; 8:12-13—the phrase also occurs in 12:13, but Qoheleth is not the speaker there). The phrase for Qoheleth does not have the sense of respect and awe, but of utter terror of God who is in absolute control and doesn’t always reward wisdom and punish wickedness. At this point, we need to remember that Qoheleth is reflecting the skeptical point of view of a confused wisdom teacher. His views will be evaluated by the second wise man whose words we hear in the epilogue (12:8-14, see “Author” in the Introduction).

In spite of his negative views on the ultimate effects of wisdom, it is interesting that the very next proverb (7:19) asserts the value of wisdom, at least in comparison with other human capacities and abilities: “One wise person is stronger than ten leading citizens of a town.” Wisdom is better, therefore, than political power. He has made this point with an anecdote in 4:13-16 as well: a poor but wise youth is better than an old, foolish king. However, that anecdote went on to show how even that youth’s life and contribution was ultimately meaningless. Again, he will return to this subject in 9:13-16, where the point will be made that although wisdom outstrips political strength in its benefit to people, even wisdom is ultimately meaningless.

Verse 20 then asserts the limits of human ability. Qoheleth sounds like Paul in Romans 3:9-20, where the apostle quotes from a number of Old Testament books, especially from Psalms. Qoheleth denies that anybody on the face of the earth is righteous—that is, “always good” and without sin. Perhaps this is another reason for the advice in 7:16. If one cannot be consistently good, why put so much effort into it? This understanding of human nature may lead to the advice given in 7:21-22. It is a warning not to eavesdrop on the talk of a servant. A servant might curse his master. The verse may be implying that if the master hears it, he will be tempted to punish the servant; but then again, if the master thinks about it, he will remember that he has cursed others himself. “Let the one who is without sin cast the first stone”—after all, no one is “always good and never sins” (7:20).