to increase (in whatever respect) · verb, hiphil infinitive absolute
wicked
תִּרְשַׁ֥עtir.Sha'
H7561
to be (causatively · verb, qal jussive, 2nd person masculine singular
foolish
סָכָ֑לsa.Khal
H5530
silly · adjective, masculine singular absolute
die
תָמ֖וּתta.Mut
H4191
to die (literally or figuratively) · verb, qal imperfect, 2nd person masculine singular
time
עִתֶּֽךָ'i.Te.kha
H6256
time · noun, common both genders singular construct + pronominal suffix, 2nd person masculine singular
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
Proverbs 10:27 The fear of the LORD prolongeth days: but the years of the wicked shall be shortened.
Job 22:16 Which were cut down out of time, whose foundation was overflown with a flood:
Psalms 55:23 But thou, O God, shalt bring them down into the pit of destruction: bloody and deceitful men shall not live out half their days; but I will…
Acts 12:23 And immediately the angel of the Lord smote him, because he gave not God the glory: and he was eaten of worms, and gave up the ghost.
Acts 5:5 And Ananias hearing these words fell down, and gave up the ghost: and great fear came on all them that heard these things.
Acts 5:10 Then fell she down straightway at his feet, and yielded up the ghost: and the young men came in, and found her dead, and, carrying her forth…
Genesis 38:7-10 And Er, Judah’s firstborn, was wicked in the sight of the LORD; and the LORD slew him.
1 Samuel 25:38 And it came to pass about ten days after, that the LORD smote Nabal, that he died.
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Ecclesiastes 7:11-22
Solomon, in these verses, recommends wisdom to us as the best antidote against those distempers of mind which we are liable to, by reason of the vanity and vexation of spirit that there are in the things of this world. Here are some of the praises and the precepts of wisdom.
I. The praises of wisdom. Many things are here said in its commendation, to engage us to get and retain wisdom. 1. Wisdom is necessary to the right managing and improving of our worldly possessions: Wisdom is good with an inheritance, that is, an inheritance is good for little without wisdom. Though a man have a great estate, though it come easily to him, by descent from his ancestors, if he have not wisdom to use it for…
over much wicked--so worded, to answer to "righteous over much." For if not taken thus, it would seem to imply that we may be wicked a little. "Wicked" refers to "wicked man" (Ecc 7:15); "die before thy time," to "prolongeth his life," antithetically. There may be a wicked man spared to "live long," owing to his avoiding gross excesses (Ecc 7:15). Solomon says, therefore, Be not so foolish (answering antithetically to "over wise," Ecc 7:16), as to run to such excess of riot, that God will be provoked to cut off prematurely thy day of grace (Rom 2:5). The precept is addressed to a sinner. Beware of aggravating thy sin, so as to make thy case desperate. It refers to the days of Solomon's "vani…
Be not over much wicked,.... Not that a man should be wicked at all; but some, observing that wicked men prolong their days in wickedness, are encouraged to go into greater lengths in sin than they have yet done, and give up themselves to all iniquity; and run into excess of not, into the grossest and most scandalous enormities. Some render it, "do not disturb" or "frighten thyself" (a), distress and distract thyself with the business of life, bustling and stirring, restless and uneasy, to get wealth and riches; but be easy and satisfied with what is enjoyed, or comes without so much stir and trouble; this is the original sense of the word. The meaning seems to be, either do not multiply sin…
The Church Fathers
He who endeavors to amend the faults of human weakness ought to bear this very weakness on his own shoulders, let it weigh upon himself, not cast it off. For we read that the Shepherd in the Gospel carried the weary sheep and did not cast it off. And Solomon says, "Be not overmuch righteous," for restraint should temper righteousness. For how shall he offer himself to you for healing whom you despise, who thinks that he will be an object of contempt, not of compassion, to his physician?
And as God promises to them that serve him truly, "I will fulfill the number of your days," Abraham dies "full of days," and David called on God, saying, "Take me not away in the midst of my days." And Eliphaz, one of the friends of Job, being assured of this truth, said, "You shall come to your grave … like as a shock of corn comes in its season." And Solomon confirming his words, says, "The souls of the unrighteous are taken away untimely." And therefore he exhorts in the book of Ecclesiastes, saying, "Be not overmuch wicked, neither be hard: why should you die before your time?"
One is victorious who hopes for the grace of God, not he who presumes upon his own strength. For why do you not rely upon grace, since you have a merciful Judge in the contest? "For the Lord is merciful and just, and our God shows mercy." Mercy is mentioned twice, but justice once. Justice is in the middle, enclosed by a double wall of mercy. Sins superabound. Therefore let mercy superabound. With the Lord there is an abundance of all powers, for he is the Lord of hosts. Yet there is neither justice without mercy, nor without the exercise of mercy is there justice, for it is written, "Be not overjust." What is above measure, you cannot endure, even if it is good. Preserve measure, that you may receive according to the measure.
The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).
Dictionary and topics
Prudence · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
Up to this point all is clear: righteousness and wisdom are good and wholesome, and worth striving for; but even in these a transgressing of the right measure is possible (Luther remembers the summum just summa injuria), which has as a consequence, that they become destructive to man, because he thereby becomes a caricature, and either perishes rushing from one extreme into another, or is removed out of the way by others whose hatred he provokes. But it is strange that the author now warns against an excess in wickedness, so that he seems to find wickedness, up to a certain degree, praiseworthy and advisable. So much the stranger, since "be no fool" stands as contrast to "show not thyself wi…
don’t be too wicked either: Wicked foolishness can lead to an early death (e.g., 1 Sam 25).
Rashi on Ecclesiastes 7:17
Be not excessively wicked. Even if you have been somewhat wicked, do not continue to act wickedly.
Why should you die before your time. As Shaul did, as it is stated, “and Shaul died for his transgressions that he committed [against Adonoy],”42I Divrei Hayomim 10:13. in the case of Nov, the city of kohanim,43See I Shmuel 22:16-19. and in the case of Amoleik.44See I Shmuel 15:8-15.
