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Ecclesiastes 7:18

in Ecclesiastes 7

It is good to grasp the one and not let the other slip from your hand. For he who fears God will follow both warnings.

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

It is good that thou shouldest take hold of this; yea, also from that withdraw not thy hand: for he that feareth God shall come forth from them all.

KJV

It is good that thou shouldest take hold of this; yea, also from this withdraw not thine hand: for he that feareth God shall come forth of them all.

This verse in Ecclesiastes 7

Commentary

9 notes on this verse

A commentator

Jerome

Commentary on Ecclesiastes · Written before 420.

"It is good that you should take hold of this, and do not withdraw your hand; for he that fears God shall come forth of them all. "It is good to do good to righteous men, but also being kind to sinners is not wicked. It is good to keep slaves faithful to you, but it is advised to do this only with those who seek your employment. Even he who fears God and copies his maker, who causes rain to fall over both the righteous and the wicked, enjoys doing good to all without distinction.

This site's exposition

In my futile life I have seen both of these

on Ecclesiastes 7:15-18

The Teacher reports two anomalies, A righteous man perishing and a wicked man living long. The counsel Do not be overly righteous has drawn two readings, a caution against censorious strictness, or the world's excuse for sin reported. For he who fears God will follow both warnings.

This site's exposition

grasp the one

Jamieson, Fausset and Brown take the one and the other as the two extremes of verses 16 and 17, self-wise righteousness and reckless wickedness. The fear of God carries a man past both. Jerome reads the verse as doing good to the righteous and to sinners alike.

The record, by era

The Medieval Church2 voices

A commentator

Bonaventure

Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 7 · Written in the 13th century.

proposed

Here is noted the third instruction, in which he counsels the display of mercy: and he sets forth first the exhortation and then adds the reason. He exhorts, when he says: "It is good for you to support the just one," namely in justice: Proverbs …

A commentator

Bonaventure

Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 2 · Written in the 13th century.

proposed

"Let the fear of the Lord be with you, and do all things with diligence": as if to say: do not be sluggish or negligent, because it is written in Ecclesiastes: "He who fears God neglects nothing." If I believed that a thief was going …

The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices

It is good that thou shouldest take hold of this,....

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

proposed

Wisdom will teach us how to conduct ourselves in reference to the sins and offences of others, which commonly contribute more than any thing else to the disturbance of our repose, which contract both guilt and grief. (1.) Wisdom teaches us not to expect that those we deal with should be faultless; we ourselves are not so, none are so, no, not the best.

The Nineteenth Century1 voice

A commentator

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible · Written before 1832.

It is good that thou shouldest take hold or this - Do not let such an observation slip: take hold of this; do not forget that. Get what you can in an honest way; but do not forget to get true religion; for he that fears God will be saved from all evil.
1 more voice on this verse

The Nineteenth Century1 voice

A commentator

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

proposed

this . . . this--the two opposite excesses (Ec 7:16, 17), fanatical, self-wise righteousness, and presumptuous, foolhardy wickedness. he that feareth God shall come forth of them all--shall escape all such extremes (Pr 3:7).

quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase

The words behind it

16 Hebrew words

Every Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.

  • ט֚וֹב[is] good

    tovH2896 →538 times

  • אֲשֶׁ֣רthat

    ʾasherH834 →5497 times

  • תֶּאֱחֹ֣זyou will take hold

    teechozH270 →67 times

  • בָּזֶ֔הon this

    bazehH2088 →1180 times

  • וְגַם־and also

    vegam-H1571 →769 times

  • מִזֶּ֖הfrom this

    mizehH2088 →1180 times

  • אַל־may not

    ʾal-H408 →724 times

  • תַּנַּ֣חyou give rest to

    tanachH5117 →142 times

  • אֶת־<obj.>

    ʾet-H853 →10935 times

  • יָדֶ֑ךָhand your

    yadekhaH3027 →1618 times

  • כִּֽי־for

    ki-H3588 →4482 times

  • יְרֵ֥א[one] fearing

    yere'H3373 →64 times

  • אֱלֹהִ֖ים<of> God

    ʾelohimH430 →2601 times

  • יֵצֵ֥אhe will go out

    yetze'H3318 →1067 times

  • אֶת־<obj.>

    ʾet-H853 →10935 times

  • כֻּלָּֽם׃all of them

    kulamH3605 →5413 times

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

The walk

8 stops

Each card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.

  • Through

    Ecclesiastes 11:6

    Sow your seed in the morning, and do not rest your hands in the evening, for you do not know which will succeed, whether this or that, or if both will equally prosper.

    it leads to

    • 2 Corinthians 9:10–11

      Now He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your store of seed and will increase the harvest of your righteousness.

    • Isaiah 55:10

      For just as rain and snow fall from heaven and do not return without watering the earth, making it bud and sprout, and providing seed to sow and food to eat,

    • Haggai 1:6–11

      You have planted much but harvested little. You eat but never have enough. You drink but never have your fill. You put on clothes but never get warm. You earn wages to put into…

    • Hosea 10:12

      Sow for yourselves righteousness and reap the fruit of loving devotion; break up your unplowed ground. For it is time to seek the LORD until He comes and sends righteousness upon you like rain.

    • 2 Corinthians 9:6

      Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously.

  • Through

    Ecclesiastes 12:13

    When all has been heard, the conclusion of the matter is this: Fear God and keep His commandments, because this is the whole duty of man.

    it leads to

    • Deuteronomy 10:12

      And now, O Israel, what does the LORD your God ask of you but to fear the LORD your God by walking in all His ways, to love Him, to serve the LORD your…

    • Micah 6:8

      He has shown you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you but to act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?

  • Through

    Malachi 4:2

    “But for you who fear My name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings, and you will go out and leap like calves from the stall.

    it leads to

    • Jeremiah 33:6

      Nevertheless, I will bring to it health and healing, and I will heal its people and reveal to them the abundance of peace and truth.

Where this verse is studied

About Ecclesiastes

King Solomon in Old Age, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.
King Solomon in Old Age, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Bonaventure, Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 7; Bonaventure, Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 2; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Ecclesiastes; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.