Ecclesiastes 7:20
in Ecclesiastes 7Surely there is no righteous man on earth who does good and never sins.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Surely there is not a righteous man upon earth, that doeth good, and sinneth not.
KJV
For there is not a just man upon earth, that doeth good, and sinneth not.
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This verse in Ecclesiastes 7
Commentary
16 notes on this verse"Wisdom strengthens the wise more than ten mighty men which are in the city. For there is not a just man on the earth, that does good and does not sin. "Therefore wisdom strengthens the righteous, and not even the aid of all the citizens of the city can help him, for although someone may be righteous, yet while he is alive he is subject to vices and sins, and he therefore needs greater protection.
This site's exposition
Wisdom makes the wise man stronger
on Ecclesiastes 7:19-22
Wisdom makes the wise man stronger than ten rulers in a city. The admission follows at once: there is no righteous man on earth who does good and never sins. The counsel not to heed every word that is spoken guards against a servant's curse overheard.
This site's exposition
there is no righteous man
Henry teaches that even the best of men, sanctified and doing good, still sin on this side of heaven. Augustine records Pelagius reading the verse as a report of what is on earth, leaving open whether a sinless man could exist. Origen names Jesus as the one exception.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers3 voices
If you wish to recall some other of the saints, the word of Scripture replies to you, saying, "There is no one upon the earth who does good and sins not." Therefore only Jesus rightly "has perfect hands"; who alone "does not sin," that is, who has perfect and whole works of his hands.
The following is one of the many arguments that Pelagius uses in treating this subject: "Once more I repeat: I say that it is possible for a person to be without sin. And what do you say? That it is impossible for a person to be without sin? But I do not say," he adds, "that there is a person without sin, nor do you say that there is not a person without sin. We are disputing about what is possible and impossible, not about what is and is not." Next he notes that a number of the passages of Scripture which are usually invoked against them do not bear upon the question in dispute, namely, whether or not a person can be without sin: "For there is no one who is free from pollution," and, "There is no one that does not sin," and, "There is no just person on the earth," and, "There is no one that does good." "These and other similar texts," he says, "apply to nonexistence, not to impossibility. By examples of this kind it is shown how some persons were at a given time, not that they could not have been something else. For this reason they are justly found to be guilty. For if they were as they were because they could not have been otherwise, then they are free from blame."
A commentator
Origen of AlexandriaCOMMENTARY ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 20:328 · Written before 253.
proposed
And it is likely also that in countless other things demons delude us and influence us to act according to their will. And it is possible that, just as no one among us is "clean from defilement," and there is no "just person on the earth who will do good and will not sin," so also there is no one who has always been free of demons and has never fallen victim to their influence.
The Medieval Church2 voices
Because the prophet says, "Behold, I was conceived in iniquity, and in sin did my mother bring me forth," no one coming into the world with sin can be sinless. That is why the same prophet says, "No one living shall be considered righteous in your sight," and Solomon, "There is no righteous man on earth, who does good, and does not sin."
There are less serious sins about which it has been written that "there is not a righteous person on earth who does what is good and does not sin," and, "No living person will be made righteous in your sight."
8 more voices on this verse
The Medieval Church2 voices
The Lord himself gives us sure confidence of obtaining what we properly ask when he adds, "Therefore if you, although you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father from heaven give his good Spirit to …
A commentator
BonaventureCommentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 7 · Written in the 13th century.
proposed
The third reason is human frailty, on account of which he says: "There is no just man on earth who does good and does not sin": and therefore one must have mercy on the sinner: Proverbs 24: "The just man falls seven times a day …
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
9 ), and here in his preaching. Note, [1.] It is the character of just men that they do good; for the tree is known by its fruits. [2.] The best men, and those that do most good, yet cannot say that they are perfectly free from sin; even those that are sanctified are not sinless. None that live on this side of heaven live without sin.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-citation-number+unbalanced-parens
For there is not a just man upon earth,....
In short, the best way to save ourselves from the vexation which the vanity of the world creates us is to keep our temper and to maintain a strict government of our passions. He laments his own iniquity, as that which was more vexatious than any of these vanities, that mystery of iniquity, the having of many wives, by which he was drawn away from God and his duty,
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
There is not a just man upon earth, that doeth good, and sinneth not - לא יחטא lo yechta, that may not sin. There is not a man upon earth, however just he may be, and habituated to do good, but is peccable - liable to commit sin; and therefore should continually watch and pray, and depend upon the Lord.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
Be not "self-righteous," seek not to make thyself "just" before God by a superabundance of self-imposed performances; "for true 'wisdom,' or 'righteousness,' shows that there is not a just man," &c.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
The connection of this verse with Ecc 7:18-19 becomes clearer if it is borne in mind that the fear of God, wisdom, and justice, are merely different sides of one and the same character, the formation of which is the aim of all the precepts in this chapter. The words “just” Ecc 7:15, Ecc 7:20 and “righteous” Ecc 7:16 are exactly the same in Hebrew.
The words behind it
10 Hebrew wordsEvery 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.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| כִּ֣י | ki | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| אָדָ֔ם | ʾadam | a person | H120 → | 551 times |
| אֵ֥ין | ʾein | there not | H369 → | 789 times |
| צַדִּ֖יק | tzadik | [is] righteous [person] | H6662 → | 206 times |
| בָּאָ֑רֶץ | baaretz | on the earth | H776 → | 2504 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֥ר | ʾasher | who | H834 → | 5497 times |
| יַעֲשֶׂה־ | yaaseh- | he does | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| טּ֖וֹב | tov | good | H2896 → | 538 times |
| וְלֹ֥א | velo' | and not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| יֶחֱטָֽא׃ | yecheta' | he sins | H2398 → | 238 times |
כִּ֣יfor
kiH3588 →4482 times
אָדָ֔םa person
ʾadamH120 →551 times
אֵ֥יןthere not
ʾeinH369 →789 times
צַדִּ֖יק[is] righteous [person]
tzadikH6662 →206 times
בָּאָ֑רֶץon the earth
baaretzH776 →2504 times
אֲשֶׁ֥רwho
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
יַעֲשֶׂה־he does
yaaseh-H6213 →2628 times
טּ֖וֹבgood
tovH2896 →538 times
וְלֹ֥אand not
velo'H3808 →5168 times
יֶחֱטָֽא׃he sins
yecheta'H2398 →238 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach 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
Romans 3:23for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
it leads to
- 1 John 1:8–10
If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Romans 3:9
What then? Are we any better? Not at all. For we have already made the charge that Jews and Greeks alike are all under sin.
- Galatians 3:22
But the Scripture pronounces all things confined by sin, so that by faith in Jesus Christ the promise might be given to those who believe.
- Romans 11:32
For God has consigned everyone to disobedience so that He may have mercy on everyone.
- 1 John 1:8–10
Through
Isaiah 53:6We all like sheep have gone astray, each one has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid upon Him the iniquity of us all.
it leads to
- 1 Peter 2:25
For “you were like sheep going astray,” but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.
- 1 Peter 3:18
For Christ also suffered for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive in the Spirit,
- 1 Peter 2:25
Through
James 3:2We all stumble in many ways. If anyone is never at fault in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to control his whole body.
it leads to
- James 1:26
If anyone considers himself religious and yet does not bridle his tongue, he deceives his heart and his religion is worthless.
- Proverbs 13:3
He who guards his mouth protects his life, but the one who opens his lips invites his own ruin.
- James 1:26
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Ecclesiastes
This page draws on 14 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Augustine of Hippo, ON NATURE AND GRACE 8; Bede, Commentary on the Catholic Epistles, 2 Peter 1:10; Bede, Homilies on the Gospels 2:14; Bonaventure, Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 7; Gregory the Dialogist, Forty Gospel Homilies, Homily 39; 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); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Origen of Alexandria, HOMILIES ON LEVITICUS 12:3.2 and Origen of Alexandria, COMMENTARY ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 20:328.