Ecclesiastes 7:20
Translations
King James Version (KJV)
For there is not a just man on earth, that does good, and sins not.
American King James Version (AKJV)
For there is not a just man on earth, that does good, and sins not.
American Standard Version (ASV)
Surely there is not a righteous man upon earth, that doeth good, and sinneth not.
Basic English Translation (BBE)
There is no man on earth of such righteousness that he does good and is free from sin all his days.
Webster's Revision
For there is not a just man upon earth, that doeth good, and sinneth not.
World English Bible
Surely there is not a righteous man on earth, who does good and doesn't sin.
English Revised Version (ERV)
Surely there is not a righteous man upon earth, that doeth good, and sinneth not.
Clarke's Ecclesiastes 7:20 Bible Commentary
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. But the text does not say, the just man does commit sin, but simply that he may sin; and so our translators have rendered it in 1 Samuel 2:25, twice in 1 Kings 8:31, 1 Kings 8:46, and 2 Chronicles 6:36; and the reader is requested to consult the note on 1 Kings 8:46, where the proper construction of this word may be found, and the doctrine in question is fully considered.
Barnes's Ecclesiastes 7:20 Bible Commentary
The connection of this verse with Ecclesiastes 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" Ecclesiastes 7:15, Ecclesiastes 7:20 and "righteous" Ecclesiastes 7:16 are exactly the same in Hebrew.
Wesley's Ecclesiastes 7:20 Bible Commentary
7:20 Sinneth not - Who is universally and perfectly good.
