Ecclesiastes 7:20

For ¹  there is not one truly ²  righteous person on the earth who continually does good and never sins.

There is not a righteous man on earth who does what is right and never sins.

Indeed, there is not a righteous man on earth who continually does good and who never sins.

There is not a single person in all the earth who is always good and never sins.

There's not one totally good person on earth, Not one who is truly pure and sinless.

There is no man on earth of such righteousness that he does good and is free from sin all his days.

Surely there is no one on earth so righteous as to do good without ever sinning.

For there is not a just man on earth who does good And does not sin.

For ¹  there is not one truly ²  righteous person on the earth who continually does good and never sins.

¹ tn The introductory particle כִּי (ki) is rendered variously: “for” (KJV); “indeed” (NASB); not translated (NIV); “for” (NJPS). The particle functions in an explanatory sense, explaining the need for wisdom in v. 19. Righteousness alone cannot always protect a person from calamity (7:15-16); therefore, something additional, such as wisdom, is needed. The need for wisdom as protection from calamity is particularly evident in the light of the fact that no one is truly righteous (7:19-20).

² tn The term “truly” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity. Qoheleth does not deny the existence of some people who are relatively righteous.