Amplified Bible
Ecclesiastes 5:1
1Guard your steps and focus on what you are doing as you go to the house of God and draw near to listen rather than to offer the [careless or irreverent] sacrifice of fools; for they are too ignorant to know they are doing evil.
Ecclesiastes 5:1 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Keep thy foot when thou goest to the house of God, and be more ready to hear, than to give the sacrifice of fools: for they consider not that they do evil.
- New International Version (NIV)Guard your steps when you go to the house of God. Go near to listen rather than to offer the sacrifice of fools, who do not know that they do wrong.
- English Standard Version (ESV)Guard your steps when you go to the house of God. To draw near to listen is better than to offer the sacrifice of fools, for they do not know that they are doing evil.
- New King James Version (NKJV)Walk prudently when you go to the house of God; and draw near to hear rather than to give the sacrifice of fools, for they do not know that they do evil.
Context of Ecclesiastes 5:1
Guard your steps and focus on what you are doing as you go to the house of God and draw near to listen rather than to offer the [careless or irreverent] sacrifice of fools; for they are too ignorant to know they are doing evil. 2Do not be hasty with your mouth [speaking careless words or vows] or impulsive in thought to bring up a matter before God. For God is in heaven and you are on earth; therefore let your words be few. 3For the dream comes through much effort, and the voice of the fool through many words.
Read all of Ecclesiastes 5Ecclesiastes 5:1 word by word
שְׁמֹ֣ר רַגְלְךָ֗ כַּאֲשֶׁ֤ר תֵּלֵךְ֙ אֶל־בֵּ֣ית הָאֱלֹהִ֔ים וְקָר֣וֹב לִשְׁמֹ֔עַ מִתֵּ֥ת הַכְּסִילִ֖ים זָ֑בַח כִּֽי־אֵינָ֥ם יוֹדְעִ֖ים לַעֲשׂ֥וֹת רָֽע׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- Keepשָׁמַרshâmar · to keep: guardH8104
- thy footרֶ֫גֶלregel · footH7272
- when thou goestיָלַךְyâlak · to walkH3212
- to the houseבַּ֫יִתbayith · house: templeH1004
- of Godאֱלֹהִים'ĕlôhîym · GodH430
- and be more readyקָרֹבqârôb qârôb · nearH7138
- to hearשָׁמַעshâma‛ · to hear: hearH8085
- than to giveנָתַןnâthan · to give: giveH5414
- the sacrificeזֶ֫בַחzebach · sacrificeH2077
- of foolsכְּסִילkesîyl · foolH3684
- for they considerיָדַעyâda‛ · to knowH3045
- not that they doעָשָׂה‛âώâh · to make: doH6213
- evilרַעra‛ râ‛âh · bad: evilH7451
Cross-references for Ecclesiastes 5:1
- Genesis 28:16Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and he said, “Without any doubt the Lord is in this place, and I did not realize it.”
- Exodus 3:5Then God said, “Do not come near; take your sandals off your feet [out of respect], because the place on which you are standing is holy ground.”
- Leviticus 10:3Then Moses said to Aaron, “This is what the Lord said: ‘I will be treated as holy by those who approach Me, And before all the people I will be honored.’ ” So Aaron, therefore, said nothing.
- Joshua 5:15The captain of the Lord’s army said to Joshua, “Remove your sandals from your feet, because the place where you are standing is holy (set apart to the Lord).” And Joshua did so.
- 2 Chronicles 26:16But when Uzziah became strong, he became so proud [of himself and his accomplishments] that he acted corruptly, and he was unfaithful and sinned against the Lord his God, for he went into the temple of the Lord to burn incense on the altar of incense.
- Psalms 89:7A God greatly feared and reverently worshiped in the council of the holy [angelic] ones, And awesome above all those who are around Him?
- Isaiah 1:12When you come to appear before Me, Who requires this of you, this trampling of My [temple] courts [by your sinful feet]?
- 1 Corinthians 11:22What! Do you not have houses in which to eat and drink? Or do you show contempt for the church of God and humiliate those [impoverished believers] who have nothing? What will I say to you? Shall I praise you for this? In this I will not praise you!
- Hebrews 12:28Therefore, since we receive a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us show gratitude, and offer to God pleasing service and acceptable worship with reverence and awe;
- Acts 10:33So I sent for you at once, and you have been kind enough to come. Now then, we are all here present before God to listen to everything that you have been instructed by the Lord [to say].”
- Acts 17:11Now these people were more noble and open-minded than those in Thessalonica, so they received the message [of salvation through faith in the Christ] with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so.
- James 1:19Understand this, my beloved brothers and sisters. Let everyone be quick to hear [be a careful, thoughtful listener], slow to speak [a speaker of carefully chosen words and], slow to anger [patient, reflective, forgiving];
- 1 Peter 2:1So put aside every trace of malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander and hateful speech;
- Genesis 4:3And in the course of time Cain brought to the Lord an offering of the fruit of the ground.
- 1 Samuel 13:12therefore, I said, ‘Now the Philistines will come down against me at Gilgal, and I have not asked for the Lord’s favor [by making supplication to Him].’ So I forced myself to offer the burnt offering.”
- 1 Samuel 15:21But the people took some of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the best of the things [that were] to be totally destroyed, to sacrifice to the Lord your God at Gilgal.”
Commentaries on Ecclesiastes 5:1
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 1Keep thy foot - This verse the Hebrew and all the versions join to the preceding chapter. Solomon, having before intimated, though very briefly, that the only cure against human vanity is a due sense of religion, now enters more largely on this important subject, and gives some excellent directions with regard to the right performance of Divine service, the nature of vocal and mental prayer, the danger of rash vows, etc. - C. The whole verse might be more…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 1Keep thy foot - i. e., Give thy mind to what thou art going to do. The house of God - It has been said that here an ordinary devout Hebrew writer might have been expected to call it “the house of Yahweh;” but to those who accept this book as the work of Solomon after his fall into idolatry, it will appear a natural sign of the writer‘s self-humiliation, an acknowledgment of his unworthiness of the privileges of a son of the covenant, that he avoids the…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 1What renders devotion vain. (Eccl. 5:1-3) Of vows, and oppression. (Eccl. 5:4-8) the vanity of riches shown. (Eccl. 5:9-7) The right use of riches. (Eccl. 5:18-20) Verses 1-3 Address thyself to the worship of God, and take time to compose thyself for it. Keep thy thoughts from roving and wandering: keep thy affections from running out toward wrong objects. We should avoid vain repetitions; copious prayers are not here condemned, but those that are…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 1The house of God offers a chance for respectful words and thoughtful promises, but it is mainly a place for listening.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1-20Ec 5:1-20. 1. From vanity connected with kings, he passes to vanities (Ec 5:7) which may be fallen into in serving the King of kings, even by those who, convinced of the vanity of the creature, wish to worship the Creator. Keep thy foot--In going to worship, go with considerate, circumspect, reverent feeling. The allusion is to the taking off the shoes, or sandals, in entering a temple (Ex 3:5; Jos 5:15, which passages perhaps gave rise to the custom)…Read the comment
Topics related to Ecclesiastes 5:1
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Ecclesiastes 5
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
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