EasyEnglish Bible 2018
Ecclesiastes 5:6
6Do not say things that cause you to do something wrong. Do not say to the priest, ‘My promise was a mistake.’ That would make God angry with you. He might destroy everything that you have worked to get for yourself.
Ecclesiastes 5:6 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Suffer not thy mouth to cause thy flesh to sin; neither say thou before the angel, that it was an error: wherefore should God be angry at thy voice, and destroy the work of thine hands?
- New International Version (NIV)Do not let your mouth lead you into sin. And do not protest to the temple messenger, “My vow was a mistake.” Why should God be angry at what you say and destroy the work of your hands?
- English Standard Version (ESV)Let not your mouth lead you into sin, and do not say before the messenger that it was a mistake. Why should God be angry at your voice and destroy the work of your hands?
- New King James Version (NKJV)Do not let your mouth cause your flesh to sin, nor say before the messenger of God that it was an error. Why should God be angry at your excuse and destroy the work of your hands?
Context of Ecclesiastes 5:6
4If you make a promise to God, quickly do what you have promised. God is not pleased with foolish people. So give what you have promised to give. 5It is better not to promise anything than to promise something and then not do it. Do not say things that cause you to do something wrong. Do not say to the priest, ‘My promise was a mistake.’ That would make God angry with you. He might destroy everything that you have worked to get for yourself. 7If you dream all the time or if you talk all the time, that has no purpose. Instead, respect God and obey him. 8You may see a place where poor people are suffering. Powerful people may be hurting them. Do not be surprised if you see that. The judges may not be doing what is right and fair. That happens because the government's officers have to obey people who are more important than them.
Read all of Ecclesiastes 5Ecclesiastes 5:6 word by word
אַל־תִּתֵּ֤ן אֶת־פִּ֙יךָ֙ לַחֲטִ֣יא אֶת־בְּשָׂרֶ֔ךָ וְאַל־תֹּאמַר֙ לִפְנֵ֣י הַמַּלְאָ֔ךְ כִּ֥י שְׁגָגָ֖ה הִ֑יא לָ֣מָּה יִקְצֹ֤ף הָֽאֱלֹהִים֙ עַל־קוֹלֶ֔ךָ וְחִבֵּ֖ל אֶת־מַעֲשֵׂ֥ה יָדֶֽיךָ׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- Sufferנָתַןnâthan · to give: allowH5414
- not thy mouthפֶּהpeh · lipH6310
- to cause thy fleshבָּשָׂרbâώâr · fleshH1320
- to sinחָטָאchâţâ' · to sinH2398
- neither sayאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
- thou beforeפָּנֶהpânîym · face: beforeH6440
- the angelמַלְאָךְmal'âk · messengerH4397
- an errorשְׁגָגָהshegâgâh · sin of errorH7684
- wherefore should Godאֱלֹהִים'ĕlôhîym · GodH430
- be angryקָצַףqâtsaph · be angryH7107
- at thy voiceקוֹלqôl qôl · voiceH6963
- and destroyחָבַלchâbal · to destroyH2254
- the workמַעֲשֶׂהma‛ăώeh · deed: workH4639
- of thine handsיָדyâd · handH3027
Cross-references for Ecclesiastes 5:6
- Ecclesiastes 5:1When you go to God's temple, be careful what you do. Listen carefully when you come near to God. Do not offer sacrifices in the way that foolish people do. They do not even know that they are doing something bad.
- James 1:26Maybe some of you think that you are serving God well. But if you also say bad things about people, you do not serve God well at all. You are doing something bad even when you think you are doing good things.
- James 3:2We all make many mistakes. So, if someone never says anything that is bad, that person is completely good. It shows that he has authority over his whole body.
- Leviticus 5:4A person is doing a wrong thing if he says any careless promise. The promise might be good or bad. People will tell him that he has not obeyed God's rules. Then he will know that he has sinned.
- Genesis 48:16He is the Angel who has kept me safe. I pray that he will bless these boys. I pray that, because of them, people will remember my name, and the names of my ancestors, Abraham and Isaac. I pray that they will have many descendants who live all over the earth.’
- Hosea 12:4He fought against an angel and he won. He wept and he asked God to bless him. There at Bethel, Jacob met with God. God spoke to him there.
- Malachi 2:7Priests should help people to know the truth about God. People should ask the priests to teach them, because the Lord Almighty has chosen priests to speak his message.
- Malachi 3:1‘Look! I will send someone to speak my message. He will prepare the way before me. Then the Lord that you are waiting for will quickly return to his temple. The one who brings the message about the covenant will certainly come. He is the one that you really want to see.’ That is what the Lord Almighty says.
- Acts 7:30Moses lived in Midian for 40 years. Then, one day, he was in the wilderness near Sinai mountain. He saw a bush there that was burning. An angel appeared to him in the fire.
- 1 Corinthians 11:10That is why a woman should cover her head. It shows that she has authority on her head. That makes the angels happy.
- 1 Timothy 5:21I say this to you very strongly: Obey what I am telling you to do. Remember that God himself and Christ Jesus, together with their special angels, are all watching what you do. Do not quickly decide if someone has done right or wrong. Be fair and judge everyone in the same way.
- Hebrews 1:14So we see that all the angels are spirits who serve God. God sends them as his servants to help the people that he will save.
- Leviticus 4:5The priest that you have anointed must carry some of the blood into the Tent of Meeting.
- Leviticus 27:9If the promise is to give an animal to God the animal becomes holy to the Lord.
- Haggai 1:9You thought that you would get a lot of food from the crops that grow in your fields. But only a few plants grew. When you brought your food home, it quickly disappeared. I blew it away! Why do you think all this happened? It happened because my temple is still a heap of stones. At the same time, you all work hard to build your own houses. I, the Almighty Lord, am telling you this!
- Haggai 2:14So Haggai told them, ‘This is what the Lord says: This nation and its people are just like that. They are unclean. So everything that they do is also unclean. All the gifts that they offer to me are unclean. I could not accept them.
Commentaries on Ecclesiastes 5:6
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 6Neither say thou before the angel, that it was an error - Nor think of saying "before the cruel angel, who shall exercise authority over thee in the judgment of the great day, that thou didst it through ignorance." - Chaldee. I believe by the angel nothing else is intended than the priest, whose business it was to take cognizance of vows and offerings. See Leviticus 5:4, Leviticus 5:5. In Malachi 2:7, the priest is called the "angel of the Lord of hosts."Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 6Suffer not thy mouth - i. e., Do not make rash vows which may hereafter be the cause of evasion and prevarication, and remain unfulfilled. Before the angel - The Septuagint and some other versions render “before the face of God,” meaning a spiritual being representing the presence of God, a minister of divine justice Exodus 23:21, such a one as inflicted judgment upon David 2 Samuel 24:17. Others, with less probability, understand the angel to be a…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 4-8Verses 4-8 When a person made engagements rashly, he suffered his mouth to cause his flesh to sin. The case supposes a man coming to the priest, and pretending that his vow was made rashly, and that it would be wrong to fulfil it. Such mockery of God would bring the Divine displeasure, which might blast what was thus unduly kept. We are to keep down the fear of man. Set God before thee; then, if thou seest the oppression of the poor, thou wilt not find…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 1-7This section discusses various topics, such as justice, humans and animals, oppression, moderation, companionship, politics, and worship.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 66. thy flesh--Vow not with "thy mouth" a vow (for example, fasting), which the lusts of the flesh ("body," Ec 2:3, Margin) may tempt thee to break (Pr 20:25). angel--the "messenger" of God (Job 33:23); minister (Re 1:20); that is, the priest (Mal 2:7) "before" whom a breach of a vow was to be confessed (Le 5:4, 5). We, Christians, in our vows (for example, at baptism, the Lord's Supper, &c.) vow in the presence of Jesus Christ, "the angel of the covenant"…Read the comment
Topics related to Ecclesiastes 5:6
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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