Ecclesiastes 8:3

Ecclesiastes 8:3 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Be not hasty to go out of his sight: stand not in an evil thing; for he doeth whatsoever pleaseth him.
• New International Version (NIV)Do not be in a hurry to leave the king’s presence. Do not stand up for a bad cause, for he will do whatever he pleases.
• New King James Version (NKJV)Do not be hasty to go from his presence. Do not take your stand for an evil thing, for he does whatever pleases him.”
• New Living Translation (NLT)Don’t try to avoid doing your duty, and don’t stand with those who plot evil, for the king can do whatever he wants.

Context of Ecclesiastes 8:3

1Who is like the wise? And who knows the interpretation of a thing? A man's wisdom makes his face shine, and the hardness of his face is changed. 2I say: Keep the king's command, because of God's oath to him. Be not hasty to go from his presence. Do not take your stand in an evil cause, for he does whatever he pleases. 4For the word of the king is supreme, and who may say to him, "What are you doing?" 5Whoever keeps a command will know no evil thing, and the wise heart will know the proper time and the just way.

Ecclesiastes 8:3 word by word

אַל־תִּבָּהֵ֤ל מִפָּנָיו֙ תֵּלֵ֔ךְ אַֽל־תַּעֲמֹ֖ד בְּדָבָ֣ר רָ֑ע כִּ֛י כָּל־אֲשֶׁ֥ר יַחְפֹּ֖ץ יַעֲשֶֽׂה׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Be not hastyבָּהַלbâhal · to dismayH926
• to go outיָלַךְyâlak · to walkH3212
• of his sightפָּנֶהpânîym · faceH6440
• standעָמַד‛âmad · to stand: standH5975
• not in an evilרַעra‛ râ‛âh · bad: evilH7451
• thingדָּבָרdâbâr · word: caseH1697
• for he doethעָשָׂה‛âώâh · to make: doH6213
• whatsoever pleasethחָפֵץchâphêts · to delight inH2654

Cross-references for Ecclesiastes 8:3

• Ecclesiastes 10:4If the anger of the ruler rises against you, do not leave your place, for calmness will lay great offenses to rest.
• Proverbs 14:29Whoever is slow to anger has great understanding, but he who has a hasty temper exalts folly.
• 1 Kings 1:50And Adonijah feared Solomon. So he arose and went and took hold of the horns of the altar.
• 1 Kings 2:21She said, "Let Abishag the Shunammite be given to Adonijah your brother as his wife."
• Isaiah 48:4Because I know that you are obstinate, and your neck is an iron sinew and your forehead brass,
• Jeremiah 44:16"As for the word that you have spoken to us in the name of the Lord, we will not listen to you.
• Acts 5:8And Peter said to her, "Tell me whether you sold the land for so much." And she said, "Yes, for so much."
• Proverbs 16:14A king's wrath is a messenger of death, and a wise man will appease it.
• Proverbs 30:31the strutting rooster, the he-goat, and a king whose army is with him.
• Daniel 4:35all the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing, and he does according to his will among the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth; and none can stay his hand or say to him, "What have you done?"
• Daniel 5:19And because of the greatness that he gave him, all peoples, nations, and languages trembled and feared before him. Whom he would, he killed, and whom he would, he kept alive; whom he would, he raised up, and whom he would, he humbled.

Commentaries on Ecclesiastes 8:3

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 3Be not hasty - I consider the first five verses here as directions to courtiers, and the more immediate servants of kings. Be steadily faithful to your sovereign. Do not stand in an evil thing. If you have done wrong, do not endeavor to vindicate yourself before him; it is of no use; his power is absolute, and he will do what he pleases. He will take his own view of the subject, and he will retain it. The language of a despotic sovereign was ever this…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 3Stand not … - i. e., “Do not persist in rebellion.”Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 3-4It is pointless to plot against the king because he has great power and can do anything he wants.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 33. hasty--rather, "Be not terror-struck so as to go out of His sight." Slavishly "terror-struck" is characteristic of the sinner's feeling toward God; he vainly tries to flee out of His sight (Psa 139:7); opposed to the "shining face" of filial confidence (Ec 8:1; Joh 8:33-36; Ro 8:2; 1Jo 4:18). stand not--persist not. for he doeth--God inflicts what punishment He pleases on persisting sinners (Job 23:13; Psa 115:3). True of none save God.Read the comment

Topics related to Ecclesiastes 8:3

• Citizens
• King
• Prudence

In the dictionaries

• Evil Thing
• Discern
• Discharge
• Feel
• Hasty
• Heart
• Set
• Synagogue, the Great

Commentaries on Ecclesiastes 8

• 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