God’s Word Translation
Ecclesiastes 7:9
9Don’t be quick to get angry, because anger is typical of fools.
Ecclesiastes 7:9 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Be not hasty in thy spirit to be angry: for anger resteth in the bosom of fools.
- New International Version (NIV)Do not be quickly provoked in your spirit, for anger resides in the lap of fools.
- English Standard Version (ESV)Be not quick in your spirit to become angry, for anger lodges in the heart of fools.
- New King James Version (NKJV)Do not hasten in your spirit to be angry, For anger rests in the bosom of fools.
Context of Ecclesiastes 7:9
7Oppression can turn a wise person into a fool, and a bribe can corrupt the mind. 8The end of something is better than its beginning. It is better to be patient than arrogant. Don’t be quick to get angry, because anger is typical of fools. 10Don’t ask, “Why were things better in the old days than they are now?” It isn’t wisdom that leads you to ask this! 11Wisdom is as good as an inheritance. It is an advantage to everyone who sees the sun.
Read all of Ecclesiastes 7Ecclesiastes 7:9 word by word
אַל־תְּבַהֵ֥ל בְּרֽוּחֲךָ֖ לִכְע֑וֹס כִּ֣י כַ֔עַס בְּחֵ֥יק כְּסִילִ֖ים יָנֽוּחַ׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Ecclesiastes 7:9
- 1 Samuel 25:21David had thought, “I guarded this man’s stuff in the desert for nothing! Not one of his possessions was missing. Yet, he has paid me back with evil when I was good to him.
- 2 Samuel 19:43The people of Israel answered the people of Judah, “We have ten times your interest in the king and a greater claim on David than you have. Why, then, do you despise us? Weren’t we the first to suggest bringing back our king?” But the people of Judah spoke ⌞even⌟ more harshly than the people of Israel.
- Esther 3:5When Haman saw that Mordecai did not kneel and bow to him, Haman was infuriated.
- Proverbs 14:17A short-tempered person acts stupidly, and a person who plots evil is hated.
- Proverbs 16:32Better to get angry slowly than to be a hero. Better to be even-tempered than to capture a city.
- Jonah 4:9Then God asked Jonah, “What right do you have to be angry over this plant?” Jonah answered, “I have every right to be angry—so angry that I want to die.”
- Ephesians 4:26Be angry without sinning. Don’t go to bed angry.
- James 1:19Remember this, my dear brothers and sisters: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and should not get angry easily.
- Genesis 4:5but he didn’t approve of Cain and his offering. So Cain became very angry and was disappointed.
- Genesis 34:7Jacob’s sons came in from the open country as soon as they heard the news. The men felt outraged and very angry because Shechem had committed such a godless act against Israel’s family by raping Jacob’s daughter. This shouldn’t have happened.
- 2 Samuel 13:22Absalom wouldn’t speak at all to Amnon. He hated Amnon for raping his sister Tamar.
- Proverbs 26:23⌞Like⌟ a clay pot covered with cheap silver, ⌞so⌟ is smooth talk that covers up an evil heart.
- Mark 6:19So Herodias held a grudge against John and wanted to kill him. But she wasn’t allowed to do it
Commentaries on Ecclesiastes 7:9
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 9Anger resteth in the bosom of fools - A wise man, off his guard, may feel it for a moment: but in him it cannot rest: it is a fire which he immediately casts out of his breast. But the fool - the man who is under the dominion of his own tempers, harbors and fosters it, till it takes the form of malice, and then excites him to seek full revenge on those whom he deems enemies. Hence that class of dangerous and empty fools called duellists.Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 7-10Verses 7-10 The event of our trials and difficulties is often better than at first we thought. Surely it is better to be patient in spirit, than to be proud and hasty. Be not soon angry, nor quick in resenting an affront. Be not long angry; though anger may come into the bosom of a wise man, it passes through it as a way-faring man; it dwells only in the bosom of fools. It is folly to cry out upon the badness of our times, when we have more reason to cry…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 9anger settles in the lap of a fool: Compare Proverbs 14:29 and 29:11. See the “Anger” Theme Note.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 99. angry--impatient at adversity befalling thee, as Job was (Ec 5:2; Pr 12:16).Read the comment
Topics related to Ecclesiastes 7:9
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Ecclesiastes 7
- 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
God’s Word Translation — © 1995 God’s Word to the Nations Bible Society
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