New International Version
Ecclesiastes 7:9
9Do not be quickly provoked in your spirit, for anger resides in the lap 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.
- 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.
- New Living Translation (NLT)Control your temper, for anger labels you a fool.
Context of Ecclesiastes 7:9
7Extortion turns a wise person into a fool, and a bribe corrupts the heart. 8The end of a matter is better than its beginning, and patience is better than pride. Do not be quickly provoked in your spirit, for anger resides in the lap of fools. 10Do not say, “Why were the old days better than these?” For it is not wise to ask such questions. 11Wisdom, like an inheritance, is a good thing and benefits those who see 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 just said, “It’s been useless—all my watching over this fellow’s property in the wilderness so that nothing of his was missing. He has paid me back evil for good.
- 2 Samuel 19:43Then the men of Israel answered the men of Judah, “We have ten shares in the king; so we have a greater claim on David than you have. Why then do you treat us with contempt? Weren’t we the first to speak of bringing back our king?” But the men of Judah pressed their claims even more forcefully than the men of Israel.
- Esther 3:5When Haman saw that Mordecai would not kneel down or pay him honor, he was enraged.
- Proverbs 14:17A quick-tempered person does foolish things, and the one who devises evil schemes is hated.
- Proverbs 16:32Better a patient person than a warrior, one with self-control than one who takes a city.
- Jonah 4:9But God said to Jonah, “Is it right for you to be angry about the plant?” “It is,” he said. “And I’m so angry I wish I were dead.”
- Ephesians 4:26“In your anger do not sin”: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry,
- James 1:19My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry,
- Genesis 4:5but on Cain and his offering he did not look with favor. So Cain was very angry, and his face was downcast.
- Genesis 34:7Meanwhile, Jacob’s sons had come in from the fields as soon as they heard what had happened. They were shocked and furious, because Shechem had done an outrageous thing in Israel by sleeping with Jacob’s daughter—a thing that should not be done.
- 2 Samuel 13:22And Absalom never said a word to Amnon, either good or bad; he hated Amnon because he had disgraced his sister Tamar.
- Proverbs 26:23Like a coating of silver dross on earthenware are fervent lips with an evil heart.
- Mark 6:19So Herodias nursed a grudge against John and wanted to kill him. But she was not able to,
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
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