New King James Version
Ecclesiastes 7:9
9Do not hasten in your spirit to be angry, For anger rests in the bosom 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 Living Translation (NLT)Control your temper, for anger labels you a fool.
Context of Ecclesiastes 7:9
7Surely oppression destroys a wise man’s reason, And a bribe debases the heart. 8The end of a thing is better than its beginning; The patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit. Do not hasten in your spirit to be angry, For anger rests in the bosom of fools. 10Do not say, “Why were the former days better than these?” For you do not inquire wisely concerning this. 11Wisdom is good with an inheritance, And profitable to 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 25:21Now David had said, “Surely in vain I have protected all that this fellow has in the wilderness, so that nothing was missed of all that belongs to him. And he has repaid me evil for good.
- 2 Samuel 19:43And the men of Israel answered the men of Judah, and said, “We have ten shares in the king; therefore we also have more right to David than you. Why then do you despise us—were we not the first to advise bringing back our king?” Yet the words of the men of Judah were fiercer than the words of the men of Israel.
- Esther 3:5When Haman saw that Mordecai did not bow or pay him homage, Haman was filled with wrath.
- Proverbs 14:17A quick-tempered man acts foolishly, And a man of wicked intentions is hated.
- Proverbs 16:32He who is slow to anger is better than the mighty, And he who rules his spirit than he who takes a city.
- Jonah 4:9Then God said to Jonah, “Is it right for you to be angry about the plant?” And he said, “It is right for me to be angry, even to death!”
- Ephesians 4:26“Be angry, and do not sin”: do not let the sun go down on your wrath,
- James 1:19So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath;
- Genesis 4:5but He did not respect Cain and his offering. And Cain was very angry, and his countenance fell.
- Genesis 34:7And the sons of Jacob came in from the field when they heard it; and the men were grieved and very angry, because he had done a disgraceful thing in Israel by lying with Jacob’s daughter, a thing which ought not to be done.
- 2 Samuel 13:22And Absalom spoke to his brother Amnon neither good nor bad. For Absalom hated Amnon, because he had forced his sister Tamar.
- Proverbs 26:23Fervent lips with a wicked heart Are like earthenware covered with silver dross.
- Mark 6:19Therefore Herodias held it against him and wanted to kill him, but she could not;
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
New King James Version — © 1982 Thomas Nelson, Inc
Commentaries