Revised Literal Translation
Ecclesiastes 5:1
1Keep thy foot when thou goest to the house of God, and be more ready to hear, than to give the sacrifice of fools: for they consider not that they do evil.
Ecclesiastes 5:1 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Keep thy foot when thou goest to the house of God, and be more ready to hear, than to give the sacrifice of fools: for they consider not that they do evil.
- New International Version (NIV)Guard your steps when you go to the house of God. Go near to listen rather than to offer the sacrifice of fools, who do not know that they do wrong.
- English Standard Version (ESV)Guard your steps when you go to the house of God. To draw near to listen is better than to offer the sacrifice of fools, for they do not know that they are doing evil.
- New King James Version (NKJV)Walk prudently when you go to the house of God; and draw near to hear rather than to give the sacrifice of fools, for they do not know that they do evil.
Context of Ecclesiastes 5:1
Keep thy foot when thou goest to the house of God, and be more ready to hear, than to give the sacrifice of fools: for they consider not that they do evil. 2Be not rash with thy mouth, and let not thine heart be hasty to utter any thing before God: for God is in heaven, and thou upon earth: therefore let thy words be few. 3For a dream cometh through the multitude of business; and a fool’s voice is known by multitude of words.
Read all of Ecclesiastes 5Ecclesiastes 5:1 word by word
שְׁמֹ֣ר רַגְלְךָ֗ כַּאֲשֶׁ֤ר תֵּלֵךְ֙ אֶל־בֵּ֣ית הָאֱלֹהִ֔ים וְקָר֣וֹב לִשְׁמֹ֔עַ מִתֵּ֥ת הַכְּסִילִ֖ים זָ֑בַח כִּֽי־אֵינָ֥ם יוֹדְעִ֖ים לַעֲשׂ֥וֹת רָֽע׃Read the interlinear
- Keepשָׁמַרshâmar · to keep: guardH8104
- thy footרֶ֫גֶלregel · footH7272
- when thou goestיָלַךְyâlak · to walkH3212
- to the houseבַּ֫יִתbayith · house: templeH1004
- of Godאֱלֹהִים'ĕlôhîym · GodH430
- and be more readyקָרֹבqârôb qârôb · nearH7138
- to hearשָׁמַעshâma‛ · to hear: hearH8085
- than to giveנָתַןnâthan · to give: giveH5414
- the sacrificeזֶ֫בַחzebach · sacrificeH2077
- of foolsכְּסִילkesîyl · foolH3684
- for they considerיָדַעyâda‛ · to knowH3045
- not that they doעָשָׂה‛âώâh · to make: doH6213
- evilרַעra‛ râ‛âh · bad: evilH7451
Cross-references for Ecclesiastes 5:1
- Genesis 28:16And Jacob awaked out of his sleep, and he said, Surely Yhwh is in this place; and I knew it not.
- Exodus 3:5And he said, Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground.
- Leviticus 10:3Then Moses said unto Aaron, This is it that Yhwh spake, saying, I will be sanctified in them that come nigh me, and before all the people I will be glorified. And Aaron held his peace.
- Joshua 5:15And the captain of Yhwh's army said unto Joshua, Loose thy shoe from off thy foot; for the place whereon thou standest is holy. And Joshua did so.
- 2 Chronicles 26:16But when he was strong, his heart was lifted up to his destruction: for he transgressed against Yhwh his God, and went into the temple of Yhwh to burn incense upon the altar of incense.
- Psalms 89:7God is greatly to be feared in the assembly of the saints, and to be had in reverence of all them that are about him.
- Isaiah 1:12When ye come to appear before me, who hath required this at your hand, to tread my courts?
- 1 Corinthians 11:22What? have ye not houses to eat and to drink in? or despise ye the Assembly of God, and shame them that have not? What shall I say to you? shall I praise you in this? I praise you not.
- Hebrews 12:28Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear:
- Acts 10:33Immediately therefore I sent to thee; and thou hast well done that thou art come. Now therefore are we all here present before God, to hear all things that are commanded thee of God.
- Acts 17:11These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.
- James 1:19Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath:
- 1 Peter 2:1Wherefore laying aside all malice, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, and all evil speakings,
- Genesis 4:3And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto Yhwh.
- 1 Samuel 13:12Therefore said I, The Philistines will come down now upon me to Gilgal, and I have not made supplication unto Yhwh: I forced myself therefore, and offered a burnt offering.
- 1 Samuel 15:21But the people took of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the chief of the things which should have been utterly destroyed, to sacrifice unto Yhwh thy God in Gilgal.
Commentaries on Ecclesiastes 5:1
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 1Keep thy foot - This verse the Hebrew and all the versions join to the preceding chapter. Solomon, having before intimated, though very briefly, that the only cure against human vanity is a due sense of religion, now enters more largely on this important subject, and gives some excellent directions with regard to the right performance of Divine service, the nature of vocal and mental prayer, the danger of rash vows, etc. - C. The whole verse might be more…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 1Keep thy foot - i. e., Give thy mind to what thou art going to do. The house of God - It has been said that here an ordinary devout Hebrew writer might have been expected to call it “the house of Yahweh;” but to those who accept this book as the work of Solomon after his fall into idolatry, it will appear a natural sign of the writer‘s self-humiliation, an acknowledgment of his unworthiness of the privileges of a son of the covenant, that he avoids the…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 1What renders devotion vain. (Eccl. 5:1-3) Of vows, and oppression. (Eccl. 5:4-8) the vanity of riches shown. (Eccl. 5:9-7) The right use of riches. (Eccl. 5:18-20) Verses 1-3 Address thyself to the worship of God, and take time to compose thyself for it. Keep thy thoughts from roving and wandering: keep thy affections from running out toward wrong objects. We should avoid vain repetitions; copious prayers are not here condemned, but those that are…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 1The house of God offers a chance for respectful words and thoughtful promises, but it is mainly a place for listening.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1-20Ec 5:1-20. 1. From vanity connected with kings, he passes to vanities (Ec 5:7) which may be fallen into in serving the King of kings, even by those who, convinced of the vanity of the creature, wish to worship the Creator. Keep thy foot--In going to worship, go with considerate, circumspect, reverent feeling. The allusion is to the taking off the shoes, or sandals, in entering a temple (Ex 3:5; Jos 5:15, which passages perhaps gave rise to the custom)…Read the comment
Topics related to Ecclesiastes 5:1
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
Revised Literal Translation — © 2018 Michael W. Jones, Sr. — GPL
Commentaries