Ecclesiastes 5:2 — meaning, Hebrew and Greek word study, commentary
Ecclesiastes 5:2
Be 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.
to tremble inwardly (or palpitate) · verb, piel jussive, 2nd person masculine singular
mouth
פִּ֜יךָPi.kha
H6310
the mouth (as the means of blowing) · noun, common masculine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 2nd person masculine singular
heart
וְלִבְּךָ֧ve.li.be.Kha
H3820
the heart · conjunction + noun, common masculine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 2nd person masculine singular
hasty
יְמַהֵ֛רye.ma.Her
H4116
properly · verb, piel jussive, 3rd person masculine singular
utter
לְהוֹצִ֥יאle.ho.Tzi'
H3318
to go (causatively · preposition + verb, hiphil infinitive construct
thing
דָבָ֖רda.Var
H1697
a word · noun, common masculine singular absolute
before
לִפְנֵ֣יlif.Nei
H6440
the face (as the part that turns) · preposition + noun, common masculine plural construct
God
הָאֱלֹהִ֑יםha.'E.lo.Him
H430
gods in the ordinary sense · definite article + noun, common masculine plural absolute
God
הָאֱלֹהִ֤יםha.'E.lo.Him
H430
gods in the ordinary sense · definite article + noun, common masculine plural absolute
heaven
בַּשָּׁמַ֙יִם֙ba.sha.Ma.yim
H8064
the sky (as aloft · preposition with the article + noun, common masculine plural absolute
earth
הָאָ֔רֶץha.'A.retz
H776
the earth (at large · definite article + noun, common feminine singular absolute
words
דְבָרֶ֖יךָde.va.Rei.kha
H1697
a word · noun, common masculine plural construct + pronominal suffix, 2nd person masculine singular
few
מְעַטִּֽיםme.'a.Tim
H4592
a little or few (often adverbial or compar.) · noun, common masculine plural absolute
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
Matthew 6:7 But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.
Proverbs 10:19 In the multitude of words there wanteth not sin: but he that refraineth his lips is wise.
Isaiah 55:9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.
Matthew 6:9 After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.
Genesis 18:27 And Abraham answered and said, Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak unto the Lord, which am but dust and ashes:
Numbers 30:2-5 If a man vow a vow unto the LORD, or swear an oath to bind his soul with a bond; he shall not break his word, he shall do according to all t…
Ecclesiastes 5:3 For a dream cometh through the multitude of business; and a fool’s voice is known by multitude of words.
Ecclesiastes 5:7 For in the multitude of dreams and many words there are also divers vanities: but fear thou God.
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Ecclesiastes 5:1-3
Solomon's design, in driving us off from the world, by showing us its vanity, is to drive us to God and to our duty, that we may not walk in the way of the world, but by religious rules, nor depend upon the wealth of the world, but on religious advantages; and therefore,
I. He here sends us to the house of God, to the place of public worship, to the temple, which he himself had built at a vast expense. When he reflected with regret on all his other works (Ecc 2:4), he did not repent of that, but reflected on it with pleasure, yet mentions it not, lest he should seem to reflect on it with pride; but he here sends those to it that would know more of the vanity of the world and would find that…
rash--opposed to the considerate reverence ("keep thy foot," Ecc 5:1). This verse illustrates Ecc 5:1, as to prayer in the house of God ("before God," Isa 1:12); so Ecc 5:4-6 as to vows. The remedy to such vanities is stated (Ecc 5:6). "Fear thou God."
God is in heaven--Therefore He ought to be approached with carefully weighed words, by thee, a frail creature of earth.
John Gill on Ecclesiastes 5:2
Be not rash with thy mouth, and let not thine heart be hasty to utter any thing before God,.... In private conversation care should be taken that no rash and unadvised words be spoken in haste, as were by Moses and David; and that no evil, nor even any idle word he uttered, since from, the abundance of the heart the mouth is apt to speak, and all is before, the Lord; not a word in the tongue but is altogether known by him, and must be accounted for to him, Psalm 106:33. Jerom interprets this of words spoken concerning God; and careful men should be of what they say of him, of his nature and perfections, of his persons, and of his works; and it may be applied to a public profession of his nam…
The passage in Ecclesiastes "Be not in haste to utter speech before God, because God is in heaven above and you on earth below" is intended to show the gap which separates those who are in the "body of humiliation" from him who is with the angels exalted by the help of the Word and from the holy powers with Christ himself. For it is not unreasonable that he should be strictly "at the Father's throne," allegorically called heaven, while his church, termed earth, is a footstool at his feet.
Truly, if a person guards his mouth and acquires humility, the angels will be his friends here below; his soul will be a perfume poured out; the angels will carry his remembrance before God day and night, whether he is a monk or a secular. Besides, many persons in the world are watchful on this point. As for me, I know many who have acquired a great humility and have watched themselves not to speak evil of anyone. On the contrary, they underestimate themselves constantly and praise the others, saying, "It is within the power of God that we should find a little place in heaven."
[It might be that] a person dedicates himself rashly, without comprehending what is esoteric of the wisdom of God and of the Word who is "in the beginning with God" and who is himself God. And … it is by means of the Word and God and by means of the wisdom with him that one must examine and discover these things. [Then] it must happen that he, by falling into myths and nonsense and fictions, submits himself to the danger that surrounds impiety. For that reason one must remember also the commandment from Solomon in Ecclesiastes concerning such things, which says, "Do not hasten to express a word before the face of God. For God is in the heaven above, and you are on the earth below. Therefore let your words be few."
The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).
Humility · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
Prayer · .Profuse, to be avoi — .Profuse, to be avoi
Rashness · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
"Be not hasty with thy mouth, and let not thy heart hasten to speak a word before God: for God is in heaven, and thou art upon earth; therefore let thy words be few. For by much business cometh dreaming, and by much talk the noise of fools." As we say in German: auf Flgeln fliegen [to flee on wings], auf Einem Auge nicht sehen [not to see with one eye], auf der Flte blasen [to blow on the flute], so in Heb. we say that one slandereth with (auf) his tongue (Psa 15:3), or, as here, that he hasteth with his mouth, i.e., is forward with his mouth, inasmuch as the word goes before the thought. It is the same usage as when the post-bibl. Heb., in contradistinction to התורה שׁבּכתב, the law given i…
Though the house of God provides opportunity for reverent words and measured promises, it is primarily a place for listening.
Rashi on Ecclesiastes 5:2
For a dream comes with many subjects. For it is usual for a dream to come because of the many thoughts upon which a person ponders and thinks during the day, and it is usual for the speech of a fool to come with excessive words, because by increasing his words, he utters foolishness from his mouth, for transgression is inevitable; therefore I say, “let your words be few.”2Scripture in Mishlei [17:28] states, “even a fool who is silent will be considered wise, [and] when he seals his lips [he will be considered] understanding.”
