to promise (pos. · verb, qal imperfect, 2nd person masculine singular
vow
נֶ֜דֶרNe.der
H5088
a promise (to God) · noun, common masculine singular absolute
God
לֵֽאלֹהִ֗יםle.lo.Him
H430
gods in the ordinary sense · preposition + noun, common masculine plural absolute
defer
תְּאַחֵר֙te.'a.Cher
H309
to loiter (i.e. be behind) · verb, piel jussive, 2nd person masculine singular
pay
לְשַׁלְּמ֔וֹle.sha.le.Mo
H7999
to be safe (in mind · preposition + verb, piel infinitive construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
pleasure
חֵ֖פֶץChe.fetz
H2656
pleasure · noun, common masculine singular absolute
fools
בַּכְּסִילִ֑יםba.ke.si.Lim
H3684
properly · preposition with the article + adjective, masculine plural absolute
pay
שַׁלֵּֽםsha.Lem
H7999
to be safe (in mind · verb, piel infinitive construct
vowed
תִּדֹּ֖רti.Dor
H5087
to promise (pos. · verb, qal imperfect, 2nd person masculine singular
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
Numbers 30:2 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…
Deuteronomy 23:21-23 When thou shalt vow a vow unto the LORD thy God, thou shalt not slack to pay it: for the LORD thy God will surely require it of thee; and it…
Psalms 76:11 Vow, and pay unto the LORD your God: let all that be round about him bring presents unto him that ought to be feared.
Matthew 5:33 Again, ye have heard that it hath been said by them of old time, Thou shalt not forswear thyself, but shalt perform unto the Lord thine oath…
Psalms 66:13-14 I will go into thy house with burnt offerings: I will pay thee my vows,
Psalms 50:14 Offer unto God thanksgiving; and pay thy vows unto the most High:
Psalms 119:106 I have sworn, and I will perform it, that I will keep thy righteous judgments.
Psalms 116:14 I will pay my vows unto the LORD now in the presence of all his people.
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Ecclesiastes 5:4-8
Four things we are exhorted to in these verses: -
I. To be conscientious in paying our vows.
1. A vow is a bond upon the soul (Num 30:2), by which we solemnly oblige ourselves, not only, in general, to do that which we are already bound to do, but, in some particular instances, to do that to do which we were not under any antecedent obligation, whether it respects honouring God or serving the interests of his kingdom among men. When, under the sense of some affliction (Psa 66:14), or in the pursuit of some mercy (Sa1 1:11), thou hast vowed such a vow as this unto God, know that thou hast opened thy mouth unto the Lord and thou canst not go back; therefore, (1.) Pay it; perform what thou has…
When thou vowest a vow unto God--Hasty words in prayer (Ecc 5:2-3) suggest the subject of hasty vows. A vow should not be hastily made (Jdg 11:35; Sa1 14:24). When made, it must be kept (Psa 76:11), even as God keeps His word to us (Exo 12:41, Exo 12:51; Jos 21:45).
John Gill on Ecclesiastes 5:4
When thou vowest a vow unto God,.... Or "if thou vowest" (r), as the Vulgate Latin version; for vows are free and indifferent things, which persons may make or not; there is no precept for them in the word of God; instances and examples there are, and they may be lawfully made, when they are in the power of man to perform, and are not inconsistent with the will and word of God; they have been made by good men, and were frequent in former times; but they seem not so agreeable to the Gospel dispensation, having a tendency to ensnare the mind, to entangle men, and bring on them a spirit of bondage, contrary to that liberty wherewith Christ has made them free; and therefore it is better to absta…
"When thou hast made a vow to God, delay not to fulfil it; for there is no pleasure in fools: that which thou hast vowed fulfil. Better that thou vowest not, than that thou vowest and fulfillest not. Let not thy mouth bring thy body into punishment; and say not before the messenger of God that it was precipitation: why shall God be angry at thy talk, and destroy the work of thy hands? For in many dreams and words there are also many vanities: much rather fear God!" If they abstained, after Shabbath 30b, from treating the Book of Koheleth as apocryphal, because it begins with תורה דברי (cf. at Ecc 1:3) and closes in the same way, and hence warrants the conclusion that that which lies between…
The Church Fathers
This will be fulfilled in this way by each one of us. We pray when we renounce this world and promise that being dead to all worldly actions and the life of this world we will serve the Lord with full purpose of heart. We pray when we promise that despising secular honors and scorning earthly riches we will cling to the Lord in all sorrow of heart and humility of spirit. We pray when we promise that we will always maintain the most perfect purity of body and steadfast patience, or when we vow that we will utterly remove from our heart the roots of anger or sorrow that bring about death. And if weakened by sloth and returning to our former sins we fail to do this, we shall be guilty as regards our prayers and vows, and these words will apply to us: "It is better not to vow than to vow and not to pay," which can be rendered in accordance with the Greek: "It is better for you not to pray than to pray and not to pay."
It does a person no good to say that he possesses faith if he neglects to fulfill in deed what he promises in word. As the Scriptures say, "If you have vowed anything to God, defer not to pay it. For an unfaithful and foolish promise displeases him. It is much better not to vow than after a vow not to perform the things promised." In order that we may understand these facts clearly from our relations with our servants, let someone tell me whether it is enough for him if his servant says all day that he is his lord and ceases not to commend him with praises but refuses to do what has been commanded. Therefore, if words without deeds do not please us, how much more can faith without works fail to benefit us in the sight of God? Above all, we must fear lest someone believes so strongly that he will receive God's mercy that he does not dread his justice. If a person does this, he has no faith. Likewise, if he dreads God's justice so much that he despairs of his mercy, there is no faith. Since God is not only merciful but also just, let us believe in both. Let us not despair of his mercy because we fear his justice or love his mercy so much that we disregard his justice. Therefore we should neither hope wrongly nor despair wickedly.
The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).
Dictionary and topics
Vows — Voluntary promises which, when once made, were to be kept if the thing vowed was right. They were made under a great variety of circumstances (Gen. 28: 18-22; Lev. 7:16; Num. 30:2-13; Deut. 23:18;…
Blasphemy · 7:25;11:36,37; — 7:25;11:36,37;
Dishonesty · 6:10,11; — 6:10,11;
False Teachers · FALSE WITNESS — FALSE WITNESS
Fools · God has no pleasure in — God has no pleasure in
Perjury · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
Procrastination · To be avoided in: Performance of vows — To be avoided in: Performance of vows
Punishment · .For perjury — .For perjury
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).
Keep all the promises you make to him: This is virtually a direct quote from the law (Deut 23:21-23; see also Prov 12:22; 20:25). Vows to God were voluntary, but once they were made, it was obligatory to keep them.
Rashi on Ecclesiastes 5:3
He has no desire in fools. The Holy One, Blessed Is He, has no pleasure in the wicked who vow and do not pay.
