Albert Barnes Commentary Ecclesiastes 5
Albert Barnes Commentary
Ecclesiastes 5
Albert Barnes Commentary
Ecclesiastes 5
"Keep thy foot when thou goest to the house of God; for to draw nigh to hear is better than to give the sacrifice of fools: for they know not that they do evil." — Ecclesiastes 5:1 (ASV)
Keep your foot - that is, Give your mind to what you are 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 name of the Lord of the covenant (see Ecclesiastes 1:13 note).
Be more ready to hear - Perhaps in the sense that, “to draw near for the purpose of hearing (and obeying) is better than and so on.”
"Suffer not thy mouth to cause thy flesh to sin; neither say thou before the angel, that is was an error: wherefore should God be angry at thy voice, and destroy the work of thy hands?" — Ecclesiastes 5:6 (ASV)
Suffer not thy mouth ... - that is, do not make rash vows which may later be the cause of evasion and prevarication, and remain unfulfilled.
Before the angel - The Septuagint and some other versions translate "before the face of God," meaning a spiritual being representing the presence of God, a minister of divine justice (Exodus 23:21), one such as inflicted judgment upon David (2 Samuel 24:17). Others, with less probability, understand the angel to be a priest, and refer to Malachi 2:7.
"For in the multitude of dreams there are vanities, and in many words: but fear thou God." — Ecclesiastes 5:7 (ASV)
For ... vanities - Or, For thus it happens through many dreams and vanities and many words.
"If thou seest the oppression of the poor, and the violent taking away of justice and righteousness in a province, marvel not at the matter: for one higher than the high regardeth; and there are higher than they." — Ecclesiastes 5:8 (ASV)
Matter - Rather, purpose (as in the margin, and Ecclesiastes 3:1), referring either to the will of God or to the edict of an oppressive ruler.
For he ... they - literally, for high watches over high and the highest over them, that is, the king in the capital watches over the judge or governor in the province, and God over both. This seems more in harmony with the preceding verses, and more consistent with the scope of this passage, than to understand the passage as referring only to earthly rulers.
"Moreover the profit of the earth is for all: the king [himself] is served by the field." — Ecclesiastes 5:9 (ASV)
The king himself is served by the field — Rather, the king is subject to the field, that is, is dependent on its cultivation. The higher ranks, if they oppress the lower, lose as a result their own means of subsistence.
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