Ecclesiastes 5:4
in Ecclesiastes 5When you make a vow to God, do not delay in fulfilling it, because He takes no pleasure in fools. Fulfill your vow.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
When thou vowest a vow unto God, defer not to pay it; for he hath no pleasure in fools: pay that which thou vowest.
KJV
When thou vowest a vow unto God, defer not to pay it; for he hath no pleasure in fools: pay that which thou hast vowed.
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This verse in Ecclesiastes 5
Commentary
10 notes on this verseThis 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.
This site's exposition
When you make a vow to God
on Ecclesiastes 5:4-7
A vow is words too: When you make a vow to God, do not delay in fulfilling it. Gill takes the messenger as likely the priest, and calling the vow a mistake leaves debt standing, so the counsel closes on Therefore, fear God.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
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 …
"When you make a vow to God, do not delay paying it, for He has no liking for fools; what you vow, pay. Better that you not vow at all, than that you vow and not pay. "A simple man does not need understanding by interpretation. It is better not to promise than not to keep promises, since they displease God and are numbered among fools, who do not fulfil their vows.
The Medieval Church2 voices
A commentator
BonaventureCollationes de Decem Praeceptis, Collation 3 · Written in the 13th century.
proposed
The second mode of taking the name of God in vain is through breaking of a vow made. And here there is likewise a threefold degree. The first is through irrational delay, as when I promise to go to Saint James by an oath and …
A commentator
BonaventureCommentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 5 · Written in the 13th century.
proposed
"If you have vowed anything," etc. Here secondly he prohibits false speech, by which namely that is promised which is not fulfilled. He therefore exhorts one to fulfill what has been promised: whence he says: "If you have vowed anything to God," that is, you …
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
When thou vowest a vow unto God,....
3 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
When thou vowest a vow - When in distress and difficulty, men are apt to promise much to God if he will relieve them; but generally forget the vow when the distress or trouble is gone by.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
When thou vowest a vow unto God--Hasty words in prayer (Ec 5:2, 3) suggest the subject of hasty vows. A vow should not be hastily made (Jud 11:35; When made, it must be kept (Ps 76:11), even as God keeps His word to us (Ex 12:41, 51;
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
Modern Voices1 voice
A commentator
GK ChestertonThe Superstition of Divorce, Ch. 6: The Story of the Vow · Written before 1936.
proposed
The idea, or at any rate the ideal, of the thing called a vow is fairly obvious. It is to combine the fixity that goes with finality with the self-respect that only goes with freedom. The man is a slave who is his own master, …
The words behind it
15 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| כַּאֲשֶׁר֩ | kaasher | <just> when | H834 → | 5497 times |
| תִּדֹּ֨ר | tidor | you will vow | H5087 → | 31 times |
| נֶ֜דֶר | neder | a vow | H5088 → | |
| לֵֽאלֹהִ֗ים | lelohim | to God | H430 → | 2601 times |
| אַל־ | ʾal- | may not | H408 → | 724 times |
| תְּאַחֵר֙ | teacher | you delay | H309 → | |
| לְשַׁלְּמ֔וֹ | leshalemo | to pay it | H7999 → | 116 times |
| כִּ֛י | ki | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| אֵ֥ין | ʾein | there not | H369 → | 789 times |
| חֵ֖פֶץ | chefetz | [is] pleasure | H2656 → | 39 times |
| בַּכְּסִילִ֑ים | bakesilim | in <the> fools | H3684 → | 70 times |
| אֵ֥ת | ʾet | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| אֲשֶׁר־ | ʾasher- | [that] which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| תִּדֹּ֖ר | tidor | you will vow | H5087 → | 31 times |
| שַׁלֵּֽם׃ | shalem | pay | H7999 → | 116 times |
כַּאֲשֶׁר֩<just> when
kaasherH834 →5497 times
תִּדֹּ֨רyou will vow
tidorH5087 →31 times
נֶ֜דֶרa vow
nederH5088 →
לֵֽאלֹהִ֗יםto God
lelohimH430 →2601 times
אַל־may not
ʾal-H408 →724 times
תְּאַחֵר֙you delay
teacherH309 →
לְשַׁלְּמ֔וֹto pay it
leshalemoH7999 →116 times
כִּ֛יfor
kiH3588 →4482 times
אֵ֥יןthere not
ʾeinH369 →789 times
חֵ֖פֶץ[is] pleasure
chefetzH2656 →39 times
בַּכְּסִילִ֑יםin <the> fools
bakesilimH3684 →70 times
אֵ֥ת<obj.>
ʾetH853 →10935 times
אֲשֶׁר־[that] which
ʾasher-H834 →5497 times
תִּדֹּ֖רyou will vow
tidorH5087 →31 times
שַׁלֵּֽם׃pay
shalemH7999 →116 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Matthew 5:33Again, you have heard that it was said to the ancients, ‘Do not break your oath, but fulfill your vows to the Lord.’
it leads to
- Ecclesiastes 5:4–6
When you make a vow to God, do not delay in fulfilling it, because He takes no pleasure in fools. Fulfill your vow.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Deuteronomy 23:21
If you make a vow to the LORD your God, do not be slow to keep it, because He will surely require it of you, and you will be guilty of sin.
- Leviticus 19:12
You must not swear falsely by My name and so profane the name of your God. I am the LORD.
- Deuteronomy 23:23
Be careful to follow through on what comes from your lips, because you have freely vowed to the LORD your God with your own mouth.
- Psalms 76:11
Make and fulfill your vows to the LORD your God; let all the neighboring lands bring tribute to Him who is to be feared.
- Ecclesiastes 5:4–6
Through
Numbers 30:2If a man makes a vow to the LORD or swears an oath to obligate himself by a pledge, he must not break his word; he must do everything he has promised.
it leads to
- Psalms 50:14
Sacrifice a thank offering to God, and fulfill your vows to the Most High.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Psalms 116:14
I will fulfill my vows to the LORD in the presence of all His people.
- Job 22:27
You will pray to Him, and He will hear you, and you will fulfill your vows.
- Psalms 50:14
Where this verse is studied
On this page
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On this verse
About Ecclesiastes
This page draws on 11 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Bonaventure, Collationes de Decem Praeceptis, Collation 3; Bonaventure, Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 5; Caesarius of Arles, SERMON 12:5; GK Chesterton, The Superstition of Divorce, Ch. 6: The Story of the Vow; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Ecclesiastes; John Cassian, CONFERENCE 9:12; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.