Ecclesiastes 5:4

And it is much better not to vow, than after a vow not to perform the things promised.

Douay-Rheims 1899

In The King James Version

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.

In Context

3If thou hast vowed any thing to God, defer not to pay it: for an unfaithful and foolish promise displeaseth him: but whatsoever thou hast vowed, pay it.

5Give not thy mouth to cause thy flesh to sin: and say not before the angel: There is no providence: lest God be angry at thy words, and destroy all the works of thy hands.

Read all of Ecclesiastes 5

Cross References

Genesis 35:1In the meantime God said to Jacob: Arise, and go up to Bethel, and dwell there, and make there an altar to God, who appeared to thee when thou didst flee from Esau thy brother.

Numbers 30:2And he said to the princes of the tribes of the children of Israel: This is the word that the Lord hath commanded:

Psalms 50:14Offer to God the sacrifice of praise: and pay thy vows to the most High.

Psalms 76:11For the thought of man shall give praise to thee: and the remainders of the thought shall keep holiday to thee.

Psalms 116:16O Lord, for I am thy servant: I am thy servant, and the son of thy handmaid. Thou hast broken my bonds:

Psalms 147:10The Lord shall reign for ever: thy God, O Sion, unto generation and generation.

Matthew Henry on Ecclesiastes 5:2-4

A Caution to Worshippers. 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. 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. 3 For a dream cometh through the multitude of business; and a fool's voice is known by multitude of words. Solomon's design, in driving us off from the world, by… Read the whole commentary →

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