Ecclesiastes 7:21
Verse
Context
Sermons
Chuck SmithSummary
Commentary
- Keil-Delitzsch
- Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
- John Gill
Carl Friedrich Keil and Franz Delitzsch Old Testament Commentary
"Also give not thy heart to all the words which one speaketh, lest thou shouldest hear thy servant curse thee. For thy heart knoweth in many cases that thou also hast cursed others." The talk of the people, who are the indef. subj. of ילבּרוּ (lxx, Targ., Syr. supply ἀσεβεῖς), is not about "thee who givest heed to the counsels just given" (Hitz., Zckl.), for the restrictive עליך is wanting; and why should a servant be zealous to utter imprecations on the conduct of his master, which rests on the best maxims? It is the babbling of the people in general that is meant. To this one ought not to turn his heart (ל ... נתן, as at Ecc 1:13, Ecc 1:17; Ecc 8:9, Ecc 8:16), i.e., gives wilful attention, ne (לא אשׁר = פּן, which does not occur in the Book of Koheleth) audias servum tuum tibi maledicere; the particip. expression of the pred. obj. follows the analogy of Gen 21:9, Ewald, 284b, and is not a Graecism; for since in this place hearing is meant, not immediately, but mediated through others, the expression would not in good Greek be with the lxx ... τοῦ δούλου σου καταρωμένου σε, but τὸν δοῦλόν σου καταρᾶσθαι σε. The warning has its motive in this, that by such roundabout hearing one generally hears most unpleasant things; and on hearsay no reliance can be placed. Such gossiping one should ignore, should not listen to it at all; and if, nevertheless, something so bad is reported as that our own servant has spoken words of imprecation against us, yet we ought to pass that by unheeded, well knowing that we ourselves have often spoken harsh words against others. The expression וגו ידע, "thou art conscious to thyself that," is like פּע ר, Kg1 2:44, not the obj. accus. dependent on ידע (Hitz.), "many cases where also thou ...," but the adv. accus. of time to קּלּלתּ; the words are inverted (Ewald, 336b), the style of Koheleth being fond of thus giving prominence to the chief conception (Ecc 7:20, Ecc 5:18; Ecc 3:13). The first gam, although it belongs to "thine, thy," as at Ecc 7:22 it is also connected with "thou," (Note: גּם־אתּ, on account of the half pause, accented on the penult. according to the Masora.) stands at the beginning of the sentence, after such syntactical examples as Hos 6:11; Zac 9:11; and even with a two-membered sentence, Job 2:10.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
As therefore thou being far from perfectly "just" thyself, hast much to be forgiven by God, do not take too strict account, as the self-righteous do (Ecc 7:16; Luk 18:9, Luk 18:11), and thereby shorten their lives (Ecc 7:15-16), of words spoken against thee by others, for example, thy servant: Thou art their "fellow servant" before God (Mat 18:32-35).
John Gill Bible Commentary
Also take no heed unto all words that are spoken,.... Seeing so it is, that imperfection attends the best of men, no man is wise at all times, foolish words and unguarded expressions will sometimes drop from him, which it is better to take no notice of; they should not be strictly attended to, and closely examined, since they will not bear it. A man should not listen to everything that is said of himself or others; he should not curiously inquire what men say of him; and what he himself hears he should take no notice of; it is often best to let it pass, and not call it over again; to feign the hearing of a thing, or make as if you did not hear it; for oftentimes, by rehearsing a matter, or taking up words spoken, a deal of trouble and mischief follows; a man should not "give his heart" (f) to it, as it is in the Hebrew text; he should not give his mind to what is said of him, but be careless and indifferent about it; much less should he lay it up in his mind, and meditate revenge for it. The Targum, Septuagint, Syriac, and Arabic versions, restrain it to words spoken by wicked men, whose tongues are their own, and will say what they please; among these may be ranked, more especially, detractors, whisperers, backbiters, and talebearers, who should not be listened unto and encouraged; though there is no necessity of thus limiting the sense, which is more general, and may include what is said by any man, even good men, since they have their infirmities; it seems chiefly to have respect to defamatory words, by what follows; lest thou hear thy servant curse thee; speak slightly, scoffingly, and reproachfully of thee, as Shimei of David; which must be very disagreeable and vexatious to hear from one so mean and abject, and who is dependent on him, earns his bread of him, and gets his livelihood in his service; and to whom, perhaps, he has been kind, and so is guilty of base ingratitude, which aggravates the more; or, if not, if what he says is just, to hear it must give great uneasiness. (f) "ne des tuum cor", Montanus.
Ecclesiastes 7:21
The Limits of Human Wisdom
20Surely there is no righteous man on earth who does good and never sins.21Do not pay attention to every word that is spoken, or you may hear your servant cursing you.22For you know in your heart that many times you yourself have cursed others.
- Scripture
- Sermons
- Commentary
- Keil-Delitzsch
- Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
- John Gill
Carl Friedrich Keil and Franz Delitzsch Old Testament Commentary
"Also give not thy heart to all the words which one speaketh, lest thou shouldest hear thy servant curse thee. For thy heart knoweth in many cases that thou also hast cursed others." The talk of the people, who are the indef. subj. of ילבּרוּ (lxx, Targ., Syr. supply ἀσεβεῖς), is not about "thee who givest heed to the counsels just given" (Hitz., Zckl.), for the restrictive עליך is wanting; and why should a servant be zealous to utter imprecations on the conduct of his master, which rests on the best maxims? It is the babbling of the people in general that is meant. To this one ought not to turn his heart (ל ... נתן, as at Ecc 1:13, Ecc 1:17; Ecc 8:9, Ecc 8:16), i.e., gives wilful attention, ne (לא אשׁר = פּן, which does not occur in the Book of Koheleth) audias servum tuum tibi maledicere; the particip. expression of the pred. obj. follows the analogy of Gen 21:9, Ewald, 284b, and is not a Graecism; for since in this place hearing is meant, not immediately, but mediated through others, the expression would not in good Greek be with the lxx ... τοῦ δούλου σου καταρωμένου σε, but τὸν δοῦλόν σου καταρᾶσθαι σε. The warning has its motive in this, that by such roundabout hearing one generally hears most unpleasant things; and on hearsay no reliance can be placed. Such gossiping one should ignore, should not listen to it at all; and if, nevertheless, something so bad is reported as that our own servant has spoken words of imprecation against us, yet we ought to pass that by unheeded, well knowing that we ourselves have often spoken harsh words against others. The expression וגו ידע, "thou art conscious to thyself that," is like פּע ר, Kg1 2:44, not the obj. accus. dependent on ידע (Hitz.), "many cases where also thou ...," but the adv. accus. of time to קּלּלתּ; the words are inverted (Ewald, 336b), the style of Koheleth being fond of thus giving prominence to the chief conception (Ecc 7:20, Ecc 5:18; Ecc 3:13). The first gam, although it belongs to "thine, thy," as at Ecc 7:22 it is also connected with "thou," (Note: גּם־אתּ, on account of the half pause, accented on the penult. according to the Masora.) stands at the beginning of the sentence, after such syntactical examples as Hos 6:11; Zac 9:11; and even with a two-membered sentence, Job 2:10.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
As therefore thou being far from perfectly "just" thyself, hast much to be forgiven by God, do not take too strict account, as the self-righteous do (Ecc 7:16; Luk 18:9, Luk 18:11), and thereby shorten their lives (Ecc 7:15-16), of words spoken against thee by others, for example, thy servant: Thou art their "fellow servant" before God (Mat 18:32-35).
John Gill Bible Commentary
Also take no heed unto all words that are spoken,.... Seeing so it is, that imperfection attends the best of men, no man is wise at all times, foolish words and unguarded expressions will sometimes drop from him, which it is better to take no notice of; they should not be strictly attended to, and closely examined, since they will not bear it. A man should not listen to everything that is said of himself or others; he should not curiously inquire what men say of him; and what he himself hears he should take no notice of; it is often best to let it pass, and not call it over again; to feign the hearing of a thing, or make as if you did not hear it; for oftentimes, by rehearsing a matter, or taking up words spoken, a deal of trouble and mischief follows; a man should not "give his heart" (f) to it, as it is in the Hebrew text; he should not give his mind to what is said of him, but be careless and indifferent about it; much less should he lay it up in his mind, and meditate revenge for it. The Targum, Septuagint, Syriac, and Arabic versions, restrain it to words spoken by wicked men, whose tongues are their own, and will say what they please; among these may be ranked, more especially, detractors, whisperers, backbiters, and talebearers, who should not be listened unto and encouraged; though there is no necessity of thus limiting the sense, which is more general, and may include what is said by any man, even good men, since they have their infirmities; it seems chiefly to have respect to defamatory words, by what follows; lest thou hear thy servant curse thee; speak slightly, scoffingly, and reproachfully of thee, as Shimei of David; which must be very disagreeable and vexatious to hear from one so mean and abject, and who is dependent on him, earns his bread of him, and gets his livelihood in his service; and to whom, perhaps, he has been kind, and so is guilty of base ingratitude, which aggravates the more; or, if not, if what he says is just, to hear it must give great uneasiness. (f) "ne des tuum cor", Montanus.