4 When thou vowest a vow to God, delay not to complete it, for there is no pleasure in fools; that which thou vowest -- complete.
Vow and complete to Jehovah your God, All ye surrounding him. They bring presents to the Fearful One.
I enter Thy house with burnt-offerings, I complete to Thee my vows, For opened were my lips, And my mouth spake in my distress:
Sacrifice to God confession, And complete to the Most High thy vows.
`Again, ye heard that it was said to the ancients: Thou shalt not swear falsely, but thou shalt pay to the Lord thine oaths;
in burnt-offerings, and concerning sin-offerings, Thou didst not delight,
Who `is' even among you, And he shutteth the two-leaved doors? Yea, ye do not kindle Mine altar for nought, I have no pleasure in you, said Jehovah of Hosts, And a present I do not accept of your hand.
And Jacob voweth a vow, saying, `Seeing God is with me, and hath kept me in this way which I am going, and hath given to me bread to eat, and a garment to put on --
Not in the might of the horse doth He delight, Not in the legs of a man is He pleased. Jehovah is pleased with those fearing Him, With those waiting for His kindness.
Cause `it' to come, O Jehovah, for I `am' Thy servant. I `am' Thy servant, son of Thy handmaid, Thou hast opened my bonds. To Thee I sacrifice a sacrifice of thanks, And in the name of Jehovah I call. My vows to Jehovah let me complete, I pray you, before all His people,
My vows to Jehovah let me complete, I pray you, before all His people.
`When thou vowest a vow to Jehovah thy God, thou dost not delay to complete it; for Jehovah thy God doth certainly require it from thee, and it hath been in thee -- sin. `And when thou forbearest to vow, it is not in thee a sin. The produce of thy lips thou dost keep, and hast done `it', as thou hast vowed to Jehovah thy God; a free-will-offering, which thou hast spoken with thy mouth.
and we rise, and go up to Bethel, and I make there an altar to God, who is answering me in the day of my distress, and is with me in the way that I have gone.'
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on Ecclesiastes 5
Commentary on Ecclesiastes 5 Matthew Henry Commentary
Chapter 5
Solomon, in this chapter, discourses,
So that if we can but learn out of this chapter how to manage the business of religion, and the business of this world (which two take up most of our time), so that both may turn to a good account, and neither our sabbath days nor our week-days may be lost, we shall have reason to say, We have learned two good lessons.
Ecc 5:1-3
Solomon's design, in driving us off from the world, by showing us its vanity, is to drive us to God and to our duty, that we may not walk in the way of the world, but by religious rules, nor depend upon the wealth of the world, but on religious advantages; and therefore,
Ecc 5:4-8
Four things we are exhorted to in these verses:-
Ecc 5:9-17
Solomon had shown the vanity of pleasure, gaiety, and fine works, of honour, power, and royal dignity; and there is many a covetous worldling that will agree with him, and speak as slightly as he does of these things; but money, he thinks, is a substantial thing, and if he can but have enough of that he is happy. This is the mistake which Solomon attacks, and attempts to rectify, in these verses; he shows that there is as much vanity in great riches, and the lust of the eye about them, as there is in the lusts of the flesh and the pride of life, and a man can make himself no more happy by hoarding an estate than by spending it.
Ecc 5:18-20
Solomon, from the vanity of riches hoarded up, here infers that the best course we can take is to use well what we have, to serve God with it, to do good with it, and take the comfort of it to ourselves and our families; this he had pressed before, ch. 2:24; 3:22. Observe,