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.
Parallel translations
- WEB When you vow a vow to God, don’t defer to pay it; for he has no pleasure in fools. Pay that which you vow.
- BSB When you make a vow to God, do not delay in fulfilling it, because He takes no pleasure in fools. Fulfill your vow.
- NKJV When you make a vow to God, do not delay to pay it; For He has no pleasure in fools. Pay what you have vowed—
- NASB When you make a vow to God, do not be late in paying it; for He takes no delight in fools. Pay what you vow!
- NLT When you make a promise to God, don’t delay in following through, for God takes no pleasure in fools. Keep all the promises you make to him.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
When you vow to God, pay it promptly, for He takes no pleasure in fools who delay. It matters because broken or neglected promises to God are serious sin.
Overview
The Preacher applies the law of vows (Deuteronomy 23:21-23) to worship. A vow freely made becomes a binding obligation, and to defer payment is folly. The emphasis on integrity before God prepares for the New Testament call to let our yes be yes (Matthew 5:37), reflecting the faithfulness of the God who always keeps His own promises in Christ.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 17
- Num 30:2If a man vow a vow unto the LORD, or swear an oath to bind his soul with a bond; he shall not break his word, he shall do according to all that proceedeth out of his mouth.
- Deut 23:21–23When thou shalt vow a vow unto the LORD thy God, thou shalt not slack to pay it: for the LORD thy God will surely require it of thee; and it would be sin in thee.
- Ps 76:11Vow, and pay unto the LORD your God: let all that be round about him bring presents unto him that ought to be feared.
- Matt 5:33Again, ye have heard that it hath been said by them of old time, Thou shalt not forswear thyself, but shalt perform unto the Lord thine oaths:
- Ps 66:13–14I will go into thy house with burnt offerings: I will pay thee my vows,
- Ps 50:14Offer unto God thanksgiving; and pay thy vows unto the most High:
- Ps 119:106I have sworn, and I will perform it, that I will keep thy righteous judgments.
- Ps 116:14I will pay my vows unto the LORD now in the presence of all his people.
- Mal 1:10Who is there even among you that would shut the doors for nought? neither do ye kindle fire on mine altar for nought. I have no pleasure in you, saith the LORD of hosts, neither will I accept an offering at your hand.
- Heb 10:6In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin thou hast had no pleasure.
- Ps 147:10–11He delighteth not in the strength of the horse: he taketh not pleasure in the legs of a man.
- Ps 116:16–18O LORD, truly I am thy servant; I am thy servant, and the son of thine handmaid: thou hast loosed my bonds.
- Jonah 2:9But I will sacrifice unto thee with the voice of thanksgiving; I will pay that that I have vowed. Salvation is of the LORD.
- Gen 28:20And Jacob vowed a vow, saying, If God will be with me, and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat, and raiment to put on,
- Isa 19:21And the LORD shall be known to Egypt, and the Egyptians shall know the LORD in that day, and shall do sacrifice and oblation; yea, they shall vow a vow unto the LORD, and perform it.
- Gen 35:1And God said unto Jacob, Arise, go up to Bethel, and dwell there: and make there an altar unto God, that appeared unto thee when thou fleddest from the face of Esau thy brother.
- Gen 35:3And let us arise, and go up to Bethel; and I will make there an altar unto God, who answered me in the day of my distress, and was with me in the way which I went.
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Christ at the center
The search that finds everything 'under the sun' to be vapor exposes the emptiness of life without God and drives us to the one who alone gives meaning, the resurrection that makes our labor not in vain.
How Ecclesiastes 5:4 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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