I counsel thee to keep the king’s commandment, and that in regard of the oath of God.
Parallel translations
- WEB I say, “Keep the king’s command!” because of the oath to God.
- BSB Keep the king’s command, I say, because of your oath before God.
- NKJV I say, “Keep the king’s commandment for the sake of your oath to God.
- NASB I say, “Keep the command of the king because of the oath before God.
- NLT Obey the king since you vowed to God that you would.
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
The Preacher counsels obeying the king's command, in part because of an oath made before God. Lawful authority is to be honored as a sacred, God-given responsibility.
Overview
This begins a section on living wisely under earthly rulers. The 'oath to God' likely refers to a covenant of loyalty sworn in God's name, giving obedience to the king a religious weight. Scripture consistently teaches submission to governing authorities as ordained by God, while reserving ultimate allegiance for the Lord (Romans 13:1-7; Acts 5:29).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 9
- Titus 3:1Put them in mind to be subject to principalities and powers, to obey magistrates, to be ready to every good work,
- Prov 24:21My son, fear thou the LORD and the king: and meddle not with them that are given to change:
- 1 Kgs 2:43Why then hast thou not kept the oath of the LORD, and the commandment that I have charged thee with?
- 1 Pet 2:13–17Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord’s sake: whether it be to the king, as supreme;
- Rom 13:1–5Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God.
- 2 Sam 21:7But the king spared Mephibosheth, the son of Jonathan the son of Saul, because of the LORD’s oath that was between them, between David and Jonathan the son of Saul.
- 1 Chr 29:24And all the princes, and the mighty men, and all the sons likewise of king David, submitted themselves unto Solomon the king.
- Exod 22:11Then shall an oath of the LORD be between them both, that he hath not put his hand unto his neighbour’s goods; and the owner of it shall accept thereof, and he shall not make it good.
- Ezek 17:13–20And hath taken of the king’s seed, and made a covenant with him, and hath taken an oath of him: he hath also taken the mighty of the land:
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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 8:2 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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