Be not hasty to go out of his sight: stand not in an evil thing; for he doeth whatsoever pleaseth him.
Parallel translations
- WEB Don’t be hasty to go out of his presence. Don’t persist in an evil thing, for he does whatever pleases him,
- BSB Do not hasten to leave his presence, and do not persist in a bad cause, for he will do whatever he pleases.
- NKJV Do not be hasty to go from his presence. Do not take your stand for an evil thing, for he does whatever pleases him.”
- NASB Do not be in a hurry to leave him. Do not join in an evil matter, for he will do whatever he pleases.”
- NLT Don’t try to avoid doing your duty, and don’t stand with those who plot evil, for the king can do whatever he wants.
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
Don't rashly abandon your duty before a ruler or stubbornly pursue evil, since the king holds real power. Wisdom counsels patience and prudence in the face of authority.
Overview
Qoheleth advises against hasty or rebellious conduct in the royal court, recognizing that a king can act as he pleases. The counsel is practical realism, not flattery: prudence keeps one from needless harm. It reflects the wider biblical call to live peaceably and discerningly under those in power (Proverbs 24:21-22).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 11
- Eccl 10:4If the spirit of the ruler rise up against thee, leave not thy place; for yielding pacifieth great offences.
- Acts 5:8–9And Peter answered unto her, Tell me whether ye sold the land for so much? And she said, Yea, for so much.
- Dan 5:19And for the majesty that he gave him, all people, nations, and languages, trembled and feared before him: whom he would he slew; and whom he would he kept alive; and whom he would he set up; and whom he would he put down.
- Prov 14:29He that is slow to wrath is of great understanding: but he that is hasty of spirit exalteth folly.
- Dan 4:35And all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing: and he doeth according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth: and none can stay his hand, or say unto him, What doest thou?
- Isa 48:4Because I knew that thou art obstinate, and thy neck is an iron sinew, and thy brow brass;
- Prov 30:31A greyhound; an he goat also; and a king, against whom there is no rising up.
- 1 Kgs 1:50–52And Adonijah feared because of Solomon, and arose, and went, and caught hold on the horns of the altar.
- Prov 16:14–15The wrath of a king is as messengers of death: but a wise man will pacify it.
- Jer 44:16–17As for the word that thou hast spoken unto us in the name of the LORD, we will not hearken unto thee.
- 1 Kgs 2:21–24And she said, Let Abishag the Shunammite be given to Adonijah thy brother to wife.
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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 8:3 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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