KING JAMES VERSION (KJV)
TRANSLATION, MEANING, CONTEXT
To get what Ecclesiastes 5:2 means based on its source text, scroll down or follow these links for the original scriptural meaning , biblical context and relative popularity.
“Be not rash with thy mouth, and let not thine heart be hasty to utter any thing before God: for God is in heaven, and thou upon earth: therefore let thy words be few.”
What does this verse really mean? Use this table to get a word-for-word translation of the original Hebrew Scripture. This shows the English words related to the source biblical texts along with brief definitions. Follow the buttons in the right-hand column for detailed definitions and verses that use the same root words. Use this reference information to gain deeper insight into the Bible and enrich your understanding. Information based on Strong's Exhaustive Concordance[1].
| KJV Verse | Original Hebrew | Meaning/ Definition This is a simplified translation of the original Hebrew word. Follow the buttons on the right to get more detail. | More Use the buttons below to get details on the Hebrew word and view related Bible verses that use the same root word. |
|---|---|---|---|
| “Be not” | אַל | Not (the qualified negation, used as a deprecative); once (Job 24:25) as a noun, nothing | not |
| “rash” | תְּבַהֵ֨ל | To tremble inwardly (or palpitate), i.e., (figuratively) be (causative, make) (suddenly) alarmed or agitated; by implication to hasten anxiously | rash |
| “with” | עַל | Above, over, upon, or against (yet always in this last relation with a downward aspect) in a great variety of applications | with |
| “thy mouth,” | פִּ֜יךָ | The mouth (as the means of blowing), whether literal or figurative (particularly speech); specifically edge, portion or side; adverbially (with preposition) according to | mouth |
| “and let not” | אַל | Not (the qualified negation, used as a deprecative); once (Job 24:25) as a noun, nothing | let not |
| “thine heart” | וְלִבְּךָ֧ | The heart; also used (figuratively) very widely for the feelings, the will and even the intellect; likewise for the center of anything | thine heart |
| “be hasty” | יְמַהֵ֛ר | Properly, to be liquid or flow easily, i.e., (by implication); to hurry (in a good or a bad sense); often used (with another verb) adverbially, promptly | hasty |
| “to utter” | לְהוֹצִ֥יא | To go (causatively, bring) out, in a great variety of applications, literally and figuratively, direct and proxim | utter |
| “any” | (No Hebrew definition. English implied.) | ||
| “thing” | דָבָ֖ר | A word; by implication, a matter (as spoken of) or thing; adverbially, a cause | thing |
| “before” | לִפְנֵ֣י | The face (as the part that turns); used in a great variety of applications (literally and figuratively); also (with prepositional prefix) as a preposition (before, etc.) | before |
| “God:” | הָאֱלֹהִ֑ים | Gods in the ordinary sense; but specifically used (in the plural thus, especially with the article) of the supreme God; occasionally applied by way of deference to magistrates; and sometimes as a superlative | God |
| “for” | כִּ֣י | (by implication) very widely used as a relative conjunction or adverb (as below); often largely modified by other particles annexed | for |
| “God” | הָאֱלֹהִ֤ים | Gods in the ordinary sense; but specifically used (in the plural thus, especially with the article) of the supreme God; occasionally applied by way of deference to magistrates; and sometimes as a superlative | God |
| “is” | (No Hebrew definition. English implied.) | ||
| “in heaven,” | בַּשָּׁמַ֙יִם֙ | The sky (as aloft; the dual perhaps alluding to the visible arch in which the clouds move, as well as to the higher ether where the celestial bodies revolve) | heaven |
| “and thou” | וְאַתָּ֣ה | Thou and thee, or (plural) ye and you | and thou |
| “upon” | עַל | Above, over, upon, or against (yet always in this last relation with a downward aspect) in a great variety of applications | upon |
| “earth:” | הָאָ֔רֶץ | The earth (at large, or partitively a land) | earth |
| “therefore” | עַֽל | Above, over, upon, or against (yet always in this last relation with a downward aspect) in a great variety of applications | therefore |
| “let thy words” | דְבָרֶ֖יךָ | A word; by implication, a matter (as spoken of) or thing; adverbially, a cause | let words |
| “be” | יִהְי֥וּ | To exist, i.e., be or become, come to pass (always emphatic, and not a mere copula or auxiliary) | be |
| “few.” | מְעַטִּֽים׃ | A little or few (often adverbial or comparative) | few |
See Ecclesiastes 5:2 with its adjacent verses in bold below. Follow either of the two large buttons below to see these verses in their broader context of the King James Bible or a Bible concordance.
| Very High |
Verse Search Popularity Levels What do people search for?Use the scale on the left to tell how often the verses below are googled compared to each other. |
|
| High | ||
| Medium | ||
| Low | ||
| Very Low |
1 Keep thy foot when thou goest to the house of God, and be more ready to hear, than to give the sacrifice of fools: for they consider not that they do evil.
2 Be not rash with thy mouth, and let not thine heart be hasty to utter any thing before God: for God is in heaven, and thou upon earth: therefore let thy words be few.
3 For a dream cometh through the multitude of business; and a fool's voice is known by multitude of words.
4 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.
The King James Bible (1611) and Strong's Concordance (1890) with Hebrew and Greek dictionaries are sourced from the BibleForgeDB database (https://github.com/bibleforge) within the BibleForge project (http://bibleforge.com). Popularity rankings are based on search volume data from the Google AdWords Keyword Planner tool.