Ecclesiastes 5:6

Suffer not thy mouth to cause thy flesh to sin; neither say thou before the angel, that it was an error: wherefore should God be angry at thy voice, and destroy the work of thine hands? SUFFER NOT THY MOUTH ... - vow not with "thy mouth" a vow (e.g., fasting), which thy flesh (thy body, margin, ) may tempt thee to break (). ; prove that "flesh" is used for carnal desires in the Old Testament as well as in the New, which Hengstenberg denies, maintaining the sense 'Suffer not thyself to be involved in guilt as respects thy whole body, by the one small member the mouth' ...

4-8 When a person made engagements rashly, he suffered his mouth to cause his flesh to sin. The case supposes a man coming to the priest, and pretending that his vow was made rashly, and that it would be wrong to fulfil it. Such mockery of God would bring the Divine displeasure, which might blast what was thus unduly kept. We are to keep down the fear of man. Set God before thee; then, if thou seest the oppression of the poor, thou wilt not find fault with Divine Providence; nor think the worse of the institution of magistracy, when thou seest the ends of it thus perverted; nor of religion, when thou seest it will not secure men from suffering wrong. But though oppressors may be secure, God will reckon for all....

Verse Ecclesiastes 5:6. _NEITHER SAY THOU BEFORE THE ANGEL, THAT IT_ WAS _AN_ _ERROR_] Nor think of saying "before the cruel angel, who shall exercise authority over thee in the judgment of the great day, that thou didst it through ignorance." - _Chaldee_. I believe by the _angel_ nothing else is intended than the _priest_, whose business it was to take cognizance of _vows_ and _offerings_. See Leviticus 5:4-3. In Malachi 2:7, the priest is called the "angel of the Lord of hosts....

SUFFER NOT THY MOUTH ... - i. e., Do not make rash vows which may hereafter be the cause of evasion and prevarication, and remain unfulfilled. BEFORE THE ANGEL - The Septuagint and some other versions render “before the face of God,” meaning a spiritual being representing the presence of God, a minister of divine justice Exodus 23:21, such a one as inflicted judgment upon David 2 Samuel 24:17. Others, with less probability, understand the angel to be a priest, and refer to Malachi 2:7....

EXPOSITION ECCLESIASTES 5:1 Section 6. Man's outward and secular life being unable to secure happiness and satisfaction, can these be found in _popular religion?_ Religious exercises need the observation of strict rules, which are far from meeting with general attention. Koheleth proceeds to give instruction, in the form of maxims, concerning public worship, prayer, and vows. ECCLESIASTES 5:1 This verse, in the Hebrew, Greek, and Latin Bibles, forms the conclusion of Ecclesiastes 4:1; and is taken independently; but the division in our version is more natural, and the connection of this with the following verses is obvious....

SUFFER NOT THY MOUTH TO CAUSE THY FLESH TO SIN,.... That is, himself, who is corrupt and depraved; either by making a rash vow, which it is not in his power to keep; or such is the corruption of his nature, and the weakness of the flesh, that he cannot keep it; or by making sinful excuses after he has made the vow, and so is guilty of lying, or false swearing, or other sins of the flesh. Jarchi by "flesh" understands his children, on whom his iniquity may be visited and punished; and the Targum interprets this punishment of the judgment or condemnation of hell; see Proverbs 20:25; NEITHER SAY THOU BEFORE THE ANGEL THAT IT [WAS] AN ERROR; that it was done ignorantly and through mistake: that it was not intended, and that this was not the meaning of the vow; and therefore desires to be excused performing it, or to offer a sacrifice in lieu of it. Interpreters are divide

ANGEL (_ See Scofield) - (Hebrews 1:4). _...

3. EXHORTATIONS ON DIFFERENT VANITIES CHAPTER 5 _ 1. Concerning worship and vows (Ecclesiastes 5:1)_ 2. Concerning extortions (Ecclesiastes 5:8) 3. The vanities of wealth (Ecclesiastes 5:10) 4. The conclusion (Ecclesiastes 5:18) Ecclesiastes 5:1. The writer, King Solomon, seems to have been exhausted in his descriptions as to the things under the sun. He pauseth and turns to something different. He meditates on worship, that man aims to get in touch with the unsee

REALITY IN RELIGION. This section deals with worship and vows. Those who go to the house of God (whether Temple or synagogue is not clear) must go reverently and thoughtfully. Keep thy foot recalls the Oriental practice of removing one's shoes in sacred places (Exodus 3:5). The great requirement in religion is not the ritual sacrifice but the spirit of discipleship and obedience (1 Samuel 15:22 and the prophets _passim)._ Read, with a slight change, for they know nothing except how to do evil. Ecclesiastes 5:2 may refer to prayer (_cf._ Matthew 6:7) or to vows (_cf._...

TO CAUSE, &C. : by vows made concerning the flesh, such as eating and drinking, marrying, &c. ANGEL. messenger. Compare Malachi 2:7. ERROR. Hebrew. _shagag._ App-44. WHEREFORE... ? Figure of speech _Erotesis._ App-6. VOICE. Put by Figure of speech _Metonymy_ (of Cause), App-6, for the vain words uttered by it; referring to Ecclesiastes 5:1. DESTROY. confiscate. WORK. Aramaean, Septuagint, and Vulg, read "works" (plural)...