Ecclesiastes 7:9
7 Surely extortion turns a wise man into a fool, and a bribe corrupts the heart.
8 The end of a matter is better than the beginning, and a patient spirit is better than a proud one.
Do not be quickly provoked in your spirit, for anger settles in the lap of a fool.
10 Do not say, “Why were the old days better than these?” For it is unwise of you to ask about this.
11 Wisdom, like an inheritance, is good, and it benefits those who see the sun.
Do read the surrounding verses too, because the context often says more than a single verse.
Compare
- BSB
- Do not be quickly provoked in your spirit, for anger settles in the lap of a fool.
- KJV
- Be not hasty in thy spirit to be angry: for anger resteth in the bosom of fools.
- WEB
- Don’t be hasty in your spirit to be angry, for anger rests in the bosom of fools.
- ASV
- Be not hasty in thy spirit to be angry; for anger resteth in the bosom of fools.
- DARBY
- Be not hasty in thy spirit to be vexed; for vexation resteth in the bosom of fools.
- BLB
- Do not hurry in your spirit to become angry, for anger rests in the bosom of fools.
- ÅB
- Vær ikke for hastig i din ånd til å vredes; for vreden bor i dårers barm.
- OTB
- Vær ikke rask til å bli sint, for sinne bor i dårers barm.
- B1930
- Vær ikke for hastig i din ånd til å vredes; for vreden bor i dårers barm.
Study notes (Tyndale)
Original text and word study
Cross references
James 1:19
My beloved brothers, understand this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to anger,
Read in contextProverbs 14:17
A quick-tempered man acts foolishly, and a devious man is hated.
Read in contextProverbs 16:32
He who is slow to anger is better than a warrior, and he who controls his temper is greater than one who captures a city.
Read in contextEphesians 4:26–27
“Be angry, yet do not sin.” Do not let the sun set upon your anger,
Read in contextProverbs 26:23–26
Like glaze covering an earthen vessel are burning lips and a wicked heart.
Read in contextGenesis 34:30–31
Then Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, “You have brought trouble upon me by making me a stench to the Canaanites and Perizzites, the people of this land. We are few in number; if they unite against me and attack me, I and my household will be destroyed.”
Read in contextGenesis 34:7–8
When Jacob’s sons heard what had happened, they returned from the field. They were filled with grief and fury, because Shechem had committed an outrage in Israel by lying with Jacob’s daughter—a thing that should not be done.
Read in contextGenesis 34:25–26
Three days later, while they were still in pain, two of Jacob’s sons (Dinah’s brothers Simeon and Levi) took their swords, went into the unsuspecting city, and slaughtered every male.
Read in context