Ecclesiastes 5:2

Do not be quick to speak, and do not be hasty in your heart to utter a word before God. For God is in heaven and you are on earth. So let your words be few.

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — The Preacher addresses those entering the house of God to pray, immediately after the warning against the "sacrifice of fools" in verse 1.

The words — The command pairs two roots for haste: בָּהַל (bahal, "to rush") applied to the mouth, and מָהַר (mahar, "to be swift") applied to the heart, as though the impulse to speak originates in the heart before the mouth acts.

The thread — Matthew 6:7 warns against babbling in prayer on the same logic that many words do not solve the problem; Proverbs 10:19 states the principle broadly ("when words are many, sin is unavoidable"); Isaiah 55:9 supplies the cosmological warrant behind "God is in heaven and you are on earth."

Why it lands — It asks the reader to treat prayer as a place of silence and attention rather than a performance, and to recognize that the distance between heaven and earth is the reason for brevity, not a barrier to be overcome with volume.

Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.

The Hebrew words

King James Version

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.

Cross-references

Matthew 6:7 And when you pray, do not babble on like pagans, for they think that by their many words they will be heard.
Proverbs 10:19 When words are many, sin is unavoidable, but he who restrains his lips is wise.
Isaiah 55:9 “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so My ways are higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts.
Matthew 6:9 So then, this is how you should pray: ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name.
Genesis 18:27 Then Abraham answered, “Now that I have ventured to speak to the Lord—though I am but dust and ashes—
Numbers 30:2 If a man makes a vow to the LORD or swears an oath to obligate himself by a pledge, he must not break his word; he must do everything he has promised.
Ecclesiastes 5:3 As a dream comes through many cares, so the speech of a fool comes with many words.
Ecclesiastes 5:7 For as many dreams bring futility, so do many words. Therefore, fear God.
Genesis 28:20 Then Jacob made a vow, saying, “If God will be with me and watch over me on this journey, and if He will provide me with food to eat and clothes to wear,
Proverbs 20:25 It is a trap for a man to dedicate something rashly, only later to reconsider his vows.