Bible Strands
Ecclesiastes 8:3
Do not hasten to leave his presence, and do not persist in a bad cause, for he will do whatever he pleases.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The Preacher instructs subjects on proper conduct before a king, placing this counsel between commands to keep the king’s oath-bound command and to recognize the king’s supreme word.
The words — The Hebrew תִבָּהֵל (ti.ba.Hel) translates literally as "you be hasty," while תַּעֲמֹד (ta.'a.Mod) means "you stand," forming a dual warning against rash departure and stubborn opposition.
The thread — The text’s warning against hasty defiance parallels Ecclesiastes 10:4 on maintaining composure before a ruler’s temper and Proverbs 14:29 on the folly of quick tempers. It also aligns with Daniel 4:35, which notes that the sovereign does as he pleases with both heavenly armies and earthly peoples.
Why it lands — The verse commands subjects to avoid impulsive withdrawal and stubborn resistance when facing royal authority. It grounds this conduct in the stated reality that the ruler exercises unchecked power, demanding pragmatic restraint rather than moral posturing.
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 hasty to go out of his sight: stand not in an evil thing; for he doeth whatsoever pleaseth him.
Cross-references
- Ecclesiastes 10:4 If the ruler’s temper flares against you, do not abandon your post, for calmness lays great offenses to rest.
- Proverbs 14:29 A patient man has great understanding, but a quick-tempered man promotes folly.
- Daniel 4:35 All the peoples of the earth are counted as nothing, and He does as He pleases with the army of heaven and the peoples of the earth. There is no one who can restrain His hand or say to Him, ‘What have You done?’”
- Daniel 5:19 Because of the greatness that He bestowed on him, the people of every nation and language trembled in fear before him. He killed whom he wished and kept alive whom he wished; he exalted whom he wished and humbled whom he wished.
- Acts 5:8 “Tell me,” said Peter, “is this the price you and your husband got for the land?” “Yes,” she answered, “that is the price.”
- 1 Kings 1:50 But Adonijah, in fear of Solomon, got up and went to take hold of the horns of the altar.
- 1 Kings 2:21 So Bathsheba said, “Let Abishag the Shunammite be given to your brother Adonijah as his wife.”
- Proverbs 16:14 The wrath of a king is a messenger of death, but a wise man will pacify it.
- Proverbs 30:31 a strutting rooster; a he-goat; and a king with his army around him.
- Isaiah 48:4 For I knew that you are stubborn; your neck is iron and your forehead is bronze.