Ecclesiastes 5:4

NET Bible® (New English Translation)

When you make a vow to God, do not delay in paying it. For God takes no pleasure in fools: Pay what you vow!

Additional Resources

Referenced Verses

  • Ps 66:13-14 : 13 I will enter your temple with burnt sacrifices; I will fulfill the vows I made to you, 14 which my lips uttered and my mouth spoke when I was in trouble.
  • Ps 76:11 : 11 Make vows to the LORD your God and repay them! Let all those who surround him bring tribute to the awesome one!
  • Num 30:2 : 2 If a man makes a vow to the LORD or takes an oath of binding obligation on himself, he must not break his word, but must do whatever he has promised.
  • Ps 50:14 : 14 Present to God a thank-offering! Repay your vows to the Most High!
  • Matt 5:33 : 33 Oaths“Again, you have heard that it was said to an older generation,‘Do not break an oath, but fulfill your vows to the Lord.’
  • Heb 10:6 : 6 “Whole burnt offerings and sin-offerings you took no delight in.
  • Deut 23:21-23 : 21 When you make a vow to the LORD your God you must not delay in fulfilling it, for otherwise he will surely hold you accountable as a sinner. 22 If you refrain from making a vow, it will not be sinful. 23 Whatever you vow, you must be careful to do what you have promised, such as what you have vowed to the LORD your God as a freewill offering.
  • Gen 28:20 : 20 Then Jacob made a vow, saying,“If God is with me and protects me on this journey I am taking and gives me food to eat and clothing to wear,
  • Gen 35:1 : 1 The Return to Bethel Then God said to Jacob,“Go up at once to Bethel and live there. Make an altar there to God, who appeared to you when you fled from your brother Esau.”
  • Gen 35:3 : 3 Let us go up at once to Bethel. Then I will make an altar there to God, who responded to me in my time of distress and has been with me wherever I went.”
  • Ps 116:14 : 14 I will fulfill my vows to the LORD before all his people.
  • Ps 116:16-18 : 16 Yes, LORD! I am indeed your servant; I am your servant, the son of your female servant. You saved me from death. 17 I will present a thank offering to you, and call on the name of the LORD. 18 I will fulfill my vows to the LORD before all his people,
  • Ps 119:106 : 106 I have vowed and solemnly sworn to keep your just regulations.
  • Ps 147:10-11 : 10 He is not enamored with the strength of a horse, nor is he impressed by the warrior’s strong legs. 11 The LORD takes delight in his faithful followers, and in those who wait for his loyal love.
  • Isa 19:21 : 21 The LORD will reveal himself to the Egyptians, and they will acknowledge the LORD’s authority at that time. They will present sacrifices and offerings; they will make vows to the LORD and fulfill them.
  • Jonah 2:9 : 9 But as for me, I promise to offer a sacrifice to you with a public declaration of praise; I will surely do what I have promised. Salvation belongs to the LORD!”
  • Mal 1:10 : 10 “I wish that one of you would close the temple doors, so that you no longer would light useless fires on my altar. I am not pleased with you,” says the LORD of Heaven’s Armies,“and I will no longer accept an offering from you.

Similar Verses (AI)

These verses are found using AI-powered semantic similarity based on meaning and context. Results may occasionally include unexpected connections.

  • Eccl 5:5-7
    3 verses
    89%

    5It is better for you not to vow than to vow and not pay it.

    6Do not let your mouth cause you to sin, and do not tell the priest,“It was a mistake!” Why make God angry at you so that he would destroy the work of your hands?”

    7Just as there is futility in many dreams, so also in many words. Therefore, fear God!

  • Deut 23:21-23
    3 verses
    81%

    21When you make a vow to the LORD your God you must not delay in fulfilling it, for otherwise he will surely hold you accountable as a sinner.

    22If you refrain from making a vow, it will not be sinful.

    23Whatever you vow, you must be careful to do what you have promised, such as what you have vowed to the LORD your God as a freewill offering.

  • Eccl 5:1-3
    3 verses
    76%

    1Rash Vows(4:17) Be careful what you do when you go to the temple of God; draw near to listen rather than to offer a sacrifice like fools, for they do not realize that they are doing wrong.

    2(5:1) Do not be rash with your mouth or hasty in your heart to bring up a matter before God, for God is in heaven and you are on earth! Therefore, let your words be few.

    3Just as dreams come when there are many cares, so the rash vow of a fool occurs when there are many words.

  • Num 30:2-4
    3 verses
    76%

    2If a man makes a vow to the LORD or takes an oath of binding obligation on himself, he must not break his word, but must do whatever he has promised.

    3Vows Made by Single Women“If a young woman who is still living in her father’s house makes a vow to the LORD or places herself under an obligation,

    4and her father hears of her vow or the obligation to which she has pledged herself, and her father remains silent about her, then all her vows will stand, and every obligation to which she has pledged herself will stand.

  • Job 22:27
    73%

    27You will pray to him and he will hear you, and you will fulfill your vows to him.

  • Prov 26:4-5
    2 verses
    73%

    4Do not answer a fool according to his folly, lest you yourself also be like him.

    5Answer a fool according to his folly, lest he be wise in his own opinion.

  • Lev 5:4
    72%

    4or when a person swears an oath, speaking thoughtlessly with his lips, whether to do evil or to do good, with regard to anything which the individual might speak thoughtlessly in an oath, even if he did not realize it, but he himself has later come to know it and is guilty with regard to one of these oaths–

  • Prov 20:25
    72%

    25It is a snare for a person to rashly cry,“Holy!” and only afterward to consider what he has vowed.

  • Prov 26:10
    70%

    10Like an archer who wounds at random, so is the one who hires a fool or hires any passerby.

  • Eccl 8:2
    70%

    2Obey the king’s command, because you took an oath before God to be loyal to him.

  • Prov 22:26-27
    2 verses
    70%

    26Do not be one who strikes hands in pledge or who puts up security for debts.

    27If you do not have enough to pay, your bed will be taken right out from under you!

  • Matt 5:33
    70%

    33Oaths“Again, you have heard that it was said to an older generation,‘Do not break an oath, but fulfill your vows to the Lord.’

  • Prov 23:9
    70%

    9Do not speak in the ears of a fool, for he will despise the wisdom of your words.

  • Deut 5:11
    69%

    11You must not make use of the name of the LORD your God for worthless purposes, for the LORD will not exonerate anyone who abuses his name that way.

  • Job 15:4
    69%

    4But you even break off piety, and hinder meditation before God.

  • Ps 15:4
    69%

    4He despises a reprobate, but honors the LORD’s loyal followers. He makes firm commitments and does not renege on his promise.

  • Ps 50:14
    69%

    14Present to God a thank-offering! Repay your vows to the Most High!

  • Prov 29:20
    68%

    20You have seen someone who is hasty in his words– there is more hope for a fool than for him.

  • Prov 17:16
    68%

    16What’s the point of a fool having money in hand to buy wisdom, when his head is empty?

  • Prov 19:1
    68%

    1Better is a poor person who walks in his integrity than one who is perverse in his speech and is a fool.

  • Ps 76:11
    68%

    11Make vows to the LORD your God and repay them! Let all those who surround him bring tribute to the awesome one!

  • Jas 5:12
    68%

    12And above all, my brothers and sisters, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or by any other oath. But let your“Yes” be yes and your“No” be no, so that you may not fall into judgment.

  • Eccl 7:17
    68%

    17Do not be excessively wicked and do not be a fool; otherwise you might die before your time.

  • Prov 11:15
    68%

    15The one who has put up security for a stranger will surely have trouble, but whoever avoids shaking hands is secure.

  • Prov 19:10
    68%

    10Luxury is not appropriate for a fool; how much less for a servant to rule over princes!

  • Prov 30:6
    68%

    6Do not add to his words, lest he reprove you, and prove you to be a liar.

  • Ps 22:25
    68%

    25You are the reason I offer praise in the great assembly; I will fulfill my promises before the LORD’s loyal followers.

  • Prov 15:5
    68%

    5A fool rejects his father’s discipline, but whoever heeds reproof shows good sense.

  • Exod 20:7
    67%

    7“You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not hold guiltless anyone who takes his name in vain.

  • Ps 116:18
    67%

    18I will fulfill my vows to the LORD before all his people,

  • Job 36:18
    67%

    18Be careful that no one entices you with riches; do not let a large bribe turn you aside.

  • Prov 6:1
    67%

    1Admonitions and Warnings against Dangerous and Destructive Acts My child, if you have made a pledge for your neighbor, if you have become a guarantor for a stranger,

  • Prov 5:9
    67%

    9lest you give your vigor to others and your years to a cruel person,

  • Eccl 7:9
    67%

    9Do not let yourself be quickly provoked, for anger resides in the lap of fools.

  • Prov 3:27
    67%

    27Wisdom Demonstrated in Relationships with People Do not withhold good from those who need it, when you have the ability to help.

  • Prov 19:3
    67%

    3A person’s folly subverts his way, and his heart rages against the LORD.

  • Prov 17:21
    67%

    21Whoever brings a fool into the world does so to his grief, and the father of a fool has no joy.

  • Eccl 7:5
    67%

    5Frivolous Living Versus Wisdom It is better for a person to receive a rebuke from those who are wise than to listen to the song of fools.