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Ecclesiastes 8:2

King James Version (KJV)

“In our prayers we talk to God, in our Bible study God talks to us, and we had better let God do most of the talking.”
— D.L. Moody

Ecclesiastes 8:2

Verse 2 of 17

Scripture focus

I [counsel thee] to keep the king’s commandment, and [that] in regard of the oath of God.

Ecclesiastes 8:2 — KJV

Commentary

Commentary on Ecclesiastes 8:2

Theological / Devotional

Counsel thee. The words are supplied by the translators. Most ancient versions translate “to keep the king’s commandment” as an imperative, “Keep the king’s command,” which seems more in harmony with the context as well as with the structure of the sentence.

Commandment Literally, “mouth,” and thus, figuratively, of spoken and written commands. This usage is common in the OT (Ex. 17:1; 38:21; Num. 3:39 ; 10:13; etc.).

Oath of God. The king was regarded as the Lord’s anointed, appointed by Him to rule. The “oath” refers to one of obedience to the king, uttered in the name of God (see 2 Chron. 36:13; Eze. 17:13-19). Compare the teaching of Paul with respect to the conscience (Rom. 13:5).

By SdaBc