Ecclesiastes 10:4

If the spirit of the ruler rise up against thee, leave not thy place; for yielding pacifieth great offences.

Ecclesiastes 10:4, King James Version

Ecclesiastes 10:4 in other translations

BSB	If the ruler’s temper flares against you, do not abandon your post, for calmness lays great offenses to rest.
WEB	If the spirit of the ruler rises up against you, don’t leave your place; for gentleness lays great offenses to rest.
ASV	If the spirit of the ruler rise up against thee, leave not thy place; for gentleness allayeth great offences.
YLT	If the spirit of the ruler go up against thee, Thy place leave not, For yielding quieteth great sinners.
DARBY	If the spirit of the ruler rise up against thee, leave not thy place; for quietness pacifieth great offences.
BBE	If the wrath of the ruler is against you, keep in your place; in him who keeps quiet even great sins may be overlooked.
Webster	If the spirit of the ruler riseth against thee, leave not thy place; for yielding pacifieth great offenses.

What does Ecclesiastes 10:4 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown

4. spirit--anger. yielding pacifieth--(Pr 15:1). This explains "leave not thy place"; do not in a resisting spirit withdraw from thy post of duty (Ec 8:3).

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary

Verse 4 If the spirit of the ruler rise up against thee - If the king get incensed against thee. Leave not thy place - Humble thyself before him, that is thy place and duty; for yielding to him, and not standing stoutly in thy defense, pacifieth great offenses: and then, when his anger is appeased, he will hear any thing in thy justification, if thou have any thing to offer. This is good advice to a child in reference to his parents, and to an inferior of any kind in reference to his superiors. Several of the fathers understood this differently, It the spirit of the ruler - the influence of Satan - hath risen up against and prevailed over thee, to bring thee into some sin; leave not thy place - do not despair of God's mercy; humble thyself before him, and seek pardon through the Son of his love, and this will be מרפא marpe, a remedy or cure even for חטאים גדולים chataim gedolim, great errors or sins. All this is true in itself, whether found in this text or not.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Ecclesiastes 10:4-10

Solomon appears to caution men not to seek redress in a hasty manner, nor to yield to pride and revenge. Do not, in a passion, quit thy post of duty; wait awhile, and thou wilt find that yielding pacifies great offences. Men are not preferred according to their merit. And those are often most forward to offer help, who are least aware of the difficulties, or the consequences. The same remark is applied to the church, or the body of Christ, that all the members should have the same care one for another.

Matthew Henry, 1706 · public domain

Ecclesiastes 10:4 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

אִם\־'im-ifH518

ר֤וּחַRu.ach[the] spirit ofH7307

הַמּוֹשֵׁל֙ha.mo.Shelthe rulerH4910

תַּעֲלֶ֣הta.'a.Lehit will go upH5927

עָלֶ֔יךָ'a.Lei.khatowards youH5921

מְקוֹמְךָ֖me.kom.Chaplace yourH4725

אַל\־'al-may notH408

תַּנַּ֑חta.Nachyou leaveH5117

כִּ֣יkiforH3588

מַרְפֵּ֔אmar.Pe'calmnessH4832

יַנִּ֖יחַya.Ni.achit will cause to restH5117

חֲטָאִ֥יםcha.ta.'ImsinsH2399

גְּדוֹלִֽים\׃ge.do.LimgreatH1419

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Ecclesiastes 10:4

Proverbs 25:15
By long forbearing is a prince persuaded, and a soft tongue breaketh the bone.
Ecclesiastes 8:3
Be not hasty to go out of his sight: stand not in an evil thing; for he doeth whatsoever pleaseth him.
1 Samuel 25:24-44
And fell at his feet, and said, Upon me, my lord, upon me let this iniquity be: and let thine handmaid, I pray thee, speak in thine audience, and hear the words of thine handmaid. Let not my lord, I pray thee, regard this man of Belial, even Nabal: for as his name is, so is he; Nabal is his name, and folly is with him: but I thine handmaid saw not the young men of my lord, whom thou didst send. Now therefore, my lord, as the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, seeing the Lord hath withholden thee from coming to shed blood, and from avenging thyself with thine own hand, now let thine enemies, and they that seek evil to my lord, be as Nabal. And now this blessing which thine handmaid hath brought unto my lord, let it even be given unto the young men that follow my lord. …

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

leave.
8:3
for.
1Sa 25:24-44; Pr 25:15

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

Ecclesiastes 10:3
Yea also, when he that is a fool walketh by the way, his wisdom faileth him, and he saith to every one that he is a fool.
Ecclesiastes 10:4
If the spirit of the ruler rise up against thee, leave not thy place; for yielding pacifieth great offences.
Ecclesiastes 10:5
There is an evil which I have seen under the sun, as an error which proceedeth from the ruler:

Read all of Ecclesiastes 10

Ecclesiastes 10:4 in other languages

Spanish Reina-Valera 1909	Si el espíritu del príncipe se exaltare contra ti, no dejes tu lugar; porque la lenidad hará cesar grandes ofensas.
French Bible J.N. Darby 1885	Si l’esprit du gouverneur s’élève contre toi, ne quitte pas ta place; car la douceur apaise de grands péchés.
German Elberfelder 1871	Wenn der Zorn des Herrschers wider dich aufsteigt, so verlaß deine Stelle nicht; denn Gelassenheit verhindert große Sünden. -
Latin Clementine Vulgate	Si spiritus potestatem habentis ascenderit super te, locum tuum ne demiseris, quia curatio faciet cessare peccata maxima.