Ecclesiastes 7:9 (ASV)

Passage

Be not hasty in thy spirit to be angry; for anger resteth in the bosom of fools.

Nearby Context

Ecclesiastes 7:7 Surely extortion maketh the wise man foolish; and a bribe destroyeth the understanding.

Ecclesiastes 7:8 Better is the end of a thing than the beginning thereof; [and] the patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit.

Ecclesiastes 7:9 Be not hasty in thy spirit to be angry; for anger resteth in the bosom of fools.

Ecclesiastes 7:10 Say not thou, What is the cause that the former days were better than these? for thou dost not inquire wisely concerning this.

Ecclesiastes 7:11 Wisdom is as good as an inheritance; yea, more excellent is it for them that see the sun.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "Spirit", "hasty", "angry", "anger", "resteth", "bosom", and "fools". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "Spirit" and "hasty", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 8's "Better is the end of a thing..." into verse 10's "Say not thou What is the cause...", so "Spirit" and "hasty" belong inside that flow. In Ecclesiastes context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "Spirit" and "hasty" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.