Ecclesiastes 7:22 (DRB)

Passage

But do not apply thy heart to all words that are spoken: lest perhaps thou hear thy servant reviling thee.

Nearby Context

Ecclesiastes 7:20 Wisdom hath strengthened the wise more than ten princes of the city.

Ecclesiastes 7:21 For there is no just man upon earth, that doth good, and sinneth not.

Ecclesiastes 7:22 But do not apply thy heart to all words that are spoken: lest perhaps thou hear thy servant reviling thee.

Ecclesiastes 7:23 For thy conscience knoweth that thou also hast often spoken evil of others.

Ecclesiastes 7:24 I have tried all things in wisdom. I have said: I will be wise: and it departed farther from me,

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "apply", "heart", "words", "spoken", "lest", "perhaps", and "thou". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "apply" and "heart", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 21's "For there is no just man upon..." into verse 23's "For thy conscience knoweth that thou also...", so "apply" and "heart" 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 "apply" and "heart" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.