Ecclesiastes 7:21 (WEB)

Passage

Also don’t take heed to all words that are spoken, lest you hear your servant curse you;

Nearby Context

Ecclesiastes 7:19 Wisdom is a strength to the wise man more than ten rulers who are in a city.

Ecclesiastes 7:20 Surely there is not a righteous man on earth, who does good and doesn’t sin.

Ecclesiastes 7:21 Also don’t take heed to all words that are spoken, lest you hear your servant curse you;

Ecclesiastes 7:22 for often your own heart knows that you yourself have likewise cursed others.

Ecclesiastes 7:23 All this I have proved in wisdom. I said, “I will be wise”; but it was far from me.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "take", "heed", "words", "spoken", "lest", "hear", "servant", and "curse". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "take" and "heed", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 20's "Surely there is not a righteous man..." into verse 22's "for often your own heart knows that...", so "take" and "heed" 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 "take" and "heed" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.