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Ecclesiastes 5 · a question people ask

"Don’t protest before the messenger that this was a mistake" (5:6). Who is the messenger?

In the text

The verse doesn't say. Messenger is mal'akh, which Brown-Driver-Briggs gives as "messenger", and among its senses "angel, as messenger of God". This is the only time Ecclesiastes has the word. The same verse goes on to ask about God: "Why should God be angry at your voice, and destroy the work of your hands?" (5:6). These notes don't say who the messenger is.

The verses

“Don’t allow your mouth to lead you into sin. Don’t protest before the messenger that this was a mistake. Why should God be angry at your voice, and destroy the work of your hands?”
Ecclesiastes 5:6 · World English Bible

From Favor's study of Ecclesiastes 5

Ecclesiastes 5: Guard your steps

In Hebrew, the chapter's first command, "Guard your steps" (5:1), and its "you must fear God" (5:7) are the two commands of the book's last words: "Fear God and keep his commandments" (12:13). And the verb of "God occupies him with the joy of his heart" (5:20) is the one behind "to be afflicted with" (1:13).

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Scripture quotations are from the World English Bible, which is in the public domain. Every answer cites the verses it rests on. What we believe · All Bible questions