Lectionary Calendar
Monday, August 11th, 2025
the Week of Proper 14 / Ordinary 19
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Read the Bible

King James Version (1611 Edition)

Ecclesiastes 5:3

For a dreame commeth through the multitude of businesse, and a fooles voyce is knowen by multitude of words.

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Dream;   Speaking;   Words;   Thompson Chain Reference - Dreams;   Evil;   Folly;   Fools;   Silence-Speech;   Speaking, Evil;   Talk, Vain;   Vain Talk;   Wisdom-Folly;   The Topic Concordance - Foolishness;   Speech/communication;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Dreams;  

Dictionaries:

- Bridgeway Bible Dictionary - Dream;   Gossip;   Tongue;   Baker Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology - Word;   Charles Buck Theological Dictionary - Incomprehensibility of God;   Easton Bible Dictionary - Man;   Fausset Bible Dictionary - Jephthah;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Ecclesiastes, Book of;   Israel, History of;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Ecclesiastes;   Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament - Dream (2);   Temple (2);   Wilson's Dictionary of Bible Types - Business;  

Encyclopedias:

- International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Business;   Ecclesiastes, or the Preacher;   The Jewish Encyclopedia - Church Fathers;   Jerome (Eusebius Hieronymus Sophronius);   Ḳorban;  

Devotionals:

- Every Day Light - Devotion for September 14;  

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
Just as dreams accompany much labor, so also a fool’s voice comes with many words.
Hebrew Names Version
For as a dream comes with a multitude of cares, so a fool's speech with a multitude of words.
King James Version
For a dream cometh through the multitude of business; and a fool's voice is known by multitude of words.
English Standard Version
For a dream comes with much business, and a fool's voice with many words.
New American Standard Bible
For the dream comes through much effort, and the voice of a fool through many words.
New Century Version
The saying is true: Bad dreams come from too much worrying, and too many words come from foolish people.
Amplified Bible
For the dream comes through much effort, and the voice of the fool through many words.
World English Bible
For as a dream comes with a multitude of cares, so a fool's speech with a multitude of words.
Geneva Bible (1587)
For as a dreame commeth by the multitude of businesse: so the voyce of a foole is in the multitude of wordes.
Legacy Standard Bible
For the dream comes through abundant endeavor and the voice of a fool through abundant words.
Berean Standard Bible
As a dream comes through many cares, so the speech of a fool comes with many words.
Contemporary English Version
If you keep thinking about something, you will dream about it. If you talk too much, you will say the wrong thing.
Complete Jewish Bible
If you make a vow to God, don't delay in discharging it. For God takes no pleasure in fools, so discharge your vow!
Darby Translation
For a dream cometh through the multitude of business, and a fool's voice through a multitude of words.
Easy-to-Read Version
Bad dreams come from too many worries, and too many words come from the mouth of a fool.
George Lamsa Translation
For a dream comes because of the multitude of business; and a fools voice is known by a multitude of words.
Good News Translation
The more you worry, the more likely you are to have bad dreams, and the more you talk, the more likely you are to say something foolish.
Lexham English Bible
For a dream comes with many cares, and the voice of a fool with many words.
Literal Translation
For the dream comes through the greatness of the task; and the voice of the fool is known by the many words.
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
For where moch carefulnesse is, there are many dreames: & where many wordes are, there men maye heare fooles.
American Standard Version
For a dream cometh with a multitude of business, and a fool's voice with a multitude of words.
Bible in Basic English
As a dream comes from much business, so the voice of a foolish man comes with words in great number.
JPS Old Testament (1917)
When thou vowest a vow unto God, defer not to pay it; for He hath no pleasure in fools; pay that which thou vowest.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
For where much carefulnesse is, there are many dreames: and where many wordes are, there men may heare fooles.
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
Whenever thou shalt vow a vow to God, defer not to pay it; for he has no pleasure in fools: pay thou therefore whatsoever thou shalt have vowed.
English Revised Version
For a dream cometh with a multitude of business; and a fool's voice with a multitude of words.
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Dremes suen many bisynessis, and foli schal be foundun in many wordis.
Update Bible Version
For a dream comes with a multitude of business, and a fool's voice with a multitude of words.
Webster's Bible Translation
For a dream cometh through the multitude of business; and a fool's voice [is known] by a multitude of words.
New English Translation
Just as dreams come when there are many cares, so the rash vow of a fool occurs when there are many words.
New King James Version
For a dream comes through much activity, And a fool's voice is known by his many words.
New Living Translation
Too much activity gives you restless dreams; too many words make you a fool.
New Life Bible
For a dream comes with much work, and the voice of a fool comes with many words.
New Revised Standard
For dreams come with many cares, and a fool's voice with many words.
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
For a dream cometh through the multitude of business, - and, the voice of a dullard, is with a multitude of words.
Douay-Rheims Bible
(5-2) Dreams follow many cares: and in many words shall be found folly.
Revised Standard Version
For a dream comes with much business, and a fool's voice with many words.
Young's Literal Translation
For the dream hath come by abundance of business, and the voice of a fool by abundance of words.
THE MESSAGE
Overwork makes for restless sleep. Overtalk shows you up as a fool.
New American Standard Bible (1995)
For the dream comes through much effort and the voice of a fool through many words.

Contextual Overview

1 Kepe thy foote when thou goest to the house of God, and be more ready to heare, then to giue the sacrifice of fooles: for they consider not that they doe euill. 2 Be not rash with thy mouth, and let not thine heart be hasty to vtter any thing before God: for God is in heauen, and thou vpon earth: therefore let thy words be few. 3 For a dreame commeth through the multitude of businesse, and a fooles voyce is knowen by multitude of words.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

a fool's: Ecclesiastes 10:12-14, Proverbs 10:19, Proverbs 15:2

Reciprocal: Job 13:5 - and it Proverbs 14:23 - but Proverbs 17:28 - General Ecclesiastes 5:2 - for Ecclesiastes 5:7 - in the Ecclesiastes 10:3 - and he Ecclesiastes 10:14 - fool Matthew 6:7 - use James 1:19 - slow to speak

Cross-References

Genesis 4:25
And Adam knew his wife againe, and she bare a sonne, & called his name Seth: For God, said she, hath appointed mee another seed in stead of Abel, whom Cain slew.
Genesis 5:2
Male and female created hee them, and blessed them, and called their name Adam, in the day when they were created.
Genesis 5:3
And Adam liued an hundred and thirtie yeeres, and begate a sonne in his owne likenesse, after his image; and called his name Seth.
Genesis 5:14
And al the dayes of Cainan were nine hundred & ten yeres; and he died.
Genesis 5:16
And Mahalaleel liued after he begate Iared, eight hundred and thirtie yeeres, and begate sonnes & daughters.
Job 14:4
Who can bring a cleane thing out of an vncleane? not one.
Job 25:4
How then can man bee iustified with God? or how can he be cleane that is borne of a woman?
Psalms 51:5
Behold, I was shapen in iniquitie: and in sinne did my mother conceiue me.
Luke 1:35
And the Angel answered and said vnto her, The holy Ghost shall come vpon thee, and the power of the Highest shall ouershadow thee. Therefore also that holy thing which shall bee borne of thee, shall bee called the sonne of God.
John 3:6
That which is borne of the flesh, is flesh, and that which is borne of the spirit, is spirit.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

For a dream cometh through the multitude of business,.... Or, "for as a dream" q, so Aben Ezra; as that comes through a multiplicity of business in the daytime, in which the mind has been busied, and the body employed; and this brings on dreams in the night season, which are confused and incoherent; sometimes the fancy is employed about one thing, and sometimes another, and all unprofitable and useless, as well as vain and foolish;

and a fool's voice [is known] by multitude of words; either his voice in conversation, for a fool is full of words, and pours out his foolishness in a large profusion of them; or his voice in prayer, being like a man's dream, confused, incoherent, and rambling. The supplement, "is known", may be left out.

q כי בא "ut prodit somnium", Junius Tremellius "nam ut venit", Piscator; "quia sicut venit", Mercerus, Ramabachius, so Broughton.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Ecclesiastes 5:3. For a dream cometh — That is, as dreams are generally the effect of the business in which we have been engaged during the day; so a multitude of words evidence the feeble workings of the foolish heart.


 
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