This warning, which calls for care when making a vow, is less general than the first admonition about careful speech. The entire verse has as its background the teaching of Deut 23.21-23, which can be referred to for a better understanding of the issue Qoheleth is dealing with.

When you vow a vow to God: the introductory adverb When is better given as “Whenever,” as this is the force of the so-called relative pronoun with the imperfect verb. A vow is a promise made to God; but a vow is more serious than a promise, because a vow generally involved taking an oath. In the Old Testament vows were of various kinds. For example, a person could make a vow as part of a “bargain” with God, as Jephthah did in Judges 11.30-31; he promised to sacrifice whatever came out of his house to meet him when he returned home, if God would give him victory over Israel’s enemies. A person could make a vow to demonstrate faith and devotion (see Psa 22.25, where it is parallel to “praise”). The nazirite vow (Numbers 6) was in this category also. Usually the vow was accompanied by some outward sign, or a ceremony at which a sworn oath was taken. The importance of the oath will appear later in our discussion of verse 5.

Vow a vow is a literal translation of the Hebrew and this may simply be reduced to “make a vow.” “Make a [solemn] promise to God” may be acceptable as a translation in some languages, while in others there may be a standard idiomatic expression, such as “swear and say” or “put mouth.” However, there are many situations where a language has only one word, “speak,” which does duty for making promises and vows. In such cases perhaps we can say “When you tell God you will do something, then….”

Do not delay paying it: the principle set out in Deuteronomy 23 and followed by Qoheleth is that any vow made must be fulfilled. Do not delay is a phrase that is somewhat ironic, because in the previous verse hastiness was linked with the fool’s behavior. This reminds us that speed is not always a negative thing. When one makes a vow caution is called for, but once it is made, fulfilling the vow becomes the more important thing. When Qoheleth here says do not delay, he is really saying “do not postpone fulfillment for any reason” or “do not look for excuses not to complete the vow once you have said what you will do.” The emphasis is primarily on fulfilling the vow, not on the speed at which it is completed. Unfortunately this latter sense is stressed in Good News Translation, “keep it as quickly as possible.” Paying it in Hebrew is the verb “complete” and does not refer to the payment of money or other material objects. The Hebrew verb “complete” demonstrates that making the vow is only the first part of the process; carrying through with what was promised completes the vow and gives it its worth.

Translators may consider the following models:

• Whenever you make a vow to God, make sure you complete it.

• When you make a vow before God, do not let anything prevent you from completing it.

• When you tell God you will certainly do something, then make sure you do so.

For he has no pleasure in fools: Deuteronomy 23 takes the view that failure to complete a vow is sin. In that legal setting, sanctions or punishments are applied if a person fails to keep a vow. In Qoheleth there is an equally serious attitude to the vow, but the emphasis differs because Qoheleth is a wise man and not a priest charged with supervising vows. For shows us that what follows is Qoheleth’s reason for calling a person to fulfill a vow. Though there is no pronoun in the Hebrew, Revised Standard Version inserts he, which refers to God. God, then, has no pleasure in fools. The keyword is pleasure, but we note immediately that it is not the same Hebrew term as that used earlier in discussions of pleasure-seeking in 2.1. Here the word used is “will” or “good pleasure,” so Qoheleth is making the claim that failure to fulfill vows is contrary to God’s will. Furthermore, only a fool would oppose that will. Fools here includes not only the foolish person but what that person does, or fails to do. So our translation should aim to convey the sense that failure to fulfill a vow is a foolish disregard of what God wants. Avoid something like Jerusalem Bible “God has no love for fools,” because it can mislead readers into thinking that Qoheleth is saying that God’s love is reserved for the wise and good.

Translation can be as follows:

• For God is not pleased if a fool fails to fulfill a vow.

• For when a fool fails to fulfill a vow it is contrary to God’s will.

More generally we can say:

• God is not pleased with foolish behavior.

Pay what you vow is a clear call to carry through what you have promised to do. As a positive call following the warning not to delay fulfillment, it parallels the same form as verse 2. We can render it as “Do as you have vowed to do” or “Fulfill the vow you made.” Many languages will prefer to put the object clause at the beginning as the Hebrew does: “What you have vowed [to God], do it.”

Quoted with permission from Ogden, Graham S. and Zogbo, Lynell. A Handbook on the Book of Ecclesiates. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1997. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .