Translation
Do not be hasty
Go to footnote numberwith your mouth, and do not let hasty
Go to footnote numberwords come out of your heart
Go to footnote numberbefore ELOHIM,
for ELOHIM is in heaven and you are on earth, therefore,
based on this,
Go to footnote numberlet your words be few.
Go to footnote numberParaphrase
Out of fear or pressure, don’t speak too quickly, in fact, don’t speak too quickly for any reason, and guard your heart for it is the true source of everything you say, and
THE CREATOR AND RULER OF ALL THINGS sees both what you say and where it is coming from. Remember, You have zero power, zero knowledge, zero everything compared to THE CREATOR AND RULER OF ALL THINGS. For that reason, I repeat, based on that reality, you must know your place; be in awe of God and respond properly to his greatness – don’t speak unless asked to speak, because if you say too much you will likely start talking about yourself, which would be totally inappropriate in the presence of true greatness.
Footnotes
1
There are two words translated “hasty” in this sentence, but they had different emphases. The root idea behind this word is that of fear, or dismay. It can mean “haste,” but the idea of fear was always in the mind of the Hebrew reader indicating haste caused by fear.
2: “Hasty words”
This Hebrew word simply means “speed, or swiftness.” In this case the cause behind the desire for speed is not in view, it is simply speed for whatever reason.
3: “out of your heart”
There is a spiritual element here that Solomon does not want the reader to ignore or forget.
4: “based on this”
There is a preposition in the Hebrew which most translators do not include in English because it sounds redundant. We don’t say something like “according to,” or “based on” after the word “therefore” because it is not needed. However, I see the presence of this preposition which serves the same purpose as “therefore,” as a form of emphasis. The author really wanted that truth to sink in and the link between the reason for the conclusion and the conclusion itself to be inextricable.
5
Since this follows the discussion about approaching God with the proper attitude, it seems that its first application is to prayer. Jesus mentioned the same precept in Mt 6:7, i.e. don’t think that issuing long wordy prayers makes you more righteous. There is also a general application of this truth, namely to know your place. In the first 30 years of Solomon’s reign he had amassed many stunning accomplishments, but as he looked back on all he had done, he came to see it in its proper perspective and understand its “smallness.” I think the turning point in his thinking and ambition was the death of the Shulammite. Part of the reason he wrote this book was to warn others against the types of vain thoughts which had earlier occupied his own mind, but were then proven unprofitable.