Fear God

5 ^{[a] (A)}Guard your steps when you go to ^(B)the house of God. To draw near to listen is better than to ^(C)offer the sacrifice of fools, for they do not know that they are doing evil. ^2 [b] Be not rash with your mouth, nor let your heart be hasty to utter a word before God, for God is in heaven and you are on earth. Therefore ^(D)let your words be few. ³ For a dream comes with much business, and a fool's voice with ^(E)many words.

⁴ When ^(F)you vow a vow to God, ^(G)do not delay paying it, for he has no pleasure in fools. ^(H)Pay what you vow. ^5 (I)It is better that you should not vow than that you should vow and not pay. ⁶ Let not your mouth lead you^[c] into sin, and do not say before ^(J)the messenger^[d] that it was ^(K)a mistake. Why should God be angry at your voice and destroy the work of your hands? ⁷ For when dreams increase and words grow many, there is vanity;^[e] but^{[f] (L)}God is the one you must fear.

The Vanity of Wealth and Honor

^8 (M)If you see in a province the oppression of the poor and the violation of justice and righteousness, ^(N)do not be amazed at the matter, ^(O)for the high official is watched by a higher, and there are yet higher ones over them. ⁹ But this is gain for a land in every way: a king committed to cultivated fields.^[g]

¹⁰ He who loves money will not be satisfied with money, nor he who loves wealth with his income; this also is vanity. ¹¹ When goods increase, they increase who eat them, and what advantage has their owner but to see them with his eyes? ¹² Sweet is the sleep of a laborer, whether he eats little or much, but the full stomach of the rich will not let him sleep.

^13 (P)There is a grievous evil that I have seen under the sun: riches were kept by their owner to his hurt, ¹⁴ and those riches were lost in a bad venture. And he is father of a son, but he has nothing in his hand. ^15 (Q)As he came from his mother's womb he shall go again, naked as he came, and shall take nothing for his toil that he may carry away in his hand. ¹⁶ This also is a grievous evil: just as he came, so shall he go, and what ^(R)gain is there to him who ^(S)toils for the wind? ¹⁷ Moreover, all his days he ^(T)eats in darkness in much vexation and sickness and anger.

¹⁸ Behold, what I have seen to be ^(U)good and fitting is to eat and drink and find enjoyment^[h] in all the toil with which one toils under the sun the few days of his life that God has given him, for this is his ^(V)lot. ¹⁹ Everyone also to whom ^(W)God has given ^(X)wealth and possessions ^(Y)and power to enjoy them, and to accept his lot and rejoice in his toil—this is ^(Z)the gift of God. ²⁰ For he will not much remember the days of his life because God keeps him occupied with joy in his heart.

3 See ^(A)what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called ^(B)children of God; and so we are. The reason why ^(C)the world does not know us is that ^(D)it did not know him. ² Beloved, we are ^(E)God's children ^(F)now, and what we will be ^(G)has not yet appeared; but we know that ^(H)when he appears^{[a] (I)}we shall be like him, because ^(J)we shall see him as he is. ³ And everyone who ^(K)thus hopes in him ^(L)purifies himself as he is pure.

⁴ Everyone who makes a practice of sinning also practices lawlessness; ^(M)sin is lawlessness. ⁵ You know that ^(N)he appeared in order to ^(O)take away sins, and ^(P)in him there is no sin. ⁶ No one who abides in him keeps on sinning; ^(Q)no one who keeps on sinning has either seen him or known him. ⁷ Little children, ^(R)let no one deceive you. ^(S)Whoever practices righteousness is righteous, as he is righteous. ^8 (T)Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was ^(U)to destroy the works of the devil. ^9 (V)No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God's^[b] seed abides in him; and he cannot keep on sinning, because he has been born of God. ¹⁰ By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, ^(W)nor is the one who ^(X)does not love his brother.

Love One Another

¹¹ For ^(Y)this is the message that you have heard from the beginning, ^(Z)that we should love one another. ¹² We should not be like ^(AA)Cain, who was of the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? ^(AB)Because his own deeds were evil and his brother's righteous. ¹³ Do not be surprised, brothers,^{[c] (AC)}that the world hates you. ¹⁴ We know that ^(AD)we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brothers. Whoever does not love abides in death. ^15 (AE)Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that ^(AF)no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.

¹⁶ By this we know love, that ^(AG)he laid down his life for us, and ^(AH)we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. ¹⁷ But ^(AI)if anyone has the world's goods and sees his brother in need, yet ^(AJ)closes his heart against him, ^(AK)how does God's love abide in him? ¹⁸ Little children, let us not ^(AL)love in word or talk but in deed and ^(AM)in truth.

6 ^(A)There is an evil that I have seen under the sun, and it lies heavy on mankind: ² a man ^(B)to whom ^(C)God gives wealth, possessions, and honor, so that he ^(D)lacks nothing of all that he desires, yet God ^(E)does not give him power to enjoy them, but a stranger enjoys them. This is vanity;^[a] it is a grievous evil. ³ If a man fathers a hundred children and lives many years, so that ^(F)the days of his years are many, but his soul is not satisfied with life's ^(G)good things, and he also has no ^(H)burial, I say that ^(I)a stillborn child is better off than he. ⁴ For it comes in vanity and goes in darkness, and in darkness its name is covered. ⁵ Moreover, it has not ^(J)seen the sun or known anything, yet it finds ^(K)rest rather than he. ⁶ Even though he should live a thousand years twice over, yet enjoy^[b] no good—do not all go to the one place?

^7 (L)All the toil of man is for his mouth, yet his appetite is not satisfied.^{[c] 8} For what advantage has the wise man ^(M)over the fool? And what does the poor man have who knows how to conduct himself before the living? ⁹ Better ^(N)is the sight of the eyes than the wandering of the appetite: this also is ^(O)vanity and a striving after wind.

¹⁰ Whatever has come to be has ^(P)already been named, and it is known what man is, and that he is not able to ^(Q)dispute with one stronger than he. ¹¹ The more words, the more vanity, and what is the advantage to man? ¹² For who knows what is good for man while he lives the few days of his ^(R)vain^[d] life, which he passes like ^(S)a shadow? For who can tell man what will be ^(T)after him under the sun?

The Contrast of Wisdom and Folly

^14 (AL)In the day of prosperity be joyful, and in the day of adversity consider: God has made the one as well as the other, ^(AM)so that man may not find out anything that will be after him.

¹⁹ By this we shall know that we are of the truth and reassure our heart before him; ²⁰ for whenever our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and he knows everything. ²¹ Beloved, ^(A)if our heart does not condemn us, ^(B)we have confidence before God; ²² and ^(C)whatever we ask we receive from him, because we keep his commandments and ^(D)do what pleases him. ²³ And this is his commandment, ^(E)that we believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and ^(F)love one another, ^(G)just as he has commanded us. ^24 (H)Whoever keeps his commandments abides in God,^[a] and God^[b] in him. And ^(I)by this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit whom he has given us.

Test the Spirits

4 Beloved, ^(J)do not believe every spirit, but ^(K)test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for ^(L)many ^(M)false prophets ^(N)have gone out into the world. ² By this you know the Spirit of God: ^(O)every spirit that confesses that ^(P)Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, ³ and every spirit ^(Q)that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you heard was coming and ^(R)now is in the world already. ⁴ Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for ^(S)he who is in you is greater than ^(T)he who is in the world. ^5 (U)They are from the world; therefore they speak from the world, and ^(V)the world listens to them. ⁶ We are from God. ^(W)Whoever knows God listens to us; whoever is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know ^(X)the Spirit of truth and ^(Y)the spirit of error.