Ecclesiastes 5
Christian Standard Bible
Caution in God’s Presence
5 Guard your steps when you go to the house of God. Better to approach in obedience than to offer the sacrifice as fools do,(A) for they ignorantly do wrong. 2 Do not be hasty to speak, and do not be impulsive to make a speech before God. God is in heaven and you are on earth, so let your words be few.(B) 3 Just as dreams accompany much labor, so also a fool’s voice comes with many words.(C) 4 When you make a vow to God,(D) don’t delay fulfilling it, because he does not delight in fools. Fulfill what you vow. 5 Better that you do not vow than that you vow and not fulfill it.(E) 6 Do not let your mouth bring guilt on you,(F) and do not say in the presence of the messenger that it was a mistake.(G) Why should God be angry with your words and destroy the work of your hands? 7 For many dreams bring futility; so do many words.(H) Therefore, fear God.
The Realities of Wealth
8 If you see oppression of the poor(I) and perversion of justice and righteousness in the province, don’t be astonished at the situation,(J) because one official protects another official, and higher officials protect them. 9 The profit from the land is taken by all; the king is served by the field.[a](K)
10 The one who loves silver is never satisfied with silver, and whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with income. This too is futile. 11 When good things increase, the ones who consume them multiply; what, then, is the profit to the owner, except to gaze at them with his eyes? 12 The sleep of the worker is sweet, whether he eats little or much, but the abundance of the rich permits him no sleep.
13 There is a sickening tragedy I have seen under the sun: wealth kept by its owner to his harm.(L) 14 That wealth was lost in a bad venture, so when he fathered a son, he was empty-handed. 15 As he came from his mother’s womb, so he will go again, naked as he came;(M) he will take nothing for his efforts that he can carry in his hands. 16 This too is a sickening tragedy: exactly as he comes, so he will go. What does the one gain(N) who struggles for the wind?(O) 17 What is more, he eats in darkness all his days,(P) with much frustration, sickness, and anger.
18 Here is what I have seen to be good:(Q) It is appropriate to eat, drink, and experience good in all the labor one does under the sun during the few days of his life God has given him, because that is his reward.(R) 19 Furthermore, everyone to whom God has given riches and wealth,(S) he has also allowed him to enjoy them, take his reward, and rejoice in his labor.(T) This is a gift of God,(U) 20 for he does not often consider the days of his life because God keeps him occupied with the joy of his heart.
Footnotes
- 5:9 Hb obscure
Ecclesiastes 5
New Living Translation
Approaching God with Care
5 [a]As you enter the house of God, keep your ears open and your mouth shut. It is evil to make mindless offerings to God. 2 [b]Don’t make rash promises, and don’t be hasty in bringing matters before God. After all, God is in heaven, and you are here on earth. So let your words be few.
3 Too much activity gives you restless dreams; too many words make you a fool.
4 When you make a promise to God, don’t delay in following through, for God takes no pleasure in fools. Keep all the promises you make to him. 5 It is better to say nothing than to make a promise and not keep it. 6 Don’t let your mouth make you sin. And don’t defend yourself by telling the Temple messenger that the promise you made was a mistake. That would make God angry, and he might wipe out everything you have achieved.
7 Talk is cheap, like daydreams and other useless activities. Fear God instead.
The Futility of Wealth
8 Don’t be surprised if you see a poor person being oppressed by the powerful and if justice is being miscarried throughout the land. For every official is under orders from higher up, and matters of justice get lost in red tape and bureaucracy. 9 Even the king milks the land for his own profit![c]
10 Those who love money will never have enough. How meaningless to think that wealth brings true happiness! 11 The more you have, the more people come to help you spend it. So what good is wealth—except perhaps to watch it slip through your fingers!
12 People who work hard sleep well, whether they eat little or much. But the rich seldom get a good night’s sleep.
13 There is another serious problem I have seen under the sun. Hoarding riches harms the saver. 14 Money is put into risky investments that turn sour, and everything is lost. In the end, there is nothing left to pass on to one’s children. 15 We all come to the end of our lives as naked and empty-handed as on the day we were born. We can’t take our riches with us.
16 And this, too, is a very serious problem. People leave this world no better off than when they came. All their hard work is for nothing—like working for the wind. 17 Throughout their lives, they live under a cloud—frustrated, discouraged, and angry.
18 Even so, I have noticed one thing, at least, that is good. It is good for people to eat, drink, and enjoy their work under the sun during the short life God has given them, and to accept their lot in life. 19 And it is a good thing to receive wealth from God and the good health to enjoy it. To enjoy your work and accept your lot in life—this is indeed a gift from God. 20 God keeps such people so busy enjoying life that they take no time to brood over the past.
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