Ecclesiastes 5
Legacy Standard Bible
Fear God
5 [a](A)Guard your steps as you go to the house of God and draw near to listen rather than to offer the (B)sacrifice of fools; for they do not know they are doing evil. 2 [b]Do not be (C)hasty with your mouth or [c]impulsive in your heart to bring up a matter in the presence of God. For God is in heaven but you are on the earth; therefore let your (D)words be few. 3 For the dream comes through abundant endeavor and the voice of a (E)fool through abundant words.
4 When you (F)make a vow to God, do not be late in paying it; for He takes no delight in fools. (G)Pay what you vow! 5 It is (H)better that you should not vow than that you should vow and not pay. 6 Do not allow your mouth to cause your flesh to sin, and do not say in the presence of the messenger of God that it was a (I)mistake. Why should God be angry on account of your voice and wreak destruction on the work of your hands? 7 For in many dreams and vanities are many words. Rather, [d](J)fear God.
The Vanity of Riches
8 If you see (K)oppression of the poor and (L)robbery of justice and righteousness in the province, do not be (M)astonished over the [e]matter; for a lofty one keeps watch over another lofty one, and there are loftier ones over them. 9 But the advantage of the land in everything is this—a king committed to a cultivated field.
10 (N)He who loves money will not be satisfied with money, nor he who loves abundance with its produce. This too is [f]vanity. 11 (O)When good things increase, those who consume them increase. So what is the success to their masters except to look on with their eyes? 12 The sleep of the laboring man is (P)sweet, whether he eats little or much; but the satisfaction of the rich man does not [g]allow him to sleep.
13 There is a sickening evil which I have seen under the sun: (Q)riches being [h]hoarded by their master to his own evil demise. 14 And those riches were lost through a bad endeavor; and he became the father of a son, but there was nothing in his hand for him. 15 (R)As he had come naked from his mother’s womb, so will he return as he came. He will (S)carry nothing from the fruit of his labor that he can bring in his hand. 16 This also is a sickening evil—exactly as a man came, so will he go. So (T)what is the advantage to him who (U)labors for the wind? 17 Also, all his days (V)he eats in darkness with (W)much vexation, and his sickness and anger.
18 Here is what I have seen to be (X)good, which is [i]beautiful: to eat, to drink, and to see good in all one’s labor in which he labors under the sun during the few days of his life which God has given him; for this is his (Y)portion. 19 Furthermore, as for every man to whom (Z)God has given riches and wealth, He has also (AA)empowered him to eat from them and to take up his portion and be glad in his labor; this is the (AB)gift of God. 20 For he will not remember much the days of his life because (AC)God allows [j]him to occupy himself with the gladness of his heart.
Footnotes
- Ecclesiastes 5:1 Ch 4:17 in Heb
- Ecclesiastes 5:2 Ch 5:1 in Heb
- Ecclesiastes 5:2 Lit hurry your heart
- Ecclesiastes 5:7 Or reverence
- Ecclesiastes 5:8 Lit delight
- Ecclesiastes 5:10 Or futility
- Ecclesiastes 5:12 Or grant him rest
- Ecclesiastes 5:13 Lit guarded
- Ecclesiastes 5:18 Or appropriate
- Ecclesiastes 5:20 As in Gr
Ecclesiastes 5
Evangelical Heritage Version
Empty Vows, Empty Words
5 Watch your step when you go to the house of God. Go near to listen, rather than to give the kind of sacrifice fools give, for they do not know that they are doing wrong.[a] 2 Do not be hasty with your mouth, and in your heart do not be in a hurry to bring a matter before God, because God is in heaven and you are on earth, so let your words be few. 3 As too much busyness leads to dreams, too many words lead to foolish talk.
4 When you make a vow to God, do not delay in fulfilling it, for he takes no delight in fools. Fulfill whatever you have vowed. 5 Better that you do not vow, than that you do make a vow and do not fulfill it. 6 Do not let your mouth lead you into sin, and do not say to the temple official that the vow was a mistake. Why should God be angry because of what you say and ruin the work your hands have done?
7 A lot of dreaming produces a lot of vapor. So does a lot of words.[b] Instead, fear God.
Life Is Futile
8 If you see the poor being oppressed, and you see the province being robbed of justice and fairness, do not be shocked about the situation, because one high official is watched by a higher one, and higher ones are over them! 9 All officials take their cut of the profit from the land; even the king benefits from the fields.[c]
10 Anyone who loves money is never satisfied with money, and anyone who loves wealth is never satisfied with his income. This too is vanishing vapor.
11 When goods increase, so do those who eat them. What profit, then, does the owner get, except to see these things with his eyes?
12 The worker’s sleep is sweet, whether he eats little or much, but a rich person’s abundant possessions allow him no sleep.
13 I have seen a sickening evil under the sun—wealth hoarded by its owner to his own harm, 14 or wealth that is lost in a bad investment. Or a man fathers a son, but he has nothing left in his hand to give him. 15 As he came out from his mother’s womb, so he will go again, naked as he came. From his hard work he can pick up nothing that he can carry away in his hand. 16 This too is a sickening evil: Just as he came, so he will go. So what does he gain, he who works for the wind? 17 Besides this, during all his days he eats in darkness, with great frustration, sickness, and anger.
18 So then, here is what I have seen to be good: It is beautiful to eat, to drink, and to look for good in all a person’s hard work which he has done under the sun, during the few days of his life that God has given him, for that is his reward. 19 Likewise, for everyone to whom God has given wealth and riches, if God has also given him ability to eat from it, to enjoy his reward,[d] and to rejoice in the results of his hard work—this is a gift of God, 20 for the man seldom reflects on the days of his life, since God keeps him busy with the joy in his heart.
Footnotes
- Ecclesiastes 5:1 This verse is verse 4:17 in Hebrew. Throughout the rest of chapter 5, the Hebrew verse numbers are one number lower than the English numbers.
- Ecclesiastes 5:7 Or many empty dreams produce many empty words. The meaning of this line is uncertain.
- Ecclesiastes 5:9 Or it is beneficial when a land has a king who devotes attention to the field
- Ecclesiastes 5:19 Or to accept his lot
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