Ecclesiastes 5
New King James Version
Fear God, Keep Your Vows
5 Walk (A)prudently when you go to the house of God; and draw near to hear rather (B)than to give the sacrifice of fools, for they do not know that they do evil.
2 Do not be (C)rash with your mouth,
And let not your heart utter anything hastily before God.
For God is in heaven, and you on earth;
Therefore let your words (D)be few.
3 For a dream comes through much activity,
And (E)a fool’s voice is known by his many words.
4 (F)When you make a vow to God, do not delay to (G)pay it;
For He has no pleasure in fools.
Pay what you have vowed—
5 (H)Better not to vow than to vow and not pay.
6 Do not let your (I)mouth cause your flesh to sin, (J)nor say before the messenger of God that it was an error. Why should God be angry at your [a]excuse and destroy the work of your hands? 7 For in the multitude of dreams and many words there is also vanity. But (K)fear God.
The Vanity of Gain and Honor
8 If you (L)see the oppression of the poor, and the violent [b]perversion of justice and righteousness in a province, do not marvel at the matter; for (M)high official watches over high official, and higher officials are over them.
9 Moreover the profit of the land is for all; even the king is served from the field.
10 He who loves silver will not be satisfied with silver;
Nor he who loves abundance, with increase.
This also is vanity.
11 When goods increase,
They increase who eat them;
So what profit have the owners
Except to see them with their eyes?
12 The sleep of a laboring man is sweet,
Whether he eats little or much;
But the abundance of the rich will not permit him to sleep.
13 (N)There is a severe evil which I have seen under the sun:
Riches kept for their owner to his hurt.
14 But those riches perish through [c]misfortune;
When he begets a son, there is nothing in his hand.
15 (O)As he came from his mother’s womb, naked shall he return,
To go as he came;
And he shall take nothing from his labor
Which he may carry away in his hand.
16 And this also is a severe evil—
Just exactly as he came, so shall he go.
And (P)what profit has he (Q)who has labored for the wind?
17 All his days (R)he also eats in darkness,
And he has much sorrow and sickness and anger.
18 Here is what I have seen: (S)It is good and fitting for one to eat and drink, and to enjoy the good of all his labor in which he toils under the sun all the days of his life which God gives him; (T)for it is his [d]heritage. 19 As for (U)every man to whom God has given riches and wealth, and given him power to eat of it, to receive his [e]heritage and rejoice in his labor—this is the (V)gift of God. 20 For he will not dwell unduly on the days of his life, because God keeps him busy with the joy of his heart.
Footnotes
- Ecclesiastes 5:6 Lit. voice
- Ecclesiastes 5:8 wresting
- Ecclesiastes 5:14 Lit. bad business
- Ecclesiastes 5:18 Lit. portion
- Ecclesiastes 5:19 Lit. portion
Ecclesiastes 5
English Standard Version
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.
Footnotes
- Ecclesiastes 5:1 Ch 4:17 in Hebrew
- Ecclesiastes 5:2 Ch 5:1 in Hebrew
- Ecclesiastes 5:6 Hebrew your flesh
- Ecclesiastes 5:6 Or angel
- Ecclesiastes 5:7 The Hebrew term hebel can refer to a “vapor” or “mere breath”; also verse 10 (see note on 1:2)
- Ecclesiastes 5:7 Or For when dreams and vanities increase, words also grow many; but
- Ecclesiastes 5:9 The meaning of the Hebrew verse is uncertain
- Ecclesiastes 5:18 Or and see good
Eclesiastés 5
Reina Valera Contemporánea
No hagas votos a la ligera
5 Cuando vayas a la casa de Dios, refrena tus pasos. En vez de acercarte para ofrecer sacrificios de gente necia, que no sabe que hace mal, acércate para oír. 2 No permitas que tu boca ni tu corazón se apresuren a decir nada delante de Dios, porque Dios está en el cielo y tú estás en la tierra. Por lo tanto, habla lo menos que puedas, 3 porque si te preocupas mucho, tienes pesadillas; y si hablas mucho, dices tonterías.
4 Cuando le hagas una promesa a Dios, no tardes en cumplírsela, porque a Dios no le agrada la gente necia. Cumple lo que prometas, 5 porque es mejor que no prometas, y no que prometas y no cumplas.
6 No permitas que tus labios te hagan pecar, ni digas delante del ángel que lo hiciste por ignorancia. ¿Para qué provocar que Dios se enoje por tus palabras, y que destruya todo lo que has hecho?
7 Tú debes temer a Dios. Porque cuando los sueños aumentan, también aumentan las palabras huecas.
La vanidad de la vida
8 Si en tu provincia ves que se oprime a los pobres, y que se tuercen el derecho y la justicia, esto no debe asombrarte, porque sobre un alto oficial hay otro más alto, y por encima de ellos hay uno más alto. 9 ¿Y qué provecho saca la tierra de todo esto? ¿Acaso el rey está al servicio del campo?
10 Quien ama el dinero, jamás tiene suficiente. Quien ama las riquezas, nunca recibe bastante. ¡Y también esto es vanidad! 11 Cuando aumentan los bienes, aumentan los comensales. ¿Y qué gana su dueño con esto, aparte de poder contemplar sus bienes?
12 El que trabaja tiene dulces sueños, aun cuando coma mucho o coma poco. En cambio, al rico tanta abundancia le quita el sueño.
13 He visto un mal terrible bajo el sol, y es que las riquezas acumuladas acaban por perjudicar a sus dueños, 14 pues se pueden perder en un mal negocio, ¡y a los hijos que tuvo no les deja nada! 15 Al final, se va tal como vino, es decir, tan desnudo como cuando salió del vientre de su madre, ¡y nada se lleva de todo su trabajo! 16 También esto es un mal terrible, que se vaya tal como vino. ¿De qué le sirvió tanto trabajar para nada? 17 Para colmo, toda su vida la pasa comiendo a oscuras, y en medio de muchos afanes, dolores y miseria.
18 Pero algo bueno he visto. Y es que no hay nada mejor que comer y beber y gozar, cada día de nuestra vida, del fruto del trabajo con que nos agobiamos bajo el sol. Ésa es la herencia que de Dios hemos recibido. 19 A cada uno de nosotros Dios nos ha dado riquezas y bienes, y también nos ha dado el derecho de consumirlas. Tomar nuestra parte y disfrutar de nuestro trabajo es un don de Dios. 20 Y como Dios nos llena de alegría el corazón, no nos preocupamos mucho por los días de nuestra vida.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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