Ecclesiastes 5
5
Be Careful About Making Promises
1Be careful when you go to worship at the Temple. It is better to listen than to offer foolish sacrifices without even knowing you are doing wrong.
2Think before you speak,
and be careful about what you say to God.
God is in heaven,
and you are on the earth,
so say only a few words to God.
3The saying is true: Bad dreams come from too much worrying,
and too many words come from foolish people.
4If you make a promise to God, don’t be slow to keep it. God is not happy with fools, so give God what you promised. 5It is better not to promise anything than to promise something and not do it. 6Don’t let your words cause you to sin, and don’t say to the priest at the Temple, “I didn’t mean what I promised.” If you do, God will become angry with your words and will destroy everything you have worked for. 7Many useless promises are like so many dreams; they mean nothing. You should respect God.
Officers Cheat Each Other
8In some places you will see poor people mistreated. Don’t be surprised when they are not treated fairly or given their rights. One officer is cheated by a higher officer who in turn is cheated by even higher officers. 9The wealth of the country is divided up among them all. Even the king makes sure he gets his share of the profits.
Wealth Cannot Buy Happiness
10Whoever loves money
will never have enough money;
Whoever loves wealth
will not be satisfied with it.
This is also useless.
11The more wealth people have,
the more friends they have to help spend it.
So what do people really gain?
They gain nothing except to look at their riches.
12Those who work hard sleep in peace;
it is not important if they eat little or much.
But rich people worry about their wealth
and cannot sleep.
13I have seen real misery here on earth:
Money saved is a curse to its owners.
14They lose it all in a bad deal
and have nothing to give to their children.
15People come into this world with nothing,
and when they die they leave with nothing.
In spite of all their hard work,
they leave just as they came.
16This, too, is real misery:
They leave just as they came.
So what do they gain from chasing the wind?
17All they get are days full of sadness and sorrow,
and they end up sick, defeated, and angry.
Enjoy Your Life’s Work
18I have seen what is best for people here on earth. They should eat and drink and enjoy their work, because the life God has given them on earth is short. 19God gives some people the ability to enjoy the wealth and property he gives them, as well as the ability to accept their state in life and enjoy their work. 20They do not worry about how short life is, because God keeps them busy with what they love to do.
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Ecclesiastes 5: NCV
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The Holy Bible, New Century Version, Copyright © 2005 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.
Ecclesiastes 5
5
1#Further counsels on prudence and circumspection in fulfilling one’s religious obligations. It is not the multitude of words but one’s sincerity that counts in the acknowledgment of God’s sovereignty (v. 1), especially through obedience (4:17) and reverence (v. 6). Be not hasty in your utterance and let not your heart be quick to utter a promise in God’s presence. God is in heaven and you are on earth; therefore let your words be few.#Ps 115:3, 16; Mt 6:7; Jas 1:19.
2As dreams come along with many cares,
so a fool’s voice along with a multitude of words.
3#Nm 30:3; Dt 23:22–24; Prv 20:25; Sir 18:22–23. When you make a vow to God, delay not its fulfillment. For God has no pleasure in fools; fulfill what you have vowed. 4It is better not to make a vow than make it and not fulfill it. 5Let not your utterances make you guilty, and say not before his representative, “It was a mistake.” Why should God be angered by your words and destroy the works of your hands? 6#Eccl 3:14. Despite many dreams, futilities, and a multitude of words, fear God!
Gain and Loss of Goods. 7#Eccl 3:16; 4:1. If you see oppression of the poor, and violation of rights and justice in the realm, do not be astonished by the fact, for the high official has another higher than he watching him and above these are others higher still—. 8But profitable for a land in such circumstances is a king concerned about cultivation.#A king concerned about cultivation: the Hebrew text is ambiguous and obscure. The author does not criticize the oppression he describes in v. 7. Now perhaps he expresses the hope that the king would use his power to upbuild agriculture in order to alleviate the hunger and suffering of the poor and oppressed.
9#Eccl 4:8; Prv 28:22. The covetous are never satisfied with money, nor lovers of wealth with their gain; so this too is vanity. 10Where there are great riches, there are also many to devour them. Of what use are they to the owner except as a feast for the eyes alone? 11Sleep is sweet to the laborer, whether there is little or much to eat; but the abundance of the rich allows them no sleep.
12This is a grievous evil which I have seen under the sun: riches hoarded by their owners to their own hurt. 13Should the riches be lost through some misfortune, they may have offspring when they have no means. 14#Jb 1:21; 1 Tm 6:7. As they came forth from their mother’s womb, so again shall they return, naked as they came, having nothing from their toil to bring with them. 15This too is a grievous evil, that they go just as they came. What then does it profit them to toil for the wind? 16All their days they eat in gloom with great vexation, sickness and resentment.
17#Eccl 2:24. Here is what I see as good: It is appropriate to eat and drink and prosper from all the toil one toils at under the sun during the limited days of life God gives us; for this is our lot. 18Those to whom God gives riches and property, and grants power to partake of them, so that they receive their lot and find joy in the fruits of their toil: This is a gift from God. 19For they will hardly dwell on the shortness of life, because God lets them busy themselves with the joy of their heart.#The joys of life, though temporary and never assured, keep one from dwelling on the ills which afflict humanity.
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