Ecclesiastes 5
5
1Be careful#5:1. Literally, “guard your footsteps.” when you go into God's house. It's better to listen and respond rather than offer meaningless sacrifices.#5:1. “Meaningless sacrifices”: literally, “the sacrifices of fools.” People who do that don't even know they are doing wrong. 2Don't say rash things, and think before you speak to God. For God is in heaven, and you are on earth, so keep it short. 3When you worry too much, you get nightmares; when you talk too much, you say foolish things.
4When you make a vow to God, with a curse on you if you don't keep it,#5:4. “With a curse on you if you don't keep it,” implied. Frequently vows to God included a curse for failing to keep the vow. don't be slow in keeping it, for he is not happy with foolish behavior. So do what you promised! 5Better not to make any vows at all than to make vow you don't keep. 6Don't let your mouth cause you to sin. And don't tell the priest#5:6. Literally, “messenger.” In Malachi 2:7 priests are identified as messengers. In any case, the situation is one of informing someone at the Temple that the promise (vow) you made was a mistake. that your vow was a mistake, for why would you antagonize God by breaking your promise?#5:6. Many such promises (vows) included a self-pronounced curse if it was not kept—so by failing to keep the promise, the individual would be subject to the curse they had pronounced on themselves. He could bring your own curse down on you. 7There are certainly many dreams, questions of meaning, and lots of different ideas, but you are to follow God.
8If you see poor people somewhere#5:8. “Somewhere”: literally, “in the province”—a general term. being oppressed, or truth and justice violated, don't be shocked at it, for every official is responsible to others higher up, and there are officials over them as well.#5:8. The Hebrew meaning is unclear. It probably is saying that corruption and injustice are endemic. 9However, what the land produces is for everyone—even the king benefits from what is grown.#5:9. Again the meaning is unclear in this verse.
10People who love money never have enough money; those who love wealth never have enough income. This too is so temporary and makes little sense. 11The more you earn, the more you have eating into your income. It only looks like you have more! 12Those who work hard sleep well, whether they have a little to eat or plenty, but the rich own so much they don't get any rest. 13I observed something here that is really sickening:#5:13. The two words often translated as “grievous evil” really refer to “miserable illness,” or something that makes you “really sick.” Also in verse 16. people who hoard money damage themselves. 14They put their money into bad investments and lose everything.
Now when we're born, we don't bring anything into the world. 15When we die, we leave just as naked as when we were born, taking nothing with us from all we've worked for. 16This also makes me sick! What do people gain, working for the wind?#5:16. As noted in footnote for 1:14, the word here can mean “wind,” “breath,” or “spirit.” So it could just as easily be translated as “What do you gain, working for a breath of air?” etc. 17They live their lives in darkness, very frustrated, sick, and resentful.
18But I observed that what is good and right is to eat, drink, and to find enjoyment in the work God gives us here in this life. This is God's gift to us. 19In addition, everyone to whom God gives wealth and possessions he also gives the ability to enjoy these gifts, to be grateful for what they are given, and to enjoy the work they do. This is also God's gift to us. 20In fact such people have little time to think about life because God keeps them busy with all that makes them happy.#5:20. Whether this is a good thing or not is not indicated.
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Dr. Jonathan Gallagher. Released under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 Unported License. Version 4.3. For corrections send email to jonathangallagherfbv@gmail.com
Ecclesiastes 5
5
Be Careful About Making Promises
1Be very careful when you go to worship God. It is better to listen to God than to give sacrifices like fools. Fools often do bad things, and they don’t even know it. 2Be careful when you make promises to God. Be careful about what you say to him. Don’t let your feelings cause you to speak too soon. God is in heaven, and you are on the earth. So you need to say only a few things to him. This saying is true:
3Bad dreams come from too many worries,
and too many words come from the mouth of a fool.
4If you make a promise to God, keep your promise. Don’t be slow to do what you promised. God is not happy with fools. Give God what you promised to give him. 5It is better to promise nothing than to promise something and not be able to do it. 6So don’t let your words cause you to sin. Don’t say to the priest,#5:6 priest Or “angel” or “messenger.” This might be an angel, a priest, or a prophet. “I didn’t mean what I said.” If you do this, God might become angry with your words and destroy everything you have worked for. 7You should not let your useless dreams and bragging bring you trouble. You should respect God.
For Every Ruler There Is a Ruler
8In some country you will see poor people who are forced to work very hard. You will see that this is not fair to them. It is against their rights. But don’t be surprised! The ruler who forces them to work has another ruler who forces him. And there is still another ruler who forces both of these rulers. 9Even the king is a slave—his country owns him.#5:8-9 The ruler … owns him Or “One ruler is cheated by a higher ruler. And they are cheated by an even higher ruler. 9 Even the king gets his share of the profit. The wealth of the country is divided among them.”
Wealth Cannot Buy Happiness
10Those who love money will never be satisfied with the money they have. Those who love wealth will not be satisfied when they get more and more. This is also senseless.
11The more wealth people have, the more “friends” they have to help spend it. So the rich really gain nothing. They can only look at their wealth.
12Those who work hard all day come home and sleep in peace. It is not important if they have little or much to eat. But the rich worry about their wealth and are not able to sleep.
13There is a very sad thing that I have seen happen in this life.#5:13 in this life Literally, “under the sun.” Also in 6:1. People save their money for the future.#5:13 for the future Or “to their harm.” 14Then something bad happens and they lose everything. So they have nothing to give to their children.
15People come into the world with nothing. And when they die, they leave with nothing. They might work hard to get things, but they cannot take anything with them when they die. 16It is very sad that people leave the world just as they came. So what does a person gain from “trying to catch the wind”? 17They only get days that are filled with sadness and sorrow. In the end, they are troubled, sick, and angry.
Enjoy Your Life’s Work
18I have seen what is best for people to do on earth: They should eat, drink, and enjoy the work they have during their short time here. God has given them these few days, and that is all they have.
19If God gives some people wealth, property, and the power to enjoy those things, they should enjoy them. They should accept the things they have and enjoy their work—that is a gift from God. 20People don’t have many years to live, so they must remember these things all their life. God will keep them busy with the work they love to do.#5:20 God … to do Or “God will do whatever he wants to them.”
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