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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© 1987, 2004 Bible League International
Ecclesiastes 5
5
Caution in God’s Presence
1Guard your steps when you go to the house of God. Better to approach in obedience than to offer the sacrifice as fools do,#1Sm 15:22; Mt 5:23–24 for they ignorantly do wrong. 2Do 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.#Pr 10:19; Mt 6:7 3Just as dreams accompany much labor, so also a fool’s voice comes with many words.#Jb 11:2 4When you make a vow to God,#Nm 30:2; Dt 6:13; 23:21–22; Pr 20:25 don’t delay fulfilling it, because he does not delight in fools. Fulfill what you vow. 5Better that you do not vow than that you vow and not fulfill it.#Pr 20:25; Mt 5:33–37; Ac 5:4; Jms 5:12 6Do not let your mouth bring guilt on you,#Jdg 11:30–31,34 and do not say in the presence of the messenger that it was a mistake.#Nm 15:25 Why should God be angry with your words and destroy the work of your hands? 7For many dreams bring futility; so do many words.#Ec 6:11 Therefore, fear God.
The Realities of Wealth
8If you see oppression of the poor#Ec 4:1 and perversion of justice and righteousness in the province, don’t be astonished at the situation,#1Pt 4:12 because one official protects another official, and higher officials protect them. 9The profit from the land is taken by all; the king is served by the field.#5:9 Hb obscure#Pr 27:23–27
10The one who loves silver is never satisfied with silver, and whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with income. This too is futile. 11When 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? 12The sleep of the worker is sweet, whether he eats little or much, but the abundance of the rich permits him no sleep.
13There is a sickening tragedy I have seen under the sun: wealth kept by its owner to his harm.#Ec 6:1–2 14That wealth was lost in a bad venture, so when he fathered a son, he was empty-handed. 15As he came from his mother’s womb, so he will go again, naked as he came;#Jb 1:21 he will take nothing for his efforts that he can carry in his hands. 16This too is a sickening tragedy: exactly as he comes, so he will go. What does the one gain#Ec 1:3 who struggles for the wind?#Pr 11:29 17What is more, he eats in darkness all his days,#Ps 127:2 with much frustration, sickness, and anger.
18Here is what I have seen to be good:#Ec 2:24 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.#Ec 2:10 19Furthermore, everyone to whom God has given riches and wealth,#2Ch 1:12 he has also allowed him to enjoy them, take his reward, and rejoice in his labor.#Ec 6:2 This is a gift of God,#Ec 3:13 20for he does not often consider the days of his life because God keeps him occupied with the joy of his heart.
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