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
Be Careful How You Worship
1Be careful what you do when you enter the house of God. Fools go there to offer sacrifices, because all they do is sin.#5.1 because … sin: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text. But it's best just to listen when you go to worship. 2Don't talk before you think or make promises to God without thinking them through. God is in heaven, and you are on earth, so don't talk too much. 3If you keep thinking about something, you will dream about it. If you talk too much, you will say the wrong thing.
4 #
Ps 66.13,14. God doesn't like fools. So don't be slow to keep your promises to God. 5It's better not to make a promise at all than to make one and not keep it. 6Don't let your mouth get you in trouble! And don't say to the worship leader,#5.6 worship leader: Or “messenger.” “I didn't mean what I said.” God can destroy everything you have worked for, so don't say something that makes God angry.
7Respect and obey God! Daydreaming leads to a lot of senseless talk.#5.7 Daydreaming … talk: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
8Don't be surprised if the poor of your country are abused, and injustice takes the place of justice. After all, the lower officials must do what the higher ones order them to do. 9And since the king is the highest official, he benefits most from the taxes paid on the land.#5.9 land: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verse 9.
10If you love money and wealth, you will never be satisfied with what you have. This doesn't make a bit of sense. 11The more you have, the more everyone expects from you. Your money won't do you any good—others will just spend it for you. 12If you have to work hard for a living, you can rest well at night, even if you don't have much to eat. But if you are rich, you can't even sleep.
13I have seen something terribly unfair. People get rich, but it does them no good. 14Suddenly they lose everything in a bad business deal, then have nothing to leave for their children. 15#Job 1.21; Ps 49.17; 1 Ti 6.7. They came into this world naked, and when they die, they will be just as naked. They can't take anything with them, and they won't have anything to show for all their work. 16That's terribly unfair. They leave the world just as they came. They gained nothing from running after the wind. 17Besides all this, they are always gloomy at mealtime, and they are troubled, sick, and bitter.#5.17 bitter: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verse 17.
18What is the best thing to do in the short life God has given us? I think we should enjoy eating, drinking, and working hard. This is what God intends for us to do. 19Suppose you are very rich and able to enjoy everything you own. Then go ahead and enjoy working hard—this is God's gift to you. 20God will keep you so happy that you won't have time to worry about each day.
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Contemporary English Version, Second Edition (CEV®)
© 2006 American Bible Society. All rights reserved.