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
Listen and speak carefully
1Watch#5.1 4:17 in Heb your steps when you go to God’s house. It’s more acceptable to listen than to offer the fools’ sacrifice—they have no idea that they’re acting wrongly. 2Don’t#5.2 5:1 in Heb be quick with your mouth or say anything hastily before God, because God is in heaven, but you are on earth. Therefore, let your words be few.
3Remember:
Dreams come with many cares,
and the voice of fools with many words.
4When you make a promise to God, fulfill it without delay because God has no pleasure in fools. Fulfill what you promise. 5Better not to make a promise than to make a promise without fulfilling it. 6Don’t let your mouth make a sinner of you, and don’t say to the messenger: “It was a mistake!” Otherwise, God may become angry at such talk and destroy what you have accomplished.
7Remember:
When dreams multiply,
so do pointless thoughts and excessive speech.
Therefore, fear God.
Hoarding wealth
8If you witness the poor being oppressed or the violation of what is just and right in some territory, don’t be surprised because a high official watches over another, and yet others stand over them. 9But the land’s yield should be for everyone if the field is cultivated.#5.9 Correction; Heb uncertain; or The land's advantage in everything is this: a king for a plowed field. 10The money lover isn’t satisfied with money; neither is the lover of wealth satisfied with income. This too is pointless. 11When good things flow, so do those who consume them. But what do owners benefit from such goods, except to feast their eyes on them? 12Sweet is the worker’s sleep, whether there’s a lot or little to eat; but the excess of the wealthy won’t let them sleep.
13I have seen a sickening tragedy under the sun: people hoard their wealth to their own detriment. 14Then that wealth is lost in a bad business venture so that when they have children, they are left with nothing. 15Just as they came from their mother’s womb naked, naked they’ll return, ending up just like they started. All their hard work produces nothing—nothing they can take with them. 16This too is a sickening tragedy: they must pass on just as they arrived. What then do they gain from working so hard for wind? 17What’s more, they constantly eat in darkness, with much aggravation, grief, and anger.
18This is the one good thing I’ve seen: it’s appropriate for people to eat, drink, and find enjoyment in all their hard work under the sun during the brief lifetime that God gives them because that’s their lot in life. 19Also, whenever God gives people wealth and riches and enables them to enjoy it, to accept their place in the world#5.19 Or portion in life, as in 5:18 and to find pleasure in their hard work—all this is God’s gift. 20Indeed, people shouldn’t brood too much over the days of their lives because God gives an answer in their hearts’ joy.
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