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
Don't Make Rash Promises
1Be careful about going to the Temple. It is better to go there to learn than to offer sacrifices as foolish people do, people who don't know right from wrong. 2Think before you speak, and don't make any rash promises to God. He is in heaven and you are on earth, so don't say any more than you have to. 3The more you worry, the more likely you are to have bad dreams, and the more you talk, the more likely you are to say something foolish. 4#Ps 66.13–14So when you make a promise to God, keep it as quickly as possible. He has no use for a fool. Do what you promise to do. 5Better not to promise at all than to make a promise and not keep it. 6Don't let your own words lead you into sin, so that you have to tell God's priest that you didn't mean it. Why make God angry with you? Why let him destroy what you have worked for? 7No matter how much you dream, how much useless work you do, or how much you talk, you must still stand in awe of God.
Life is Useless
8Don't be surprised when you see that the government oppresses the poor and denies them justice and their rights. Every official is protected by the one over him, and both are protected by still higher officials.
9Even a king depends on the harvest.#5.9 Verse 9 in Hebrew is unclear.
10If you love money, you will never be satisfied; if you long to be rich, you will never get all you want. It is useless. 11The richer you are, the more mouths you must feed. All you gain is the knowledge that you are rich. 12Workers may or may not have enough to eat, but at least they can get a good night's sleep. The rich, however, have so much that they stay awake worrying.
13Here is a terrible thing that I have seen in this world: people save up their money for a time when they may need it,#5.13 for… it; or to their own hurt. 14and then lose it all in some unlucky deal and end up with nothing left to pass on to their children. 15#Job 1.21; Ps 49.17; 1 Tim 6.7We leave this world just as we entered it — with nothing. In spite of all our work there is nothing we can take with us. 16It isn't right! We go just as we came. We labour, trying to catch the wind, and what do we get? 17We have to live our lives in darkness and grief,#5.17 Some ancient translations in darkness and grief; Hebrew eating in darkness. worried, angry, and sick.
18This is what I have found out: the best thing anyone can do is to eat and drink and enjoy what he has worked for during the short life that God has given him; this is man's fate. 19If God gives a man wealth and property and lets him enjoy them, he should be grateful and enjoy what he has worked for. It is a gift from God. 20Since God has allowed him to be happy, he will not worry too much about how short life is.
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Good News Bible with Deuterocanonicals/Apocrypha. Scripture taken from the Good News Bible (r) (Today's English Version Second Edition, UK/British Edition). Copyright © 1992 British & Foreign Bible Society. Used by permission.