Ecclesiastes 5
5
1Speak not any thing rashly, and let not thy heart be hasty to utter a word before God. For God is in heaven, and thou upon earth: therefore let thy words be few.
2Dreams follow many cares: and in many words shall be found folly.
3If thou hast vowed any thing to God, defer not to pay it: for an unfaithful and foolish promise displeaseth him: but whatsoever thou hast vowed, pay it.
4And it is much better not to vow, than after a vow not to perform the things promised.
5Give not thy mouth to cause thy flesh to sin: and say not before the angel: There is no providence: lest God be angry at thy words, and destroy all the works of thy hands.
6Where there are many dreams, there are many vanities, and words without number: but do thou fear God.
7If thou shalt see the oppressions of the poor, and violent judgments, and justice perverted in the province, wonder not at this matter: for he that is high hath another higher, and there are others still higher than these:
8Moreover there is the king that reigneth over all the land subject to him.
9A covetous man shall not be satisfied with money: and he that loveth riches shall reap no fruit from them: so this also is vanity.
10Where there are great riches, there are also many to eat them. And what doth it profit the owner, but that he seeth the riches with his eyes?
11Sleep is sweet to a labouring man, whether he eat lttle or much: but the fulness of the rich will not suffer him to sleep.
12There is also another grievous evil, which I have seen under the sun: riches kept to the hurt of the owner.
13For they are lost with very great affliction: he hath begotten a son, who shall be in extremity of want.
14As he came forth naked from his mother's womb, so shall he return, and shall take nothing away with him of his labour.
15A most deplorable evil: as he came, so shall he return. What then doth it profit him that he hath laboured for the wind?
16All the days of his life he eateth in darkness, and in many cares, and in misery, and sorrow.
17This therefore hath seemed good to me, that a man should eat and drink, and enjoy the fruit of his labour, wherewith he hath laboured under the sun, all the days of his life, which God hath given him: and this is his portion.
18And every man to whom God hath given riches, and substance, and hath given him power to eat thereof, and to enjoy his portion, and to rejoice of his labour: this is the gift of God.
19For he shall not much remember the days of his life, because God entertaineth his heart with delight,
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Ecclesiastes 5: DRC1752
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An historical text maintained by the British and Foreign Bible Society.
Ecclesiastes 5
5
Caution in God’s Presence
1Guard your steps when you go to the house of God. Better to draw near in obedience than to offer the sacrifice as fools do, # 1Sm 15:22; Mt 5:23-24 for they ignorantly do wrong. 2 # Ec 5:1 in HbDo 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 3For dreams result from much work and a fool’s voice from 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. # Or An advantage for the land in every respect is a king for a cultivated field ; Hb obscure # Pr 27:23-27
10The one who loves money is never satisfied with money, 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 sorrow, 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 19God has also given riches and wealth to every man, # 2Ch 1:12 and He has 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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