Ecclesiastes 5
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Chapter 5
1 [a]Be not hasty in your utterance and let not your heart be quick to utter a promise in God’s presence. God is in heaven and you are on earth; therefore let your words be few.(A)
2 As dreams come along with many cares,
so a fool’s voice along with a multitude of words.
3 (B)When you make a vow to God, delay not its fulfillment. For God has no pleasure in fools; fulfill what you have vowed. 4 It is better not to make a vow than make it and not fulfill it. 5 Let not your utterances make you guilty, and say not before his representative, “It was a mistake.” Why should God be angered by your words and destroy the works of your hands? 6 (C)Despite many dreams, futilities, and a multitude of words, fear God!
Gain and Loss of Goods. 7 (D)If you see oppression of the poor, and violation of rights and justice in the realm, do not be astonished by the fact, for the high official has another higher than he watching him and above these are others higher still—. 8 But profitable for a land in such circumstances is a king concerned about cultivation.[b]
9 (E)The covetous are never satisfied with money, nor lovers of wealth with their gain; so this too is vanity. 10 Where there are great riches, there are also many to devour them. Of what use are they to the owner except as a feast for the eyes alone? 11 Sleep is sweet to the laborer, whether there is little or much to eat; but the abundance of the rich allows them no sleep.
12 This is a grievous evil which I have seen under the sun: riches hoarded by their owners to their own hurt. 13 Should the riches be lost through some misfortune, they may have offspring when they have no means. 14 (F)As they came forth from their mother’s womb, so again shall they return, naked as they came, having nothing from their toil to bring with them. 15 This too is a grievous evil, that they go just as they came. What then does it profit them to toil for the wind? 16 All their days they eat in gloom with great vexation, sickness and resentment.
17 (G)Here is what I see as good: It is appropriate to eat and drink and prosper from all the toil one toils at under the sun during the limited days of life God gives us; for this is our lot. 18 Those to whom God gives riches and property, and grants power to partake of them, so that they receive their lot and find joy in the fruits of their toil: This is a gift from God. 19 For they will hardly dwell on the shortness of life, because God lets them busy themselves with the joy of their heart.[c]
Footnotes
- 5:1–6 Further counsels on prudence and circumspection in fulfilling one’s religious obligations. It is not the multitude of words but one’s sincerity that counts in the acknowledgment of God’s sovereignty (v. 1), especially through obedience (4:17) and reverence (v. 6).
- 5:8 A king concerned about cultivation: the Hebrew text is ambiguous and obscure. The author does not criticize the oppression he describes in v. 7. Now perhaps he expresses the hope that the king would use his power to upbuild agriculture in order to alleviate the hunger and suffering of the poor and oppressed.
- 5:19 The joys of life, though temporary and never assured, keep one from dwelling on the ills which afflict humanity.
Ecclesiastes 5
Lexham English Bible
Listen to God Rather Than Uttering Rash Vows
5 [a] Guard your steps when you go to the house of God;
draw near to listen rather than to offer a sacrifice of fools,
for they do not know that they are doing evil.
2 Do not be rash with your mouth,
and do not let your heart be quick to utter a word before God.
For God is in heaven, and you are on earth;
therefore, let your words be few.
3 For a dream comes with many cares,
and the voice of a fool with many words.
4 When you make a vow to God,
do not delay in fulfilling it,
for he takes no pleasure[b] in fools.
Fulfill what you vow!
5 It is better that you not vow
than that you vow and not fulfill it.
6 Do not let your mouth lead your flesh into sin,
and do not tell the messenger that it was a mistake.
Why anger God at your words,
so that he destroys the work of your hands?
7 For with many dreams come vanities and numerous words.
Therefore, fear God!
Powerful Bureaucrats Exploit the Helpless Poor
8 Do not be surprised if you see the poor being oppressed with violence
or do not see justice and righteousness in the province.
For one official is watched by a higher official,
and there are even higher officials over them!
9 The produce of the land is exploited by everyone;
even the king profits from the field of the poor![c]
There is Never Enough Money to Satisfy
10 Whoever loves money is not satisfied with money,
and whoever loves wealth is not satisfied with profit.
This also is vanity!
11 When prosperity increases,
those who consume it increase.
So its owner gains nothing,
except to see his wealth before it is spent.[d]
12 The sleep of the laborer is pleasant, whether he eats little or much,
but the wealth of the rich man does not allow him to rest.
Hoarding Wealth Can Backfire
13 There is a grievous evil which I have seen under the sun: wealth hoarded[e] by its owner to his harm. 14 That wealth was lost in a bad venture. Although he has borne a child, he has nothing to leave to him.[f] 15 Just as he came from his mother’s womb naked, he will depart[g] just as he came; he will take nothing with him for his toil. 16 This also is a grievous illness. Exactly as he came, so he will go. What profit does he gain for all his toil for the wind? 17 Also, he eats in darkness all his days; he is frustrated in much sickness and resentment.
If You Have Wealth, Enjoy It as God Enables
18 Look! I have discovered what is good and fitting: to eat and to drink and to enjoy[h] all the fruit of the toil with which one toils under the sun during the number of the days of his life that God gives to him—for this is his lot.[i] 19 This indeed is a gift of God: everyone to whom God gives wealth and possessions, he also empowers him to enjoy them,[j] to accept his lot, and to rejoice in the fruit of his toil. 20 For he does not remember the brief days of his life, for God keeps his heart preoccupied with enjoyment of life.
Footnotes
- Ecclesiastes 5:1 Ecclesiastes 5:1–20 in the English Bible is 4:17–5:19 in the Hebrew Bible
- Ecclesiastes 5:4 Literally “there is no desire”
- Ecclesiastes 5:9 Literally “for the field is even worked for the king”
- Ecclesiastes 5:11 Literally “And what gain has its owner but to see it with his eyes?”
- Ecclesiastes 5:13 Literally “kept ”
- Ecclesiastes 5:14 Literally “he has nothing in his hand”
- Ecclesiastes 5:15 Literally “return to go”
- Ecclesiastes 5:18 Literally “to see goodness”
- Ecclesiastes 5:18 Or “fate”
- Ecclesiastes 5:19 Literally “to eat from it”
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