5Verse 1Guard your steps when you go to the house of God. Draw near to listen rather than to offer the sacrifice of fools, who do not know that they do wrong.Verse 2Do not be quick to speak, and do not be hasty in your heart to utter a word before God. For God is in heaven and you are on earth. So let your words be few.Verse 3As a dream comes through many cares,so the speech of a fool comes with many words.Verse 4When you make a vow to God, do not delay in fulfilling it, because He takes no pleasure in fools. Fulfill your vow.Verse 5It is better not to vow than to make a vow and not fulfill it.Verse 6Do not let your mouth cause your flesh to sin, and do not tell the messenger+that your vow was a mistake. Why should God be angry with your words and destroy the work of your hands?Verse 7For as many dreams bring vapor, so do many words. Therefore, fear God.
The Futility of Wealth
Verse 8If you see the oppression of the poor and the denial of justice and righteousness in the province, do not be astonished at the matter; for one official is watched by a superior, and others higher still are over them.Verse 9The produce of the earth is taken by all; the king himself profits from the fields.Verse 10He who loves money is never satisfied by money, and he who loves wealth is never satisfied by income. This too is vapor.Verse 11When good things increase, so do those who consume them; what then is the profit to the owner, except to behold them with his eyes?Verse 12The sleep of the worker is sweet, whether he eats little or much, but the abundance of the rich man permits him no sleep.Verse 13There is a grievous evil I have seen under the sun: wealth hoarded to the harm of its owner,Verse 14or wealth lost in a failed venture, so when that man has a son there is nothing to pass on.Verse 15As a man came from his mother’s womb, so he will depart again, naked as he arrived. He takes nothing for his labor to carry in his hands.Verse 16This too is a grievous affliction: Exactly as a man is born, so he will depart. What does he gain as he toils for the wind?Verse 17Moreover, all his days he eats in darkness, with much sorrow, sickness, and anger.Verse 18Here is what I have seen to be good and fitting: to eat and drink, and to find satisfaction in all the labor one does under the sun during the few days of life that God has given him—for this is his lot.Verse 19Furthermore, God has given riches and wealth to every man, and He has enabled him to enjoy them, to accept his lot, and to rejoice in his labor. This is a gift from God.Verse 20For a man seldom considers the days of his life, because God keeps him occupied with the joy of his heart.