Ecclesiastes 5
1 Guard thy foot when thou goest to the house of God, and be ready to hearken: it is better than when fools give sacrifices; for they know not that they do evil.
Thou that entrist in to the hous of God, kepe thi foot, and neiye thou for to here; for whi myche betere is obedience than the sacrifices of foolis, that witen not what yuel thei don.
2 Be not rash with thy mouth, 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.
Speke thou not ony thing folily, nether thin herte be swift to brynge forth a word bifore God; for God is in heuene, and thou art on erthe, therfor thi wordis be fewe.
3 For a dream cometh through a multitude of business; and a fool's voice through a multitude of words.
Dremes suen many bisynessis, and foli schal be foundun in many wordis.
4 When thou vowest a vow unto God, defer not to pay it; for He hath no pleasure in fools; pay that which thou vowest.
If thou hast avowid ony thing to God, tarie thou not to yelde; for an vnfeithful and fonned biheest displesith hym; but `yelde thou what euer thing thou hast avowid;
5 Better is it that thou shouldest not vow, than that thou shouldest vow and not pay.
and it is myche betere to make not a vowe, than aftir a vowe to yelde not biheestis.
6 Suffer not thy mouth to bring thy flesh into guilt, neither say thou before the messenger, that it was an error; wherefore should God be angry at thy voice, and destroy the work of thy hands?
Yyue thou not thi mouth, that thou make thi fleisch to do synne; nether seie thou bifor an aungel, No puruyaunce is; lest perauenture the Lord be wrooth on thi wordis, and distruye alle the werkis of thin hondis.
7 For through the multitude of dreams and vanities there are also many words; but fear thou God.
Where ben many dremes, ben ful many vanytees, and wordis with out noumbre; but drede thou God.
8 If thou seest the oppression of the poor, and the violent perverting of justice and righteousness in the state, marvel not at the matter; for one higher than the high watcheth, and there are higher than they.
If thou seest false chalengis of nedi men, and violent domes, and that riytfulnesse is distried in the prouynce, wondre thou not on this doyng; for another is hiyere than an hiy man, and also othere men ben more hiye aboue these men;
9 But the profit of a land every way is a king that maketh himself servant to the field.
and ferthermore the kyng of al erthe comaundith to the seruaunt.
10 He that loveth silver shall not be satisfied with silver; nor he that loveth abundance, with increase; this also is vanity.
An auerouse man schal not be fillid of monei; and he that loueth richessis schal not take fruytis of tho; and therfor this is vanyte.
11 When goods increase, they are increased that eat them; and what advantage is there to the owner thereof, saving the beholding of them with his eyes?
Where ben many richessis, also many men ben, that eten tho; and what profitith it to the haldere, no but that he seeth richessis with hise iyen?
12 Sweet is the sleep of a labouring man, whether he eat little or much; but the satiety of the rich will not suffer him to sleep.
Slepe is swete to hym that worchith, whether he etith litil ether myche; but the fulnesse of a ryche man suffrith not hym to slepe.
13 There is a grievous evil which I have seen under the sun, namely, riches kept by the owner thereof to his hurt;
Also anothir sijknesse is ful yuel, which Y siy vndur the sunne; richessis ben kept in to the yuel of her lord.
14 and those riches perish by evil adventure; and if he hath begotten a son, there is nothing in his hand.
For thei perischen in the worste turment; he gendride a sone, that schal be in souereyn nedynesse.
15 As he came forth of his mother's womb, naked shall he go back as he came, and shall take nothing for his labour, which he may carry away in his hand.
As he yede nakid out of his modris wombe, so he schal turne ayen; and he schal take awei with hym no thing of his trauel.
16 And this also is a grievous evil, that in all points as he came, so shall he go; and what profit hath he that he laboureth for the wind?
Outirli it is a wretchid sijknesse; as he cam, so he schal turne ayen. What therfor profitith it to hym, that he trauelide in to the wynde?
17 All his days also he eateth in darkness, and he hath much vexation and sickness and wrath.
In alle the daies of his lijf he eet in derknessis, and in many bisinessis, and in nedynesse, and sorewe.
18 Behold that which I have seen: it is good, yea, it is comely for one to eat and to drink, and to enjoy pleasure for all his labour, wherein he laboureth under the sun, all the days of his life which God hath given him; for this is his portion.
Therfor this semyde good to me, that a man ete, and drynke, and vse gladnesse of his trauel, in which he trauelide vndir the sunne, in the noumbre of daies of his lijf, which God yaf to hym; and this is his part.
19 Every man also to whom God hath given riches and wealth, and hath given him power to eat thereof, and to take his portion, and to rejoice in his labour — this is the gift of God.
And to ech man, to whom God yaf richessis, and catel, and yaf power to hym to ete of tho, and to vse his part, and to be glad of his trauel; this is the yifte of God.
20 For let him remember the days of his life that they are not many; for God answereth him in the joy of his heart.
For he schal not bithenke miche on the daies of his lijf, for God ocupieth his herte with delicis.
