Ecclesiastes 5
1 Watch thy foot when thou goest to the house of God, and be near to hearken [to his will], more than to give the sacrifice of fools; for they consider not that they do evil [to themselves].
When you enter God’s temple, you should be sure to listen carefully. Doing that is better than offering sacrifices to God [and then not obeying him], which is foolish.
2 Suffer not thy mouth to be rash, and let thy heart not be hasty to utter any word before God; for God is in the heavens, and thou art upon the earth: therefore let thy words be few.
Think carefully before you speak [MTY] or before you promise God that you will do something [IDM]. [Do not forget that] God is in heaven [and he is all-powerful] and you are here on the earth, so think carefully before you [make any promises to God].
3 For a dream cometh through being much employed [with something], and the voice of a fool cometh with a multitude of words.
If you are continually thinking [and worrying] about things, you will have bad dreams about them and not rest [well]. And the more you talk, the more likely it will be that you will say things that are foolish.
4 When thou makest a vow unto God, do not delay to pay it; for he hath no pleasure in such fools: that which thou hast vowed must thou pay.
When you solemnly promise God that you will do something, do not be foolish by delaying in doing it, because God is not pleased with foolish people. Do [all] the things that you promise God that you will do.
5 It is better that thou shouldst not vow, than that thou shouldst vow and not pay.
It is better to not promise [anything] than to promise to do something, and [then] not doing it.
6 Suffer not thy mouth to cause thy body to sin; and say thou not before the messenger, that it was an error: wherefore should God be angry because of thy voice, and destroy the work of thy hands?
Do not sin by promising to do something and then not doing it. And [when you promise God to do something and do not do it], do not say to God’s priest that it was a mistake for you to promise to do that. If you do that, God will certainly [RHQ] become very angry with you, and he will take from you everything that you [SYN] have worked to acquire.
7 For in the multitude of dreams and vanities there are also many words; but rather fear thou God.
Promising to do something and not doing it is like [SIM] a dream that has no value; instead, revere God [by doing what you promised him that you would do].
8 If thou see the oppression of the poor, and violence done to justice and righteousness in a province, do not feel astounded at the matter; for one that is high watcheth over the high; and over them, the highest Power.
Do not be surprised if you see poor [people] being (oppressed/treated cruelly) [by powerful/influential people], or if you see judges making unjust decisions throughout the land. [That happens] because the people who do that are supervised [and cheated by] more important officials [DOU],
9 But the advantage of a land in all things is, a king who is subject to the country.
and even the king forces the people to give him some of the crops that they harvest.
10 He that loveth money will never be satisfied with money; nor he that loveth abundance, with any increase. Also this is vanity.
Everyone who tries to [get as much] money as they can will never think that they have enough. They will never be satisfied with the money that they have. That also is senseless.
11 When prosperity increaseth, those that consume it [likewise] increase: and what advantage is there to its owner, saving to see [it] with his eyes?
The more money that we have, the more people want us to spend our money to buy things for them. So people who have a lot of money do not [RHQ] benefit from it; they see [MTY] it when they get it, but it soon (disappears/is completely spent).
12 Sweet is the sleep of the laboring man, whether he eat little or much; but the overabundance of the rich will not suffer him to sleep.
Those who work hard sleep peacefully [at night], even if they do not have much food to eat. But rich [people] do not sleep well, because [they worry] about their money.
13 There is a sore evil which I have seen under the sun, [namely, ] riches reserved for their owner to his own hurt.
I have seen [another] terrible thing that happens here on the earth [MTY]: People save [up all] their money and become rich, [but] they are not helped by saving a lot of money,
14 And these riches are lost through an unfortunate event; and he begetteth a son, and hath not the least in his hand:
[because] something happens that causes their money to be gone, and when they die, there is no money for their children to get/inherit.
15 As he came forth out of his mother's womb, naked will he return to go as he came; and not the least will he carry off for his toil, which he might take away with him.
When we are born, we do not bring anything with us, and when we die, we take nothing with us from all that we have earned by our working hard.
16 And also this is a sore evil, that in all points as he came, so must he go: and what profit hath he that hath toiled for the wind?
That also seems senseless. People bring nothing [into the world when they are born], and they leave [this world] taking nothing with them. They have worked hard, but they receive no lasting benefit [MET].
17 All his days also had he to eat in darkness, and hath had much vexation and wrath with his sickness.
[Furthermore, rich people] are always miserable [MET] and sad, and depressed/discouraged and often sick and (resentful/thinking that what has happened to them is unfair).
18 Behold, what I have truly seen as a good thing, that it is fitting to eat and to drink, and to enjoy the good of all one's toil that he taketh under the sun the number of the days of his life, which God hath given him; for this is his portion.
So, the best thing for people to do here on the earth during the few years that God allows them to be alive is to eat and drink and to enjoy their work, because those are the things that God has given to them.
19 Also every man to whom God hath given riches and property, and hath given him power to eat thereof, and to take his portion, and to rejoice in his toil— this is the gift of God.
If people are rich and have a lot of possessions, and are able to (enjoy/be happy with) the things that they have and to enjoy their work, those things are [also] gifts from God.
20 Let him then remember, that the days of his life are not many, that God hath answered him with the joy of his heart.
Those people do not worry much about [everything that has happened] during the time that they have been alive, because God enables them to be happy doing everything that they do.
