Ecclesiastes 5
1 Look well to thy feet, when thou goest to the house of God, and draw nigh to hear, rather than to offer sacrifice as fools. For they consider not that they do evil.
Custodi pedem tuum ingrediens domum Dei, et appropinqua ut audias. Multo enim melior est obedientia, quam stultorum victimæ, qui nesciunt quid faciunt mali.
2 Be not hasty with thy mouth, and let not thy heart be swift to utter any thing before God. For God is in heaven, and thou upon earth. Therefore let thy words be few.
Ne temere quid loquaris, neque cor tuum sit velox ad proferendum sermonem coram Deo. Deus enim in cælo, et tu super terram: idcirco sint pauci sermones tui.
3 For a dream cometh with much bustle, and a fool's voice with a multitude of words.
Multas curas sequuntur somnia, et in multis sermonibus invenietur stultitia.
4 When thou vowest a vow to God, delay not to pay it; for he hath no pleasure in fools. Pay that which thou hast vowed.
Si quid vovisti Deo, ne moreris reddere: displicet enim ei infidelis et stulta promissio. sed quodcumque voveris, redde:
5 Better is it that thou shouldst not vow than that thou shouldst vow and not pay.
multoque melius est non vovere, quam post votum promissa non reddere.
6 Suffer not thy mouth to bring punishment on thy flesh, and say not before the angel, “It was a mistake.” Wherefore should God be angry on account of thy voice, and destroy the work of thy hands?
Ne dederis os tuum ut peccare facias carnem tuam: neque dicas coram angelo: Non est providentia: ne forte iratus Deus contra sermones tuos, dissipet cuncta opera manuum tuarum.
7 For in a multitude of dreams is a multitude of vanities; so also in a multitude of words; but fear thou God!
Ubi multa sunt somnia, plurimæ sunt vanitates, et sermones innumeri: tu vero Deum time.
8 If thou seest oppression of the poor, and justice and equity perverted in a province, be not alarmed at the matter. For over the high there is a higher, who watcheth, and there is one higher than they all.
Si videris calumnias egenorum, et violenta iudicia, et subverti iustitiam in provincia, non mireris super hoc negotio: quia excelso excelsior est alius, et super hos quoque eminentiores sunt alii,
9 An advantage to a land in all respects is a king over cultivated ground.
et insuper universæ terræ rex imperat servienti.
10 He that loveth silver shall not be satisfied with silver; and he that loveth riches shall have no profit from them. This also is vanity.
Avarus non implebitur pecunia: et qui amat divitias, fructum non capiet ex eis: et hoc ergo vanitas.
11 When goods increase, they are increased that eat them; and what advantage hath the owner thereof, save the beholding of them with his eyes?
Ubi multæ sunt opes, multi et qui comedunt eas. Et quid prodest possessori, nisi quod cernit divitias oculis suis?
12 Sweet is the sleep of a laboring man, whether he have eaten little or much; but the repletion of the rich will not suffer him to sleep.
Dulcis est somnus operanti, sive parum, sive multum comedat: saturitas autem divitis non sinit eum dormire.
13 There is a sore evil which I have seen under the sun, — riches kept by the owner thereof to his hurt.
Est et alia infirmitas pessima, quam vidi sub sole: divitiæ conservatæ in malum domini sui.
14 For those riches perish by some calamity, and, if he have a son, there is nothing in his hand.
Pereunt enim in afflictione pessima: generavit filium, qui in summa egestate erit.
15 As he came forth from his mother's womb naked, so shall he go away again, as he came, and shall take away nothing of his labor which he may carry in his hand.
Sicut egressus est nudus de utero matris suæ, sic revertetur, et nihil auferet secum de labore suo.
16 This is also a sore evil, that, in all points as he came, so shall he go. And what profit is there to him who toileth for wind?
Miserabilis prorsus infirmitas: quo modo venit, sic revertetur. Quid ergo prodest ei quod laboravit in ventum?
17 Also all his days he ate in darkness, and had much grief and anxiety and vexation.
Cunctis diebus vitæ suæ comedit in tenebris et in curis multis, et in ærumna atque tristitia.
18 Behold, what I have seen is, that it is good and proper for one to eat and drink, and to enjoy the good of all his labor which he taketh under the sun all the days of his life, which God giveth him; for it is his portion.
Hoc itaque visum est mihi bonum ut comedat quis, et bibat, et fruatur lætitia ex labore suo, quo laboravit ipse sub sole numero dierum vitæ suæ, quos dedit ei Deus, et hæc est pars illius.
19 To whatever man also God hath given riches and wealth, and hath given him to enjoy them, and to take his portion, and to rejoice in his labor; this is the gift of God.
Et omni homini, cui dedit Deus divitias, atque substantiam, potestatemque ei tribuit ut comedat ex eis, et fruatur parte sua, et lætetur de labore suo: hoc est donum Dei.
20 For he will not much remember the days of his life; for God answereth him with the joy of his heart.
Non enim satis recordabitur dierum vitæ suæ, eo quod Deus occupet deliciis cor eius.
