Ecclesiastes 5
1 Keep thy foot when thou goest to the house of God; for to draw nigh to hear is better than to give the sacrifice of fools: for they know not that they do evil.
Custodi pedem tuum ingrediens domum Dei, et appropinqua ut audias. Multo enim melior est obedientia, quam stultorum victimae, qui nesciunt quid faciunt mali.
2 Be not rash with thy month, and let not thine heart be hasty 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 caelo, et tu super terram: idcirco sint pauci sermones tui.
3 For a dream cometh with a multitude of business; 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 unto God, defer not to pay it; for he hath no pleasure in fools: pay that which thou vowest.
Si quid vovisti Deo, ne moreris reddere: displicet enim ei infidelis et stulta promissio. sed quodcumque voveris, redde:
5 Better is it that thou shouldest not vow, than that thou shouldest vow and not pay.
multoque melius est non vovere, quam post votum promissa non reddere.
6 Suffer not thy mouth to cause thy flesh to sin; neither say thou before the angel, that it was an error: wherefore should God be angry at thy voice, and destroy the work of thine 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 [thus it cometh to pass] through the multitude of dreams and vanities and many words: but fear thou God.
Ubi multa sunt somnia, plurimae sunt vanitates, et sermones innumeri: tu vero Deum time.
8 If thou seest the oppression of the poor, and the violent taking away of judgment and justice in a province, marvel not at the matter: for one higher than the high regardeth; and there be higher than they.
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 Moreover the profit of the earth is for all: the king [himself] is served by the field.
et insuper universae terrae rex imperat servienti.
10 He that loveth silver shall not be satisfied with silver; nor he that loveth abundance with increase: 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 is there to the owner thereof, saving the beholding [of them] with his eyes?
Ubi multae sunt opes, multi et qui comedunt eas. Et quid prodest possessori, nisi quod cernit divitias oculis suis?
12 The sleep of a labouring man is sweet, whether he eat little or much: but the fulness 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 grievous evil, which I have seen under the sun, [namely], riches kept by the owner thereof to his hurt:
Est et alia infirmitas pessima, quam vidi sub sole: divitiae conservatae in malum domini sui.
14 and those riches perish by evil adventure; and if he hath begotten 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 of his mother’s womb, naked shall he go again as he came, and shall take nothing for his labour, which he may carry away in his hand.
Sicut egressus est nudus de utero matris suae, sic revertetur, et nihil auferet secum de labore suo.
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?
Miserabilis prorsus infirmitas: quo modo venit, sic revertetur. Quid ergo prodest ei quod laboravit in ventum?
17 All his days also he eateth in darkness, and he is sore vexed and hath sickness and wrath.
Cunctis diebus vitae suae comedit in tenebris et in curis multis, et in aerumna atque tristitia.
18 Behold, that which I have seen to be good and to be comely is for one to eat and to drink, and to enjoy good in 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.
Hoc itaque visum est mihi bonum ut comedat quis, et bibat, et fruatur laetitia ex labore suo, quo laboravit ipse sub sole numero dierum vitae suae, quos dedit ei Deus, et haec est pars illius.
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.
Et omni homini, cui dedit Deus divitias, atque substantiam, potestatemque ei tribuit ut comedat ex eis, et fruatur parte sua, et laetetur de labore suo: hoc est donum Dei.
20 For he shall not much remember the days of his life; because God answereth [him] in the joy of his heart.
Non enim satis recordabitur dierum vitae suae, eo quod Deus occupet deliciis cor eius.
