Ecclesiastes 5
1 Guard your steps when you go to God’s house; for to draw near to listen is better than to give the sacrifice of fools, for they don’t know that they do evil.
custodi pedem tuum ingrediens domum Dei multo enim melior est oboedientia quam stultorum victimae qui nesciunt quid faciant mali
2 Don’t be rash with your mouth, and don’t let your heart be hasty to utter anything before God; for God is in heaven, and you on earth. Therefore let your 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 as a dream comes with a multitude of cares, so a fool’s speech with a multitude of words.
multas curas sequuntur somnia et in multis sermonibus invenitur stultitia
4 When you vow a vow to God, don’t defer to pay it; for he has no pleasure in fools. Pay that which you vow.
si quid vovisti Deo ne moreris reddere displicet enim ei infidelis et stulta promissio sed quodcumque voveris redde
5 It is better that you should not vow, than that you should vow and not pay.
multoque melius est non vovere quam post votum promissa non conplere
6 Don’t allow your mouth to lead you into sin. Don’t protest before the messenger that this was a mistake. Why should God be angry at your voice, and destroy the work of your hands?
ne dederis os tuum ut peccare faciat carnem tuam neque dicas coram angelo non est providentia ne forte iratus Deus super sermone tuo dissipet cuncta opera manuum tuarum
7 For in the multitude of dreams there are vanities, as well as in many words; but you must fear God.
ubi multa sunt somnia plurimae vanitates et sermones innumeri tu vero Deum time
8 If you see the oppression of the poor, and the violent taking away of justice and righteousness in a district, don’t marvel at the matter, for one official is eyed by a higher one, and there are officials over them.
si videris calumnias egenorum et violenta iudicia et subverti iustitiam in provincia non mireris super hoc negotio quia excelso alius excelsior est et super hos quoque eminentiores sunt alii
9 Moreover the profit of the earth is for all. The king profits from the field.
et insuper universae terrae rex imperat servienti
10 He who loves silver shall not be satisfied with silver, nor he who loves abundance, with increase. This also is vanity.
avarus non implebitur pecunia et qui amat divitias fructus non capiet ex eis et hoc ergo vanitas
11 When goods increase, those who eat them are increased; and what advantage is there to its owner, except to feast on them with his eyes?
ubi multae sunt opes multi et qui comedant eas et quid prodest possessori nisi quod cernit divitias oculis suis
12 The sleep of a laboring man is sweet, whether he eats little or much; but the abundance of the rich will not allow him to sleep.
dulcis est somnus operanti sive parum sive multum comedat saturitas autem divitis non sinit dormire eum
13 There is a grievous evil which I have seen under the sun: wealth kept by its owner to his harm.
est et alia infirmitas pessima quam vidi sub sole divitiae conservatae in malum domini sui
14 Those riches perish by misfortune, and if he has fathered a son, there is nothing in his hand.
pereunt enim in adflictione pessima generavit filium qui in summa egestate erit
15 As he came out of his mother’s womb, naked shall he go again as he came, and shall take nothing for his labor, 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 This also is a grievous evil, that in all points as he came, so shall he go. And what profit does he have who labors for the wind?
miserabilis prorsus infirmitas quomodo venit sic revertetur quid ergo prodest ei quod laboravit in ventum
17 All his days he also eats in darkness, he is frustrated, and has 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 proper is for one to eat and to drink, and to enjoy good in all his labor, in which he labors under the sun, all the days of his life which God has given him; for this is his portion.
hoc itaque mihi visum est bonum ut comedat quis et bibat et fruatur laetitia ex labore suo quod laboravit ipse sub sole numerum dierum vitae suae quos dedit ei Deus et haec est pars illius
19 Every man also to whom God has given riches and wealth, and has given him power to eat of it, 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 laetetur de labore suo hoc est donum Dei
20 For he shall not often reflect on the days of his life, because God occupies him with the joy of his heart.
non enim satis recordabitur dierum vitae suae eo quod Deus occupet deliciis cor eius
