Ecclesiastes 5
1 Custodi pedem tuum ingrediens domum Dei, et appropinqua ut audias. Multo enim melior est obedientia, quam stultorum victimæ, qui nesciunt quid faciunt mali.
Guard your steps when you go to the house of God. Draw near to listen rather than to offer the sacrifice of fools, who do not know that they do wrong.
2 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.
Do not be quick to speak, and do not be hasty in your heart to utter a word before God. After all, God is in heaven and you are on earth. So let your words be few.
3 Multas curas sequuntur somnia, et in multis sermonibus invenietur stultitia.
As a dream comes through many cares, so the speech of a fool comes with many words.
4 Si quid vovisti Deo, ne moreris reddere: displicet enim ei infidelis et stulta promissio. sed quodcumque voveris, redde:
When you make a vow to God, do not delay in fulfilling it, because He takes no pleasure in fools. Fulfill your vow.
5 multoque melius est non vovere, quam post votum promissa non reddere.
It is better not to vow than to make a vow and not fulfill it.
6 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.
Do not let your mouth cause your flesh to sin, and do not tell the messenger that your vow was a mistake. Why should God be angry with your words and destroy the work of your hands?
7 Ubi multa sunt somnia, plurimæ sunt vanitates, et sermones innumeri: tu vero Deum time.
For as many dreams bring futility, so do many words. Therefore, fear God.
8 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,
If you see the oppression of the poor and the denial of justice and righteousness in the province, do not be astonished at the matter; for one official is watched by a superior, and others higher still are over them.
9 et insuper universæ terræ rex imperat servienti.
The produce of the earth is taken by all; the king himself profits from the fields.
10 Avarus non implebitur pecunia: et qui amat divitias, fructum non capiet ex eis: et hoc ergo vanitas.
He who loves money is never satisfied by money, and he who loves wealth is never satisfied by income. This too is futile.
11 Ubi multæ sunt opes, multi et qui comedunt eas. Et quid prodest possessori, nisi quod cernit divitias oculis suis?
When good things increase, so do those who consume them; what then is the profit to the owner, except to behold them with his eyes?
12 Dulcis est somnus operanti, sive parum, sive multum comedat: saturitas autem divitis non sinit eum dormire.
The sleep of the worker is sweet, whether he eats little or much, but the abundance of the rich man permits him no sleep.
13 Est et alia infirmitas pessima, quam vidi sub sole: divitiæ conservatæ in malum domini sui.
There is a grievous evil I have seen under the sun: wealth hoarded to the harm of its owner,
14 Pereunt enim in afflictione pessima: generavit filium, qui in summa egestate erit.
or wealth lost in a failed venture, so when that man has a son there is nothing to pass on.
15 Sicut egressus est nudus de utero matris suæ, sic revertetur, et nihil auferet secum de labore suo.
As a man came from his mother’s womb, so he will depart again, naked as he arrived. He takes nothing for his labor to carry in his hands.
16 Miserabilis prorsus infirmitas: quo modo venit, sic revertetur. Quid ergo prodest ei quod laboravit in ventum?
This too is a grievous evil: Exactly as a man is born, so he will depart. What does he gain as he toils for the wind?
17 Cunctis diebus vitæ suæ comedit in tenebris et in curis multis, et in ærumna atque tristitia.
Moreover, all his days he eats in darkness, with much sorrow, sickness, and anger.
18 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.
Here is what I have seen to be good and fitting: to eat and drink, and to find satisfaction in all the labor one does under the sun during the few days of life that God has given him—for this is his lot.
19 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.
Furthermore, God has given riches and wealth to every man, and He has enabled him to enjoy them, to accept his lot, and to rejoice in his labor. This is a gift from God.
20 Non enim satis recordabitur dierum vitæ suæ, eo quod Deus occupet deliciis cor eius.
For a man seldom considers the days of his life, because God keeps him occupied with the joy of his heart.
