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 foot, when you step into the house of God, and draw near, so that you may listen. For obedience is much better than the sacrifices of the foolish, who do not know the evil that they are doing.
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.
You should not speak anything rashly, nor should your heart be hasty to present a word before God. For God is in heaven, and you are on earth. For this reason, let your words be few.
3 Multas curas sequuntur somnia, et in multis sermonibus invenietur stultitia.
Dreams follow many worries, and in many words foolishness will be found.
4 Si quid vovisti Deo, ne moreris reddere: displicet enim ei infidelis et stulta promissio, sed quodcumque voveris redde:
If you have vowed anything to God, you should not delay to repay it. And whatever you have vowed, render it. But an unfaithful and foolish promise displeases him.
5 multoque melius est non vovere, quam post votum promissa non reddere.
And it is much better not to make a vow, than, after a vow, not to fulfill what was promised.
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.
You should not use your mouth so as to cause your flesh to sin. And you should not say, in the sight of an Angel, “There is no Providence.” For God, being angry at your words, may scatter all the works of your hands.
7 Ubi multa sunt somnia, plurimæ sunt vanitates, et sermones innumeri; tu vero Deum time.
Where there are many dreams, there are many vanities and innumerable words. Yet truly, you must fear God.
8 Si videris calumnias egenorum, et violenta judicia, et subverti justitiam in provincia, non mireris super hoc negotio: quia excelso excelsior est alius, et super hos quoque eminentiores sunt alii;
If you see false accusations against the indigent, and violent judgments, and subverted justice in the government, do not be surprised over this situation. For those in high places have others who are higher, and there are still others, more eminent, over these.
9 et insuper universæ terræ rex imperat servienti.
But finally, there is the King who rules over the entire earth, which is subject to him.
10 Avarus non implebitur pecunia, et qui amat divitias fructum non capiet ex eis; et hoc ergo vanitas.
A greedy man will not be satisfied by money. And whoever loves wealth will reap no fruit from it. Therefore, this, too, is emptiness.
11 Ubi multæ sunt opes, multi et qui comedunt eas. Et quid prodest possessori, nisi quod cernit divitias oculis suis?
Where there are many riches, there will also be many to consume these things. And how does it benefit the one who possesses, except that he discerns the wealth with his own eyes?
12 Dulcis est somnus operanti, sive parum sive multum comedat; saturitas autem divitis non sinit eum dormire.
Sleep is sweet to one who works, whether he consumes little or much. But the satiation of a wealthy man will not permit him to sleep.
13 Est et alia infirmitas pessima quam vidi sub sole: divitiæ conservatæ in malum domini sui.
There is even another most burdensome infirmity, which I have seen under the sun: wealth kept to the harm of the owner.
14 Pereunt enim in afflictione pessima: generavit filium qui in summa egestate erit.
For they are lost in a most grievous affliction. He has produced a son, who will be in the utmost destitution.
15 Sicut egressus est nudus de utero matris suæ, sic revertetur, et nihil auferet secum de labore suo.
Just as he went forth naked from his mother’s womb, so shall he return, and he shall take nothing with him from his labors.
16 Miserabilis prorsus infirmitas: quomodo venit, sic revertetur. Quid ergo prodest ei quod laboravit in ventum?
It is an utterly miserable infirmity that, in the same manner as he has arrived, so shall he return. How then does it benefit him, since he has labored for the wind?
17 cunctis diebus vitæ suæ comedit in tenebris, et in curis multis, et in ærumna atque tristitia.
All the days of his life he consumes: in darkness, and with many worries, and in distress as well as sadness.
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.
And so, this has seemed good to me: that a person should eat and drink, and should enjoy the fruits of his labor, in which he has toiled under the sun, for the number of the days of his life that God has given him. For this is his portion.
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.
And this is a gift from God: that every man to whom God has given wealth and resources, and to whom he has granted the ability to consume these, may enjoy his portion, and may find joy in his labors.
20 Non enim satis recordabitur dierum vitæ suæ, eo quod Deus occupet deliciis cor ejus.
And then he will not fully remember the days of his life, because God occupies his heart with delights.
