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.
Keep thy foot, when thou goest unto the house of God, and be more ready to hear, than dullards to offer sacrifice, —for they make no acknowledgment of doing 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.
Be not rash with thy mouth, and, with thy heart, be not in haste to bring forth a word, before God, —for, God, is in the heavens, and, thou, upon the earth, for this cause, let thy words be few.
3 Multas curas sequuntur somnia, et in multis sermonibus invenietur stultitia.
For a dream cometh through the multitude of business, —and, the voice of a dullard, is with a multitude of words.
4 Si quid vovisti Deo, ne moreris reddere: displicet enim ei infidelis et stulta promissio, sed quodcumque voveris redde:
When thou vowest a vow unto God, do not defer to pay it, for there is no pleasure in dullards, —what thou vowest, pay!
5 multoque melius est non vovere, quam post votum promissa non reddere.
Better that thou shouldest not vow, —than vow, and not pay.
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 thy mouth cause thy flesh to sin, —neither say thou, before the messenger, that it was, a mistake, —wherefore should God be indignant at thy voice, and destroy the work of thy hands?
7 Ubi multa sunt somnia, plurimæ sunt vanitates, et sermones innumeri; tu vero Deum time.
For [it was done] amidst a multitude of dreams, and vanities, and many words, —but, towards God, be thou reverent.
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, the oppression of the poor, and the wresting of justice and righteousness, thou see in the province, do not be astonished over the matter, —for, one high above the highest, is watching, yea, the Most High, is over them.
9 et insuper universæ terræ rex imperat servienti.
And, the profit of the earth, is, for all, —a king, by the field, is served.
10 Avarus non implebitur pecunia, et qui amat divitias fructum non capiet ex eis; et hoc ergo vanitas.
He that loveth silver, shall not be satisfied with silver nor, he that loveth abundance, with revenue, —even this, was vanity.
11 Ubi multæ sunt opes, multi et qui comedunt eas. Et quid prodest possessori, nisi quod cernit divitias oculis suis?
When blessings are increased, increased are the eaters thereof, —what profit, then, to the owner of them saving the sight of his eyes?
12 Dulcis est somnus operanti, sive parum sive multum comedat; saturitas autem divitis non sinit eum dormire.
Sweet the sleep of the labourer, whether, little or much, he eat, —but, the surfeit of the rich man, will not suffer him to sleep.
13 Est et alia infirmitas pessima quam vidi sub sole: divitiæ conservatæ in malum domini sui.
Here was an incurable evil, I had seen under the sun, riches kept by the owner thereof, to his hurt;
14 Pereunt enim in afflictione pessima: generavit filium qui in summa egestate erit.
and those riches perish, by being ill employed, —and though he begetteth a son, yet is there in his hand nothing at all.
15 Sicut egressus est nudus de utero matris suæ, sic revertetur, et nihil auferet secum de labore suo.
As he came from his mother’s womb, naked, he again departeth, as he came, —and, nothing, can he take of his toil, which he can carry in his hand.
16 Miserabilis prorsus infirmitas: quomodo venit, sic revertetur. Quid ergo prodest ei quod laboravit in ventum?
Even this, moreover, is an incurable evil, altogether as he came, so, shall he depart, —what profit then shall he have who toileth for the wind?
17 cunctis diebus vitæ suæ comedit in tenebris, et in curis multis, et in ærumna atque tristitia.
Even all his days, [are spent] in darkness and mourning, —and he is very morose, and is sad and angry.
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.
Lo! what, I myself, have seen—Better that it should be excellent to eat and to drink and to see blessedness, in all one’s toil wherein one toileth under the sun, for the number of the days of his life, in that God hath given it him, for, that, 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.
yet, as regardeth every man, to whom God hath given wealth and goods, and granted him power to eat thereof, and to take his portion, and to find gladness in his toil, this, is, the gift of God.
20 Non enim satis recordabitur dierum vitæ suæ, eo quod Deus occupet deliciis cor ejus.
Though it be not much, let him remember the days of his life, —for, God, beareth witness, by the gladness of his heart.
