Ecclesiastes 5
1 custodi pedem tuum ingrediens domum Dei multo enim melior est oboedientia quam stultorum victimae qui nesciunt quid faciant mali
Keep thy foot, when thou goest into the house of God, and draw nigh to hear. For much better is obedience, than the victims of fools, who know not what evil they do.
2 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
Speak not any thing rashly, and let not thy heart be hasty to utter a word before God. For God is in heaven, and thou upon earth: therefore let thy words be few.
3 multas curas sequuntur somnia et in multis sermonibus invenitur stultitia
Dreams follow many cares: and in many words shall be found folly.
4 si quid vovisti Deo ne moreris reddere displicet enim ei infidelis et stulta promissio sed quodcumque voveris redde
If thou hast vowed any thing to God, defer not to pay it: for an unfaithful and foolish promise displeaseth him: but whatsoever thou hast vowed, pay it.
5 multoque melius est non vovere quam post votum promissa non conplere
And it is much better not to vow, than after a vow not to perform the things promised.
6 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
Give not thy mouth to cause thy flesh to sin: and say not before the angel: There is no providence: lest God be angry at thy words, and destroy all the works of thy hands.
7 ubi multa sunt somnia plurimae vanitates et sermones innumeri tu vero Deum time
Where there are many dreams, there are many vanities, and words without number: but do thou fear God.
8 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
If thou shalt see the oppressions of the poor, and violent judgments, and justice perverted in the province, wonder not at this matter: for he that is high hath another higher, and there are others still higher than these:
9 et insuper universae terrae rex imperat servienti
Moreover there is the king that reigneth over all the land subject to him.
10 avarus non implebitur pecunia et qui amat divitias fructus non capiet ex eis et hoc ergo vanitas
A covetous man shall not be satisfied with money: and he that loveth riches shall reap no fruit from them: so this also is vanity.
11 ubi multae sunt opes multi et qui comedant eas et quid prodest possessori nisi quod cernit divitias oculis suis
Where there are great riches, there are also many to eat them. And what doth it profit the owner, but that he seeth the riches with his eyes?
12 dulcis est somnus operanti sive parum sive multum comedat saturitas autem divitis non sinit dormire eum
Sleep is sweet to a labouring man, whether he eat little or much: but the fulness of the rich will not suffer him to sleep.
13 est et alia infirmitas pessima quam vidi sub sole divitiae conservatae in malum domini sui
There is also another grievous evil, which I have seen under the sun: riches kept to the hurt of the owner.
14 pereunt enim in adflictione pessima generavit filium qui in summa egestate erit
For they are lost with very great affliction: he hath begotten a son, who shall be in extremity of want.
15 sicut egressus est nudus de utero matris suae sic revertetur et nihil auferet secum de labore suo
As he came forth naked from his mother’s womb, so shall he return, and shall take nothing away with him of his labour.
16 miserabilis prorsus infirmitas quomodo venit sic revertetur quid ergo prodest ei quod laboravit in ventum
A most deplorable evil: as he came, so shall he return. What then doth it profit him that he hath laboured for the wind?
17 cunctis diebus vitae suae comedit in tenebris et in curis multis et in aerumna atque tristitia
All the days of his life he eateth in darkness, and in many cares, and in misery, and sorrow.
18 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
This therefore hath seemed good to me, that a man should eat and drink, and enjoy the fruit of his labour, wherewith he hath laboured under the sun, all the days of his life, which God hath given him: and 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 laetetur de labore suo hoc est donum Dei
And every man to whom God hath given riches, and substance, and hath given him power to eat thereof, and to enjoy his portion, and to rejoice of his labour: this is the gift of God.
20 non enim satis recordabitur dierum vitae suae eo quod Deus occupet deliciis cor eius
For he shall not much remember the days of his life, because God entertaineth his heart with delight,
