Ecclesiastes 5
Chapter 5
Approaching God with Care
1 tAs you enter the house of God, keep your ears open and your mouth shut. It is evil to make mindless offerings to God.
2 tDon’t make rash promises, and don’t be hasty in bringing matters before God. After all, God is in heaven, and you are here on earth. So let your words be few.
3 Too much activity gives you restless dreams; too many words make you a fool.
4 When you make a promise to God, don’t delay in following through, for God takes no pleasure in fools. Keep all the promises you make to him.5 It is better to say nothing than to make a promise and not keep it.
6 Don’t let your mouth make you sin. And don’t defend yourself by telling the Temple messenger that the promise you made was a mistake. That would make God angry, and he might wipe out everything you have achieved.
7 Talk is cheap, like daydreams and other useless activities. Fear God instead.
The Futility of Wealth
8 Don’t be surprised if you see a poor person being oppressed by the powerful and if justice is being miscarried throughout the land. For every official is under orders from higher up, and matters of justice get lost in red tape and bureaucracy.
9 Even the king milks the land for his own profit!t
10 Those who love money will never have enough. How meaningless to think that wealth brings true happiness!
11 The more you have, the more people come to help you spend it. So what good is wealth—except perhaps to watch it slip through your fingers!
12 People who work hard sleep well, whether they eat little or much. But the rich seldom get a good night’s sleep.
13 There is another serious problem I have seen under the sun. Hoarding riches harms the saver.14 Money is put into risky investments that turn sour, and everything is lost. In the end, there is nothing left to pass on to one’s children.
15 We all come to the end of our lives as naked and empty-handed as on the day we were born. We can’t take our riches with us.
16 And this, too, is a very serious problem. People leave this world no better off than when they came. All their hard work is for nothing—like working for the wind.
17 Throughout their lives, they live under a cloud—frustrated, discouraged, and angry.
18 Even so, I have noticed one thing, at least, that is good. It is good for people to eat, drink, and enjoy their work under the sun during the short life God has given them, and to accept their lot in life.19 And it is a good thing to receive wealth from God and the good health to enjoy it. To enjoy your work and accept your lot in life—this is indeed a gift from God.
20 God keeps such people so busy enjoying life that they take no time to brood over the past.
ECCLESIASTES 5
Be Careful How You Worship
1 Be careful what you do when you enter the house of God. Fools go there to offer sacrifices, because all they do is sin.t But it's best just to listen when you go to worship. 2 Don't talk before you think or make promises to God without thinking them through. God is in heaven, and you are on earth, so don't talk too much.
3 If you keep thinking about something, you will dream about it. If you talk too much, you will say the wrong thing.
4 t God doesn't like fools. So don't be slow to keep your promises to God. 5 It's better not to make a promise at all than to make one and not keep it.
6 Don't let your mouth get you in trouble! And don't say to the worship leader, t “I didn't mean what I said.” God can destroy everything you have worked for, so don't say something that makes God angry.
7 Respect and obey God! Daydreaming leads to a lot of senseless talk.t
8 Don't be surprised if the poor of your country are abused, and injustice takes the place of justice. After all, the lower officials must do what the higher ones order them to do.
9 And since the king is the highest official, he benefits most from the taxes paid on the land.t
10 If you love money and wealth, you will never be satisfied with what you have. This doesn't make a bit of sense. 11 The more you have, the more everyone expects from you. Your money won't do you any good—others will just spend it for you.
12 If you have to work hard for a living, you can rest well at night, even if you don't have much to eat. But if you are rich, you can't even sleep.
13 I have seen something terribly unfair. People get rich, but it does them no good. 14 Suddenly they lose everything in a bad business deal, then have nothing to leave for their children. 15 t They came into this world naked, and when they die, they will be just as naked. They can't take anything with them, and they won't have anything to show for all their work. 16 That's terribly unfair. They leave the world just as they came. They gained nothing from running after the wind.
17 Besides all this, they are always gloomy at mealtime, and they are troubled, sick, and bitter.t
18 What is the best thing to do in the short life God has given us? I think we should enjoy eating, drinking, and working hard. This is what God intends for us to do. 19 Suppose you are very rich and able to enjoy everything you own. Then go ahead and enjoy working hard—this is God's gift to you. 20 God will keep you so happy that you won't have time to worry about each day.
