Parallel Bible results for "ecclesiastes 5"

Ecclesiastes 5

Revised Standard Version RSV

1 Guard your steps when you go to the house of God; to draw near to listen is better than to offer the sacrifice of fools; for they do not know that they are doing evil.

2 Be not rash with your mouth, nor let your heart be hasty to utter a word before God, for God is in heaven, and you upon earth; therefore let your words be few.

3 For a dream comes with much business, and a fool's voice with many words.

4 When you vow a vow to God, do not delay paying it; for he has no pleasure in fools. Pay what you vow.

5 It is better that you should not vow than that you should vow and not pay.

6 Let not your mouth lead you into sin, and do not say before the messenger that it was a mistake; why should God be angry at your voice, and destroy the work of your hands?

7 For when dreams increase, empty words grow many: but do you fear God.

8 If you see in a province the poor oppressed and justice and right violently taken away, do not be amazed at the matter; for the high official is watched by a higher, and there are yet higher ones over them.

9 But in all, a king is an advantage to a land with cultivated fields.

10 He who loves money will not be satisfied with money; nor he who loves wealth, with gain: this also is vanity.

11 When goods increase, they increase who eat them; and what gain has their owner but to see them with his eyes?

12 Sweet is the sleep of a laborer, whether he eats little or much; but the surfeit of the rich will not let him sleep.

13 There is a grievous evil which I have seen under the sun: riches were kept by their owner to his hurt,

14 and those riches were lost in a bad venture; and he is father of a son, but he has nothing in his hand.

15 As he came from his mother's womb he shall go again, naked as he came, and shall take nothing for his toil, which he may carry away in his hand.

16 This also is a grievous evil: just as he came, so shall he go; and what gain has he that he toiled for the wind,

17 and spent all his days in darkness and grief, in much vexation and sickness and resentment?

18 Behold, what I have seen to be good and to be fitting is to eat and drink and find enjoyment in all the toil with which one toils under the sun the few days of his life which God has given him, for this is his lot.

19 Every man also to whom God has given wealth and possessions and power to enjoy them, and to accept his lot and find enjoyment in his toil--this is the gift of God.

20 For he will not much remember the days of his life because God keeps him occupied with joy in his heart.

GOD'S WORD Translation GW

1 Watch your step when you go to the house of God. It is better to go there and listen than to bring the sacrifices fools bring. Fools are unaware that they are doing [something] evil.

2 Don't be in a hurry to talk. Don't be eager to speak in the presence of God. Since God is in heaven and you are on earth, limit the number of your words.

3 Daydreaming comes when there are too many worries. Careless speaking comes when there are too many words.

4 When you make a promise to God, don't be slow to keep it because God doesn't like fools. Keep your promise.

5 It is better not to make a promise than to make one and not keep it.

6 Don't let your mouth talk you into committing a sin. Don't say in the presence of a [temple] messenger, "My promise was a mistake!" Why should God become angry at your excuse and destroy what you've accomplished?

7 In spite of many daydreams, pointless actions, and empty words, you should still fear God.

8 Don't be surprised if you see poor people being oppressed, denied justice, or denied their rights in any district. One authority is watching over another, and they both have authorities watching over them.

9 Yet, a king is an advantage for a country with cultivated fields.

10 Whoever loves money will never be satisfied with money. Whoever loves wealth will never be satisfied with more income. Even this is pointless.

11 As the number of goods increase, so do the number of people who consume them. What do owners gain [from all their goods] except [the opportunity] to look at them?

12 The sleep of working people is sweet, whether they eat a little or a lot. But the full stomachs that rich people have will not allow them to sleep.

13 There is a painful tragedy that I have seen under the sun: Riches lead to the downfall of those who hoard them.

14 These hoarded riches were then lost in bad business deals. The owners had children, but now they have nothing to give them.

15 They came from their mother's womb naked. They will leave as naked as they came. They won't even be able to take a handful of their earnings with them from all their hard work.

16 This also is a painful tragedy: They leave exactly as they came. What advantage do they gain from working so hard for the wind?

17 They spend their entire lives in darkness, in constant frustration, sickness, and resentment.

18 At last I have seen what is good and beautiful: It is to eat and drink and to enjoy the good in all our hard work under the sun during the brief lives God gives us. That is our lot [in life].

19 It is a gift from God when God gives some people wealth and possessions, the power to enjoy them, [the ability] to accept their lot in life, and [the ability] to rejoice in their own hard work.

20 These people won't give much thought to their brief lives because God keeps them occupied with the joy in their hearts.