Ecclesiastes 5:5-15

5 and it is much better to make not a vow, than after a vow to yield not the promises. (and it is much better to not make a vow, than to make a vow and then not yield the promises.)

6 Give thou not thy mouth, that thou make thy flesh to do sin; neither say thou before an angel, No purveyance there is; lest peradventure the Lord be wroth on thy words, and destroy all the works of thine hands. (Give thou not thy mouth, that thou make thy flesh to do sin; nor then say thou before an angel, This is but a mistake; lest perhaps the Lord be angry with thy words, and destroy all the works of thy hands.)

7 Where be many dreams, be full many vanities, and words without number; but dread thou God. (Where there be many dreams, there is much that is empty and futile, and words without number; rather, fear thou God/rather, have thou reverence for God.)

8 If thou seest false challenges of needy men, and violent dooms (If thou seest the poor oppressed, and grave injustice), and that rightfulness is destroyed in the province, wonder thou not on this doing; for another is higher than an high man, and also other men be more high above these men;

9 and furthermore the king of all (the) earth commandeth to the servant. (and ultimately the King of all the earth commandeth to all his servants.)

10 An avaricious man shall not be [ful]filled of money; and he that loveth riches shall not take (the) fruits of them; and therefore this is vanity. (A greedy person shall never be fulfilled, or filled full, with money; and he who loveth riches shall never truly enjoy their fruits, or their earnings; and so this is empty and futile.)

11 Where there be many riches, also many men there be, that eat those (Where there be many riches, there also be many people, who shall eat them); and what profiteth it to the holder, but that he seeth [the] riches with his eyes?

12 Sleep is sweet to him that worketh, whether he eat little either much; but the fullness of a rich man suffereth not him to sleep. (Sleep is sweet to him who worketh, whether he eat a little or a great deal; but a rich person's fullness will not allow him to sleep.)

13 Also another sickness is full evil, which I saw under the sun; riches (that) be kept into the harm of their lord.

14 For they perish in the worst torment; (and) he begat a son, that shall be in sovereign neediness. (And then those riches be lost in a terrible calamity; and so he hath begotten a son, who shall be left in great neediness.)

15 As he went naked out of his mother's womb, so he shall turn again; and he shall take away with him nothing of his travail. (As he went naked out of his mother's womb, so he shall return; and he shall not take away with him anything gained from all his labour.)

Ecclesiastes 5:5-15 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO ECCLESIASTES 5

This chapter contains some rules and directions concerning the worship of God; how persons should behave when they go into the house of God; concerning hearing the word, to which there should be a readiness, and which should be preferred to the sacrifices of fools, Ec 5:1. Concerning prayer to God; which should not be uttered rashly and hastily, and should be expressed in few words; which is urged from the consideration of the majesty of God, and vileness of men; and the folly of much speaking is exposed by the simile of a dream, Ec 5:2,3. Concerning vows, which should not be rashly made; when made, should be kept; nor should excuses be afterwards framed for not performing them, since this might bring the anger of God upon men, to the destruction of the works of their hands, Ec 5:4-6; and, as an antidote against those vanities, which appear in the prayers and vows of some, and dreams of others, the fear of God is proposed, Ec 5:7; and, against any surprise at the oppression of the poor, the majesty, power, and providence of God, and his special regard to his people, are observed, Ec 5:8. And then the wise man enters into a discourse concerning riches; and observes, that the fruits of the earth, and the culture of it, are necessary to all men, and even to the king, Ec 5:9; but dissuades from covetousness, or an over love of riches; because they are unsatisfying, are attended with much trouble, often injurious to the owners of them; at length perish, and their possessors; who, at death, are stripped quite naked of all, after they have spent their days in darkness and distress, Ec 5:10-17; and concludes, therefore, that it is best for a man to enjoy, in a free manner, the good things of this life he is possessed of, and consider them as the gifts of God, and be thankful for them; by which means he will pass through the world more comfortably, and escape the troubles that attend others, Ec 5:18-20.