Draw Near to Listen
Go to God's house to listen, not to talk; keep your words few and pay what you vow. Loving money never satisfies, wealth can vanish in one bad venture, and you leave as naked as you came. Enjoying your portion of work is God's gift.
5 1Guard your steps entering the house of God. Draw near to listen, not to offer fools' sacrifice—they don't know they're doing evil. 2Don't rush your mouth, and don't let your heart hurry to speak before God—God is in heaven, you're on earth, so keep your words few. 3For a dream comes from too much activity, and a fool's voice from too many words. 4When you vow a vow to God, don't delay paying it—he has no delight in fools. Pay what you vow. 5It is better not to vow than to vow and not fulfill it. 6Don't let your mouth make you sin, or tell the messenger it was a mistake. Why should God be angry at your voice and destroy your handiwork? a a v6 The messenger is the temple official or priest who received and recorded vows on God's behalf. 7For in many dreams and many words there is fleeting vapor. Therefore fear God.
Oppression and the Profit of the Land
8If you see the poor oppressed, and justice and righteousness violated in a province, don't be surprised—one official is watched by a higher one, and higher ones stand over them. 9Yet the profit of the land is for everyone; even the king is served by the field.
10Whoever loves money never has enough; whoever loves wealth never has enough income. This too is fleeting. 11As wealth grows, so do those who consume it—what gain for its owner but watching it with his eyes?
12A worker's sleep is sweet, whether he eats little or much; the rich man's abundance won't let him sleep.
13I have seen a sickening evil under the sun: wealth kept by its owner, to his harm. 14That wealth was lost in a bad venture, and when he fathered a son he had nothing left to leave him. 15As he came from his mother's womb, naked he returns, going as he came, taking nothing from his labor to carry in his hand. 16This too is a bitter evil: just as he came, so he goes. What does he gain from toiling for wind? 17All his days he eats in darkness, with much frustration, sickness, and anger.
18This I have seen: it is good and fitting to eat, drink, and see good in all the labor one labors at under the sun through the few days of life God gives—for that is one's lot. 19Also, when God gives someone wealth, possessions, and power to enjoy them, to accept their portion and find joy in their labor—that is God's gift. 20He will seldom recall the days of his life, since God keeps him busy with the joy of his heart.
