Ἐκκλησιαστής 5
1 φύλαξον πόδα σου ἐν ᾧ ἐὰν πορεύῃ εἰς οἶκον τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ ἐγγὺς τοῦ ἀκούειν ὑπὲρ δόμα τῶν ἀφρόνων θυσία σου ὅτι οὔκ εἰσιν εἰδότες τοῦ ποιῆσαι κακόν
Guard your steps when you go to the house of God. Go near to listen rather than to offer the sacrifice of fools, who do not understand that they are doing what is wrong.
2 μὴ σπεῦδε ἐπὶ στόματί σου καὶ καρδία σου μὴ ταχυνάτω τοῦ ἐξενέγκαι λόγον πρὸ προσώπου τοῦ θεοῦ ὅτι ὁ θεὸς ἐν τῷ οὐρανῷ καὶ σὺ ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς ἐπὶ τούτῳ ἔστωσαν οἱ λόγοι σου ὀλίγοι
Do not be too quick to speak with your mouth, and do not let your heart be too quick to bring any matter up before God. God is in heaven, but you are on earth, so let your words be few.
3 ὅτι παραγίνεται ἐνύπνιον ἐν πλήθει περισπασμοῦ καὶ φωνὴ ἄφρονος ἐν πλήθει λόγων
If you have too many things to do and worry about, you will probably have bad dreams. The more words you speak, the more foolish things you will probably say.
4 καθὼς ἂν εὔξῃ εὐχὴν τῷ θεῷ μὴ χρονίσῃς τοῦ ἀποδοῦναι αὐτήν ὅτι οὐκ ἔστιν θέλημα ἐν ἄφροσιν σὺν ὅσα ἐὰν εὔξῃ ἀπόδος
When you make a vow to God, do not delay to do it, for God has no pleasure in fools. Do what you vow you will do.
5 ἀγαθὸν τὸ μὴ εὔξασθαί σε ἢ τὸ εὔξασθαί σε καὶ μὴ ἀποδοῦναι
It is better not to make a vow than to make one that you do not carry out.
6 μὴ δῷς τὸ στόμα σου τοῦ ἐξαμαρτῆσαι τὴν σάρκα σου καὶ μὴ εἴπῃς πρὸ προσώπου τοῦ θεοῦ ὅτι ἄγνοιά ἐστιν ἵνα μὴ ὀργισθῇ ὁ θεὸς ἐπὶ φωνῇ σου καὶ διαφθείρῃ τὰ ποιήματα χειρῶν σου
Do not allow your mouth to cause your flesh to sin. Do not say to the priest's messenger, “That vow was a mistake.” Why make God angry by vowing falsely, provoking God to destroy the work of your hands?
7 ὅτι ἐν πλήθει ἐνυπνίων καὶ ματαιότητες καὶ λόγοι πολλοί ὅτι σὺν τὸν θεὸν φοβοῦ
For in many dreams, as in many words, there is meaningless vapor. So fear God.
8 ἐὰν συκοφαντίαν πένητος καὶ ἁρπαγὴν κρίματος καὶ δικαιοσύνης ἴδῃς ἐν χώρᾳ μὴ θαυμάσῃς ἐπὶ τῷ πράγματι ὅτι ὑψηλὸς ἐπάνω ὑψηλοῦ φυλάξαι καὶ ὑψηλοὶ ἐπ’ αὐτούς
When you see the poor being oppressed and robbed of just and right treatment in your province, do not be astonished as if no one knows, because there are people in power who watch those under them, and there are even higher ones over them.
9 καὶ περισσεία γῆς ἐν παντί ἐστι βασιλεὺς τοῦ ἀγροῦ εἰργασμένου
In addition, the produce of the land is for everyone, and the king himself takes produce from the fields.
10 ἀγαπῶν ἀργύριον οὐ πλησθήσεται ἀργυρίου καὶ τίς ἠγάπησεν ἐν πλήθει αὐτῶν γένημα καί γε τοῦτο ματαιότης
Anyone who loves silver will not be satisfied with silver, and anyone who loves wealth always wants more. This, too, is vapor.
11 ἐν πλήθει τῆς ἀγαθωσύνης ἐπληθύνθησαν ἔσθοντες αὐτήν καὶ τί ἀνδρεία τῷ παρ’ αὐτῆς ὅτι ἀλλ’ ἢ τοῦ ὁρᾶν ὀφθαλμοῖς αὐτοῦ
As prosperity increases, so also do the people who consume it. What advantage in wealth is there to the owner except to watch it with his eyes?
12 γλυκὺς ὕπνος τοῦ δούλου εἰ ὀλίγον καὶ εἰ πολὺ φάγεται καὶ τῷ ἐμπλησθέντι τοῦ πλουτῆσαι οὐκ ἔστιν ἀφίων αὐτὸν τοῦ ὑπνῶσαι
The sleep of a working man is sweet, whether he eats little or a lot, but the wealth of a rich person does not allow him to sleep well.
13 ἔστιν ἀρρωστία ἣν εἶδον ὑπὸ τὸν ἥλιον πλοῦτον φυλασσόμενον τῷ παρ’ αὐτοῦ εἰς κακίαν αὐτοῦ
There is an evil that I have seen under the sun: riches hoarded by the owner, resulting in his own misery.
14 καὶ ἀπολεῖται ὁ πλοῦτος ἐκεῖνος ἐν περισπασμῷ πονηρῷ καὶ ἐγέννησεν υἱόν καὶ οὐκ ἔστιν ἐν χειρὶ αὐτοῦ οὐδέν
When the rich man loses his wealth through bad luck, his own son, one whom he has fathered, is left with nothing in his hands.
15 καθὼς ἐξῆλθεν ἀπὸ γαστρὸς μητρὸς αὐτοῦ γυμνός ἐπιστρέψει τοῦ πορευθῆναι ὡς ἥκει καὶ οὐδὲν οὐ λήμψεται ἐν μόχθῳ αὐτοῦ ἵνα πορευθῇ ἐν χειρὶ αὐτοῦ
As a man comes from his mother's womb, so also he will leave naked. He can take none of the fruits of his labor in his hand.
16 καί γε τοῦτο πονηρὰ ἀρρωστία ὥσπερ γὰρ παρεγένετο οὕτως καὶ ἀπελεύσεται καὶ τίς περισσεία αὐτῷ ᾗ μοχθεῖ εἰς ἄνεμον
Another evil is that as a person comes, so he goes away. So what profit is there for him who works for the wind?
17 καί γε πᾶσαι αἱ ἡμέραι αὐτοῦ ἐν σκότει καὶ πένθει καὶ θυμῷ πολλῷ καὶ ἀρρωστίᾳ καὶ χόλῳ
During his days he eats with darkness and is greatly distressed with sickness and anger.
18 ἰδοὺ ὃ εἶδον ἐγὼ ἀγαθόν ὅ ἐστιν καλόν τοῦ φαγεῖν καὶ τοῦ πιεῖν καὶ τοῦ ἰδεῖν ἀγαθωσύνην ἐν παντὶ μόχθῳ αὐτοῦ ᾧ ἐὰν μοχθῇ ὑπὸ τὸν ἥλιον ἀριθμὸν ἡμερῶν ζωῆς αὐτοῦ ὧν ἔδωκεν αὐτῷ ὁ θεός ὅτι αὐτὸ μερὶς αὐτοῦ
Look, what I have seen to be good and suitable is to eat and drink and to enjoy the gain from all our work, as we labor under the sun during the days of this life that God has given us. For this is man's assignment.
19 καί γε πᾶς ὁ ἄνθρωπος ᾧ ἔδωκεν αὐτῷ ὁ θεὸς πλοῦτον καὶ ὑπάρχοντα καὶ ἐξουσίασεν αὐτὸν τοῦ φαγεῖν ἀπ’ αὐτοῦ καὶ τοῦ λαβεῖν τὸ μέρος αὐτοῦ καὶ τοῦ εὐφρανθῆναι ἐν μόχθῳ αὐτοῦ τοῦτο δόμα θεοῦ ἐστιν
Anyone to whom God has given riches and wealth and the ability to receive his share and rejoice in his work—this is a gift from God.
20 ὅτι οὐ πολλὰ μνησθήσεται τὰς ἡμέρας τῆς ζωῆς αὐτοῦ ὅτι ὁ θεὸς περισπᾷ αὐτὸν ἐν εὐφροσύνῃ καρδίας αὐτοῦ
For he does not call to mind very often the days of his life, because God makes him keep busy with the things that he enjoys doing.
