Ecclesiastes 5
1 Keep thy foot when thou goest to the house of God; for to draw nigh to hear is better than to give the sacrifice of fools: for they know not that they do evil.
custodi pedem tuum ingrediens domum Dei multo enim melior est oboedientia quam stultorum victimae qui nesciunt quid faciant mali
2 Be not rash with thy mouth, and let not thy heart be hasty to utter anything before God; for God is in heaven, and thou upon earth: therefore let thy words be few.
ne temere quid loquaris neque cor tuum sit velox ad proferendum sermonem coram Deo Deus enim in caelo et tu super terram idcirco sint pauci sermones tui
3 For a dream cometh with a multitude of business, and a fool’s voice with a multitude of words.
multas curas sequuntur somnia et in multis sermonibus invenitur stultitia
4 When thou vowest a vow unto God, defer not to pay it; for he hath no pleasure in fools: pay that which thou vowest.
si quid vovisti Deo ne moreris reddere displicet enim ei infidelis et stulta promissio sed quodcumque voveris redde
5 Better is it that thou shouldest not vow, than that thou shouldest vow and not pay.
multoque melius est non vovere quam post votum promissa non conplere
6 Suffer not thy mouth to cause thy flesh to sin; neither say thou before the angel, that it was an error: wherefore should God be angry at thy voice, and destroy the work of thy hands?
ne dederis os tuum ut peccare faciat carnem tuam neque dicas coram angelo non est providentia ne forte iratus Deus super sermone tuo dissipet cuncta opera manuum tuarum
7 For in the multitude of dreams there are vanities, and in many words: but fear thou God.
ubi multa sunt somnia plurimae vanitates et sermones innumeri tu vero Deum time
8 If thou seest the oppression of the poor, and the violent taking away of justice and righteousness in a province, marvel not at the matter: for one higher than the high regardeth; and there are higher than they.
si videris calumnias egenorum et violenta iudicia et subverti iustitiam in provincia non mireris super hoc negotio quia excelso alius excelsior est et super hos quoque eminentiores sunt alii
9 Moreover the profit of the earth is for all: the king [himself] is served by the field.
et insuper universae terrae rex imperat servienti
10 He that loveth silver shall not be satisfied with silver; nor he that loveth abundance, with increase: this also is vanity.
avarus non implebitur pecunia et qui amat divitias fructus non capiet ex eis et hoc ergo vanitas
11 When goods increase, they are increased that eat them; and what advantage is there to the owner thereof, save the beholding [of them] with his eyes?
ubi multae sunt opes multi et qui comedant eas et quid prodest possessori nisi quod cernit divitias oculis suis
12 The sleep of a laboring man is sweet, whether he eat little or much; but the fulness of the rich will not suffer him to sleep.
dulcis est somnus operanti sive parum sive multum comedat saturitas autem divitis non sinit dormire eum
13 There is a grievous evil which I have seen under the sun, [namely], riches kept by the owner thereof to his hurt:
est et alia infirmitas pessima quam vidi sub sole divitiae conservatae in malum domini sui
14 and those riches perish by evil adventure; and if he hath begotten a son, there is nothing in his hand.
pereunt enim in adflictione pessima generavit filium qui in summa egestate erit
15 As he came forth from his mother’s womb, naked shall he go again as he came, and shall take nothing for his labor, which he may carry away in his hand.
sicut egressus est nudus de utero matris suae sic revertetur et nihil auferet secum de labore suo
16 And this also is a grievous evil, that in all points as he came, so shall he go: and what profit hath he that he laboreth for the wind?
miserabilis prorsus infirmitas quomodo venit sic revertetur quid ergo prodest ei quod laboravit in ventum
17 All his days also he eateth in darkness, and he is sore vexed, and hath sickness and wrath.
cunctis diebus vitae suae comedit in tenebris et in curis multis et in aerumna atque tristitia
18 Behold, that which I have seen to be good and to be comely is for one to eat and to drink, and to enjoy good in all his labor, wherein he laboreth under the sun, all the days of his life which God hath given him: for this is his portion.
hoc itaque mihi visum est bonum ut comedat quis et bibat et fruatur laetitia ex labore suo quod laboravit ipse sub sole numerum dierum vitae suae quos dedit ei Deus et haec est pars illius
19 Every man also to whom God hath given riches and wealth, and hath given him power to eat thereof, and to take his portion, and to rejoice in his labor—this is the gift of God.
et omni homini cui dedit Deus divitias atque substantiam potestatemque ei tribuit ut comedat ex eis et fruatur parte sua et laetetur de labore suo hoc est donum Dei
20 For he shall not much remember the days of his life; because God answereth [him] in the joy of his heart.
non enim satis recordabitur dierum vitae suae eo quod Deus occupet deliciis cor eius
