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.

Thou that entrist in to the hous of God, kepe thi foot, and neiye thou for to here; for whi myche betere is obedience than the sacrifices of foolis, that witen not what yuel thei don.

2 Be not rash with thy month, and let not thine heart be hasty to utter any thing before God; for God is in heaven, and thou upon earth: therefore let thy words be few.

Speke thou not ony thing folily, nether thin herte be swift to brynge forth a word bifore God; for God is in heuene, and thou art on erthe, therfor thi wordis be fewe.

3 For a dream cometh with a multitude of business; and a fool’s voice with a multitude of words.

Dremes suen many bisynessis, and foli schal be foundun in many wordis.

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.

If thou hast avowid ony thing to God, tarie thou not to yelde; for an vnfeithful and fonned biheest displesith hym; but `yelde thou what euer thing thou hast avowid;

5 Better is it that thou shouldest not vow, than that thou shouldest vow and not pay.

and it is myche betere to make not a vowe, than aftir a vowe to yelde not biheestis.

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 thine hands?

Yyue thou not thi mouth, that thou make thi fleisch to do synne; nether seie thou bifor an aungel, No puruyaunce is; lest perauenture the Lord be wrooth on thi wordis, and distruye alle the werkis of thin hondis.

7 For [thus it cometh to pass] through the multitude of dreams and vanities and many words: but fear thou God.

Where ben many dremes, ben ful many vanytees, and wordis with out noumbre; but drede thou God.

8 If thou seest the oppression of the poor, and the violent taking away of judgment and justice in a province, marvel not at the matter: for one higher than the high regardeth; and there be higher than they.

If thou seest false chalengis of nedi men, and violent domes, and that riytfulnesse is distried in the prouynce, wondre thou not on this doyng; for another is hiyere than an hiy man, and also othere men ben more hiye aboue these men;

9 Moreover the profit of the earth is for all: the king [himself] is served by the field.

and ferthermore the kyng of al erthe comaundith to the seruaunt.

10 He that loveth silver shall not be satisfied with silver; nor he that loveth abundance with increase: this also is vanity.

An auerouse man schal not be fillid of monei; and he that loueth richessis schal not take fruytis of tho; and therfor this is vanyte.

11 When goods increase, they are increased that eat them: and what advantage is there to the owner thereof, saving the beholding [of them] with his eyes?

Where ben many richessis, also many men ben, that eten tho; and what profitith it to the haldere, no but that he seeth richessis with hise iyen?

12 The sleep of a labouring man is sweet, whether he eat little or much: but the fulness of the rich will not suffer him to sleep.

Slepe is swete to hym that worchith, whether he etith litil ether myche; but the fulnesse of a ryche man suffrith not hym to slepe.

13 There is a grievous evil, which I have seen under the sun, [namely], riches kept by the owner thereof to his hurt:

Also anothir sijknesse is ful yuel, which Y siy vndur the sunne; richessis ben kept in to the yuel of her lord.

14 and those riches perish by evil adventure; and if he hath begotten a son, there is nothing in his hand.

For thei perischen in the worste turment; he gendride a sone, that schal be in souereyn nedynesse.

15 As he came forth of his mother’s womb, naked shall he go again as he came, and shall take nothing for his labour, which he may carry away in his hand.

As he yede nakid out of his modris wombe, so he schal turne ayen; and he schal take awei with hym no thing of his trauel.

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 laboureth for the wind?

Outirli it is a wretchid sijknesse; as he cam, so he schal turne ayen. What therfor profitith it to hym, that he trauelide in to the wynde?

17 All his days also he eateth in darkness, and he is sore vexed and hath sickness and wrath.

In alle the daies of his lijf he eet in derknessis, and in many bisinessis, and in nedynesse, and sorewe.

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 labour, wherein he laboureth under the sun, all the days of his life which God hath given him: for this is his portion.

Therfor this semyde good to me, that a man ete, and drynke, and vse gladnesse of his trauel, in which he trauelide vndir the sunne, in the noumbre of daies of his lijf, which God yaf to hym; and this is his part.

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 labour; this is the gift of God.

And to ech man, to whom God yaf richessis, and catel, and yaf power to hym to ete of tho, and to vse his part, and to be glad of his trauel; this is the yifte of God.

20 For he shall not much remember the days of his life; because God answereth [him] in the joy of his heart.

For he schal not bithenke miche on the daies of his lijf, for God ocupieth his herte with delicis.