Ecclesiastes 5

1 When you enter God’s temple, you should be sure to listen carefully. Doing that is better than offering sacrifices to God [and then not obeying him], which is foolish.

Be careful when you go into God's house. It's better to listen and respond rather than offer meaningless sacrifices. People who do that don't even know they are doing wrong.

2 Think carefully before you speak [MTY] or before you promise God that you will do something [IDM]. [Do not forget that] God is in heaven [and he is all-powerful] and you are here on the earth, so think carefully before you [make any promises to God].

Don't say rash things, and think before you speak to God. For God is in heaven, and you are on earth, so keep it short.

3 If you are continually thinking [and worrying] about things, you will have bad dreams about them and not rest [well]. And the more you talk, the more likely it will be that you will say things that are foolish.

When you worry too much, you get nightmares; when you talk too much, you say foolish things.

4 When you solemnly promise God that you will do something, do not be foolish by delaying in doing it, because God is not pleased with foolish people. Do [all] the things that you promise God that you will do.

When you make a vow to God, with a curse on you if you don't keep it, don't be slow in keeping it, for he is not happy with foolish behavior. So do what you promised!

5 It is better to not promise [anything] than to promise to do something, and [then] not doing it.

Better not to make any vows at all than to make vow you don't keep.

6 Do not sin by promising to do something and then not doing it. And [when you promise God to do something and do not do it], do not say to God’s priest that it was a mistake for you to promise to do that. If you do that, God will certainly [RHQ] become very angry with you, and he will take from you everything that you [SYN] have worked to acquire.

Don't let your mouth cause you to sin. And don't tell the priest that your vow was a mistake, for why would you antagonize God by breaking your promise? He could bring your own curse down on you.

7 Promising to do something and not doing it is like [SIM] a dream that has no value; instead, revere God [by doing what you promised him that you would do].

There are certainly many dreams, questions of meaning, and lots of different ideas, but you are to follow God.

8 Do not be surprised if you see poor [people] being (oppressed/treated cruelly) [by powerful/influential people], or if you see judges making unjust decisions throughout the land. [That happens] because the people who do that are supervised [and cheated by] more important officials [DOU],

If you see poor people somewhere being oppressed, or truth and justice violated, don't be shocked at it, for every official is responsible to others higher up, and there are officials over them as well.

9 and even the king forces the people to give him some of the crops that they harvest.

However, what the land produces is for everyone—even the king benefits from what is grown.

10 Everyone who tries to [get as much] money as they can will never think that they have enough. They will never be satisfied with the money that they have. That also is senseless.

People who love money never have enough money; those who love wealth never have enough income. This too is so temporary and makes little sense.

11 The more money that we have, the more people want us to spend our money to buy things for them. So people who have a lot of money do not [RHQ] benefit from it; they see [MTY] it when they get it, but it soon (disappears/is completely spent).

The more you earn, the more you have eating into your income. It only looks like you have more!

12 Those who work hard sleep peacefully [at night], even if they do not have much food to eat. But rich [people] do not sleep well, because [they worry] about their money.

Those who work hard sleep well, whether they have a little to eat or plenty, but the rich own so much they don't get any rest.

13 I have seen [another] terrible thing that happens here on the earth [MTY]: People save [up all] their money and become rich, [but] they are not helped by saving a lot of money,

I observed something here that is really sickening: people who hoard money damage themselves.

14 [because] something happens that causes their money to be gone, and when they die, there is no money for their children to get/inherit.

They put their money into bad investments and lose everything. Now when we're born, we don't bring anything into the world.

15 When we are born, we do not bring anything with us, and when we die, we take nothing with us from all that we have earned by our working hard.

When we die, we leave just as naked as when we were born, taking nothing with us from all we've worked for.

16 That also seems senseless. People bring nothing [into the world when they are born], and they leave [this world] taking nothing with them. They have worked hard, but they receive no lasting benefit [MET].

This also makes me sick! What do people gain, working for the wind?

17 [Furthermore, rich people] are always miserable [MET] and sad, and depressed/discouraged and often sick and (resentful/thinking that what has happened to them is unfair).

They live their lives in darkness, very frustrated, sick, and resentful.

18 So, the best thing for people to do here on the earth during the few years that God allows them to be alive is to eat and drink and to enjoy their work, because those are the things that God has given to them.

But I observed that what is good and right is to eat, drink, and to find enjoyment in the work God gives us here in this life. This is God's gift to us.

19 If people are rich and have a lot of possessions, and are able to (enjoy/be happy with) the things that they have and to enjoy their work, those things are [also] gifts from God.

In addition, everyone to whom God gives wealth and possessions he also gives the ability to enjoy these gifts, to be grateful for what they are given, and to enjoy the work they do. This is also God's gift to us.

20 Those people do not worry much about [everything that has happened] during the time that they have been alive, because God enables them to be happy doing everything that they do.

In fact such people have little time to think about life because God keeps them busy with all that makes them happy.