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Giovedi, 28 marzo 2024 - San Castore di Tarso ( Letture di oggi)

Ecclesiastes/Qohelet 5


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1Be in no hurry to speak; do not hastily declare yourself before God; for God is in heaven, you on earth.Be sparing, then, of speech:2From too much worrying comes illusion, from too much talking, the accents of fol y.3If you make a vow to God, discharge it without delay, for God has no love for fools. Discharge your vow.4Better a vow unmade than made and not discharged.5Do not al ow your mouth to make a sinner of you, and do not say to the messenger that it was amistake. Why give God occasion to be angry with you and ruin al the work that you have done?6From too many illusions come futility and too much talk. Therefore, fear God.7If in a province you see the poor oppressed, fair judgement and justice violated, do not be surprised, forover every official there watches a higher official, and over these, higher officials stil .8But what the land yields is for the benefit of al , a king is served by the fields.9No one who loves money ever has enough, no one who loves luxury has any income; this, too, is futile.10Where goods abound, parasites abound: where is the owner's profit, apart from feasting his eyes?11The labourer's sleep is sweet, whether he has eaten little or much, but the surfeit of the rich wil not lethim sleep at al .12Something grossly unjust I observe under the sun: riches stored and turning to loss for their owner.13An unlucky venture, and those riches are lost; a son is born to him, and he has nothing to leave him.14Naked from his mother's womb he came; as naked as he came wil he depart; not one of hisachievements can he take with him.15And something else grossly unjust: that as he came, so must he go; what profit can he show aftertoiling to earn the wind,16as he spends the rest of his days in darkness, mourning, many sorrows, sickness and exasperation.17So my conclusion is this: true happiness lies in eating and drinking and enjoying whatever has beenachieved under the sun, throughout the life given by God: for this is the lot of humanity.18And whenever God gives someone riches and property, with the ability to enjoy them and to findcontentment in work, this is a gift from God.19For such a person wil hardly notice the passing of time, so long as God keeps his heart occupied withjoy.