Ecclesiastes/Qohelet 5

CATHOLIC PUBLIC DOMAIN	NEW JERUSALEM
1 You should not speak anything rashly, nor should your heart be hasty to present a word before God. For God is in heaven, and you are on earth. For this reason, let your words be few.	1 Be 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:
2 Dreams follow many worries, and in many words foolishness will be found.	2 From too much worrying comes illusion, from too much talking, the accents of fol y.
3 If you have vowed anything to God, you should not delay to repay it. And whatever you have vowed, render it. But an unfaithful and foolish promise displeases him.	3 If you make a vow to God, discharge it without delay, for God has no love for fools. Discharge your vow.
4 And it is much better not to make a vow, than, after a vow, not to fulfill what was promised.	4 Better a vow unmade than made and not discharged.
5 You should not use your mouth so as to cause your flesh to sin. And you should not say, in the sight of an Angel, “There is no Providence.” For God, being angry at your words, may scatter all the works of your hands.	5 Do 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?
6 Where there are many dreams, there are many vanities and innumerable words. Yet truly, you must fear God.	6 From too many illusions come futility and too much talk. Therefore, fear God.
7 If you see false accusations against the indigent, and violent judgments, and subverted justice in the government, do not be surprised over this situation. For those in high places have others who are higher, and there are still others, more eminent, over these.	7 If 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 .
8 But finally, there is the King who rules over the entire earth, which is subject to him.	8 But what the land yields is for the benefit of al , a king is served by the fields.
9 A greedy man will not be satisfied by money. And whoever loves wealth will reap no fruit from it. Therefore, this, too, is emptiness.	9 No one who loves money ever has enough, no one who loves luxury has any income; this, too, is futile.
10 Where there are many riches, there will also be many to consume these things. And how does it benefit the one who possesses, except that he discerns the wealth with his own eyes?	10 Where goods abound, parasites abound: where is the owner's profit, apart from feasting his eyes?
11 Sleep is sweet to one who works, whether he consumes little or much. But the satiation of a wealthy man will not permit him to sleep.	11 The labourer's sleep is sweet, whether he has eaten little or much, but the surfeit of the rich wil not lethim sleep at al .
12 There is even another most burdensome infirmity, which I have seen under the sun: wealth kept to the harm of the owner.	12 Something grossly unjust I observe under the sun: riches stored and turning to loss for their owner.
13 For they are lost in a most grievous affliction. He has produced a son, who will be in the utmost destitution.	13 An unlucky venture, and those riches are lost; a son is born to him, and he has nothing to leave him.
14 Just as he went forth naked from his mother's womb, so shall he return, and he shall take nothing with him from his labors.	14 Naked from his mother's womb he came; as naked as he came wil he depart; not one of hisachievements can he take with him.
15 It is an utterly miserable infirmity that, in the same manner as he has arrived, so shall he return. How then does it benefit him, since he has labored for the wind?	15 And something else grossly unjust: that as he came, so must he go; what profit can he show aftertoiling to earn the wind,
16 All the days of his life he consumes: in darkness, and with many worries, and in distress as well as sadness.	16 as he spends the rest of his days in darkness, mourning, many sorrows, sickness and exasperation.
17 And so, this has seemed good to me: that a person should eat and drink, and should enjoy the fruits of his labor, in which he has toiled under the sun, for the number of the days of his life that God has given him. For this is his portion.	17 So 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.
18 And this is a gift from God: that every man to whom God has given wealth and resources, and to whom he has granted the ability to consume these, may enjoy his portion, and may find joy in his labors.	18 And whenever God gives someone riches and property, with the ability to enjoy them and to findcontentment in work, this is a gift from God.
19 And then he will not fully remember the days of his life, because God occupies his heart with delights.	19 For such a person wil hardly notice the passing of time, so long as God keeps his heart occupied withjoy.