Ecclesiastes 5

VULGATA	NEW AMERICAN BIBLE
1 Ne temere quid loquaris, neque cor tuum sit velox ad proferendum sermonem coram Deo. Deus enim in cælo, et tu super terram ; idcirco sint pauci sermones tui.	1 Be not hasty in your utterance and let not your heart be quick to make a promise in God's presence. God is in heaven and you are on earth; therefore let your words be few.
2 Multas curas sequuntur somnia, et in multis sermonibus invenietur stultitia.	2 For nightmares come with many cares, and a fool's utterance with many words.
3 Si quid vovisti Deo, ne moreris reddere : displicet enim ei infidelis et stulta promissio, sed quodcumque voveris redde :	3 When you make a vow to God, delay not its fulfillment. For God has no pleasure in fools; fulfill what you have vowed.
4 multoque melius est non vovere, quam post votum promissa non reddere.	4 You had better not make a vow than make it and not fulfill it.
5 Ne dederis os tuum ut peccare facias carnem tuam, neque dicas coram angelo : Non est providentia : ne forte iratus Deus contra sermones tuos dissipet cuncta opera manuum tuarum.	5 Let not your utterances make you guilty, and say not before his representative, "It was a mistake," lest God be angered by such words and destroy the works of your hands.
6 Ubi multa sunt somnia, plurimæ sunt vanitates, et sermones innumeri ; tu vero Deum time.	6 Rather, fear God!
7 Si videris calumnias egenorum, et violenta judicia, et subverti justitiam in provincia, non mireris super hoc negotio : quia excelso excelsior est alius, et super hos quoque eminentiores sunt alii ;	7 If you see oppression of the poor, and violation of rights and justice in the realm, do not be shocked by the fact, for the high official has another higher than he watching him and above these are others higher still--.
8 et insuper universæ terræ rex imperat servienti.	8 Yet an advantage for a country in every respect is a king for the arable land.
9 Avarus non implebitur pecunia, et qui amat divitias fructum non capiet ex eis ; et hoc ergo vanitas.	9 The covetous man is never satisfied with money, and the lover of wealth reaps no fruit from it; so this too is vanity.
10 Ubi multæ sunt opes, multi et qui comedunt eas. Et quid prodest possessori, nisi quod cernit divitias oculis suis ?	10 Where there are great riches, there are also many to devour them. Of what use are they to the owner except to feast his eyes upon?
11 Dulcis est somnus operanti, sive parum sive multum comedat ; saturitas autem divitis non sinit eum dormire.	11 Sleep is sweet to the laboring man, whether he eats little or much, but the rich man's abundance allows him no sleep.
12 Est et alia infirmitas pessima quam vidi sub sole : divitiæ conservatæ in malum domini sui.	12 This is a grievous evil which I have seen under the sun: riches kept by their owner to his hurt.
13 Pereunt enim in afflictione pessima : generavit filium qui in summa egestate erit.	13 Should the riches be lost through some misfortune, he may have a son when he is without means.
14 Sicut egressus est nudus de utero matris suæ, sic revertetur, et nihil auferet secum de labore suo.	14 As he came forth from his mother's womb, so again shall he depart, naked as he came, having nothing from his labor that he can carry in his hand.
15 Miserabilis prorsus infirmitas : quomodo venit, sic revertetur. Quid ergo prodest ei quod laboravit in ventum ?	15 This too is a grievous evil, that he goes just as he came. What then does it profit him to toil for wind?
16 cunctis diebus vitæ suæ comedit in tenebris, et in curis multis, et in ærumna atque tristitia.	16 All the days of his life are passed in gloom and sorrow, under great vexation, sickness and wrath.
17 Hoc itaque visum est mihi bonum, ut comedat quis et bibat, et fruatur lætitia ex labore suo quo laboravit ipse sub sole, numero dierum vitæ suæ quos dedit ei Deus ; et hæc est pars illius.	17 Here is what I recognize as good: it is well for a man to eat and drink and enjoy all the fruits of his labor under the sun during the limited days of the life which God gives him; for this is his lot.
18 Et omni homini cui dedit Deus divitias atque substantiam, potestatemque ei tribuit ut comedat ex eis, et fruatur parte sua, et lætetur de labore suo : hoc est donum Dei.	18 Any man to whom God gives riches and property, and grants power to partake of them, so that he receives his lot and finds joy in the fruits of his toil, has a gift from God.
19 Non enim satis recordabitur dierum vitæ suæ, eo quod Deus occupet deliciis cor ejus.	19 For he will hardly dwell on the shortness of his life, because God lets him busy himself with the joy of his heart.