| New King James Version | New Living Translation |
| 1Walk prudently when you go to the house of God; and draw near to hear rather than to give the sacrifice of fools, for they do not know that they do evil. | 1 As you enter the house of God, keep your ears open and your mouth shut. It is evil to make mindless offerings to God. |
| 2Do not be rash with your mouth, And let not your heart utter anything hastily before God. For God is in heaven, and you on earth; Therefore let your words be few. | 2 Don’t make rash promises, and don’t be hasty in bringing matters before God. After all, God is in heaven, and you are here on earth. So let your words be few. |
| 3For a dream comes through much activity, And a fool’s voice is known by his many words. | 3Too much activity gives you restless dreams; too many words make you a fool. |
| 4When you make a vow to God, do not delay to pay it; For He has no pleasure in fools. Pay what you have vowed— | 4When you make a promise to God, don’t delay in following through, for God takes no pleasure in fools. Keep all the promises you make to him. |
| 5Better not to vow than to vow and not pay. | 5It is better to say nothing than to make a promise and not keep it. |
| 6Do not let your mouth cause your flesh to sin, nor say before the messenger of God that it was an error. Why should God be angry at your excuse and destroy the work of your hands? | 6Don’t let your mouth make you sin. And don’t defend yourself by telling the Temple messenger that the promise you made was a mistake. That would make God angry, and he might wipe out everything you have achieved. |
| 7For in the multitude of dreams and many words there is also vanity. But fear God. | 7Talk is cheap, like daydreams and other useless activities. Fear God instead. The Futility of Wealth |
| 8If you see the oppression of the poor, and the violent perversion of justice and righteousness in a province, do not marvel at the matter; for high official watches over high official, and higher officials are over them. | 8Don’t be surprised if you see a poor person being oppressed by the powerful and if justice is being miscarried throughout the land. For every official is under orders from higher up, and matters of justice get lost in red tape and bureaucracy. |
| 9Moreover the profit of the land is for all; even the king is served from the field. | 9Even the king milks the land for his own profit! |
| 10He who loves silver will not be satisfied with silver; Nor he who loves abundance, with increase. This also is vanity. | 10Those who love money will never have enough. How meaningless to think that wealth brings true happiness! |
| 11When goods increase, They increase who eat them; So what profit have the owners Except to see them with their eyes? | 11The more you have, the more people come to help you spend it. So what good is wealth—except perhaps to watch it slip through your fingers! |
| 12The sleep of a laboring man is sweet, Whether he eats little or much; But the abundance of the rich will not permit him to sleep. | 12People who work hard sleep well, whether they eat little or much. But the rich seldom get a good night’s sleep. |
| 13There is a severe evil which I have seen under the sun: Riches kept for their owner to his hurt. | 13There is another serious problem I have seen under the sun. Hoarding riches harms the saver. |
| 14But those riches perish through misfortune; When he begets a son, there is nothing in his hand. | 14Money is put into risky investments that turn sour, and everything is lost. In the end, there is nothing left to pass on to one’s children. |
| 15As he came from his mother’s womb, naked shall he return, To go as he came; And he shall take nothing from his labor Which he may carry away in his hand. | 15We all come to the end of our lives as naked and empty-handed as on the day we were born. We can’t take our riches with us. |
| 16And this also is a severe evil— Just exactly as he came, so shall he go. And what profit has he who has labored for the wind? | 16And this, too, is a very serious problem. People leave this world no better off than when they came. All their hard work is for nothing—like working for the wind. |
| 17All his days he also eats in darkness, And he has much sorrow and sickness and anger. | 17Throughout their lives, they live under a cloud—frustrated, discouraged, and angry. |
| 18Here is what I have seen: It is good and fitting for one to eat and drink, and to enjoy the good of all his labor in which he toils under the sun all the days of his life which God gives him; for it is his heritage. | 18Even so, I have noticed one thing, at least, that is good. It is good for people to eat, drink, and enjoy their work under the sun during the short life God has given them, and to accept their lot in life. |
| 19As for every man to whom God has given riches and wealth, and given him power to eat of it, to receive his heritage and rejoice in his labor—this is the gift of God. | 19And it is a good thing to receive wealth from God and the good health to enjoy it. To enjoy your work and accept your lot in life—this is indeed a gift from God. |
| 20For he will not dwell unduly on the days of his life, because God keeps him busy with the joy of his heart. | 20God keeps such people so busy enjoying life that they take no time to brood over the past. |
| The Holy Bible, New King James Version, Copyright © 1982 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved. | Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. |
|
