Ecclesiastes 5:1-14 ▼

1 Guard thy foot when thou goest to the house of God, and be ready to hearken: it is better than when fools give sacrifices; for they know not that they do evil.

2 Be not rash with thy mouth, and let not thy heart be hasty to utter a word before God; for God is in heaven, and thou upon earth; therefore let thy words be few.

3 For a dream cometh through a multitude of business; And a fool's voice through a multitude of words.

4 When thou vowest a vow unto God, defer not to pay it; for He hath no pleasure in fools; pay that which thou vowest.

5 Better is it that thou shouldest not vow, than that thou shouldest vow and not pay.

6 Suffer not thy mouth to bring thy flesh into guilt, neither say thou before the messenger, that it was an error; wherefore should God be angry at thy voice, and destroy the work of thy hands?

7 For through the multitude of dreams and vanities there are also many words; but fear thou God.

8 If thou seest the oppression of the poor, and the violent perverting of justice and righteousness in the state, marvel not at the matter; for one higher than the high watcheth, and there are higher than they.

9 But the profit of a land every way is a king that maketh himself servant to the field.

10 He that loveth silver shall not be satisfied with silver; nor he that loveth abundance, with increase; this also is vanity.

11 When goods increase, they are increased that eat them; and what advantage is there to the owner thereof, saving the beholding of them with his eyes?

12 Sweet is the sleep of a labouring man, whether he eat little or much; but the satiety of the rich will not suffer him to sleep.

13 There is a grievous evil which I have seen under the sun, namely, riches kept by the owner thereof to his hurt;

14 and those riches perish by evil adventure; and if he hath begotten a son, there is nothing in his hand.