Ecclesiastes 5:1-20, NLT
Ecclesiastes 5
Approaching God with Care
1*5:1 Verse 5:1 is numbered 4:17 in Hebrew text.As you enter the house of God, keep your ears open and your mouth shut. It is evil to make mindless offerings to God.
3Too much activity gives you restless dreams; too many words make you a fool.
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.
7Talk is cheap, like daydreams and other useless activities. Fear God instead.
The Futility of Wealth
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.
10Those who love money will never have enough. How meaningless to think that wealth brings true happiness!
12People who work hard sleep well, whether they eat little or much. But the rich seldom get a good night’s sleep.
13There is another serious problem I have seen under the sun. Hoarding riches harms the saver.
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.
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.