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Fear God, Keep Your Vows
Walk 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.
Walk 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.
Do 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.
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.
Too much activity gives you restless dreams; too many words make you a fool.
For a dream comes through much activity,
And a fool’s voice is known by his many words.
And a fool’s voice is known by his many words.
When 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.
When you make a vow to God, do not delay to pay it;
For He has no pleasure in fools.
Pay what you have vowed —
For He has no pleasure in fools.
Pay what you have vowed —
It is better to say nothing than to make a promise and not keep it.
Better not to vow than to vow and not pay.
Don’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.
Talk is cheap, like daydreams and other useless activities. Fear God instead.
For in the multitude of dreams and many words there is also vanity. But fear God.
The Futility of Wealth
Don’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.
Moreover the profit of the land is for all; even the king is served from the field.
Those who love money will never have enough. How meaningless to think that wealth brings true happiness!
He who loves silver will not be satisfied with silver;
Nor he who loves abundance, with increase.
This also is vanity.
Nor he who loves abundance, with increase.
This also is vanity.
The 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!
When goods increase,
They increase who eat them;
So what profit have the owners
Except to see them with their eyes?
They increase who eat them;
So what profit have the owners
Except to see them with their eyes?
People who work hard sleep well, whether they eat little or much. But the rich seldom get a good night’s sleep.
The 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.
Whether he eats little or much;
But the abundance of the rich will not permit him to sleep.
There is another serious problem I have seen under the sun. Hoarding riches harms the saver.
There is a severe evil which I have seen under the sun:
Riches kept for their owner to his hurt.
Riches kept for their owner to his hurt.
Money 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.
We 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.
As 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.
To go as he came;
And he shall take nothing from his labor
Which he may carry away in his hand.
And 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.
And 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?
Just exactly as he came, so shall he go.
And what profit has he who has labored for the wind?
Throughout their lives, they live under a cloud — frustrated, discouraged, and angry.
All his days he also eats in darkness,
And he has much sorrow and sickness and anger.
And he has much sorrow and sickness and anger.
Even 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.
And 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.