1 K eep your foot when you go to the house of God. For to draw near to hear and obey is better than to give the sacrifice of fools too ignorant to know that they are doing evil.

¶ Watch thy feet when thou goest to the house of God and draw near with more willingness to hear than to give the sacrifice of fools, for they do not know how to do what God wants.

2 B e not rash with your mouth, and let not your heart be hasty to utter a word before God. For God is in heaven, and you are on earth; therefore let your words be few.

Do not be rash with thy mouth and do not let thy heart be hasty to utter any thing before God, for God is in heaven and thou upon earth; therefore let thy words be few.

3 F or a dream comes with much business and painful effort, and a fool’s voice with many words.

For out of much preoccupation comes the dream, and the voice of the fool out of a multitude of words.

4 W hen you vow a vow or make a pledge to God, do not put off paying it; for God has no pleasure in fools (those who witlessly mock Him). Pay what you vow.

¶ When thou dost vow a vow unto God, do not defer to pay it; for he has no pleasure in fools; pay that which thou hast vowed.

5 I t is better that you should not vow than that you should vow and not pay.

It is better that thou should not vow than that thou should vow and not pay.

6 D o not allow your mouth to cause your body to sin, and do not say before the messenger that it was an error or mistake. Why should God be angry at your voice and destroy the work of your hands?

Suffer not thy mouth to cause thy flesh to sin; neither say thou before the angel, that it was ignorance. Why should thou cause God to be angry because of thy voice and destroy the work of thine hands?

7 F or in a multitude of dreams there is futility and worthlessness, and ruin in a flood of words. But fear God.

Because dreams abound, and vanities and the words are many, but fear thou God.

8 I f you see the oppression of the poor and the violent taking away of justice and righteousness in the state or province, do not marvel at the matter. for a higher than the high is observing, and higher ones are over them.

If thou seest violence unto the poor and the extortion of rights and justice in a province, do not marvel at the matter, for height is looking upon height; and there is one higher than they.

9 M oreover, the profit of the earth is for all; the king himself is served by the field and in all, a king is an advantage to a land with cultivated fields.

¶ And there is higher authority in all of the things of the earth, but he who serves the field is king.

10 H e who loves silver will not be satisfied with silver, nor he who loves abundance with gain. This also is vanity (emptiness, falsity, and futility)!

He that loves money shall not be satisfied with money; nor he that loves abundance with increase; this is also vanity.

11 W hen goods increase, they who eat them increase also. And what gain is there to their owner except to see them with his eyes?

When goods increase, those that eat them are increased; and what good is there to the owners thereof, except the beholding of them with their eyes?

12 T he sleep of a laboring man is sweet, whether he eats little or much, but the fullness of the rich will not let him sleep.

The sleep of the servant is sweet whether he eats little or much, but the abundance of the rich will not suffer him to sleep.

13 T here is a serious and severe evil which I have seen under the sun: riches were kept by their owner to his hurt.

There is another sore evil which I have seen under the sun, namely, riches kept for the owners thereof to their hurt;

14 B ut those riches are lost in a bad venture; and he becomes the father of a son, and there is nothing in his hand.

which are lost by evil pursuits and to the sons which he has begotten; there is nothing left in his hand.

15 A s came forth from his mother’s womb, so he will go again, naked as he came; and he will take away nothing for all his labor which he can carry in his hand.

As he came forth of his mother’s womb, naked shall he return to go as he came and shall take nothing of his labour, which he may carry away in his hand.

16 A nd this also is a serious and severe evil—that in all points as he came, so shall he go; and what gain has he who labors for the wind?

And this also is a sore evil; that in all points as he came, so shall he go; and what profit has he that has laboured for the wind?

17 A ll his days also he eats in darkness, and much sorrow and sickness and wrath are his.

In addition to this, all the days of his life he shall eat in darkness, with much wrath and pain and sorrow sickness.

18 B ehold, what I have seen to be good and fitting is for one to eat and drink, and to find enjoyment in all the labor in which he labors under the sun all the days which God gives him—for this is his part.

¶ Behold therefore the good which I have seen: that good is to eat and to drink and to enjoy of the good of all his labour that he takes under the sun all the days of his life, which God gives him; for it is his portion.

19 A lso, every man to whom God has given riches and possessions, and the power to enjoy them and to accept his appointed lot and to rejoice in his toil—this is the gift of God.

Likewise, unto every man to whom God has given riches and wealth, he has also given him power to eat thereof and to take his portion and to rejoice in his labour; this is the gift of God.

20 F or he shall not much remember the days of his life, because God answers and corresponds to the joy of his heart.

To such a one, God will remove the concerns common to others, for God shall answer him with joy from his heart.