1 K eep thy foot when thou goest to the house of God, and draw near to hear, rather than to give the sacrifice of fools: for they know not that they do evil.

Keep 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.

2 B e not rash with thy mouth, and let not thy heart be hasty to utter anything before God: for God is in the heavens, and thou upon earth; therefore let thy words be few.

Be 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.

3 F or a dream cometh through the multitude of business, and a fool's voice through a multitude of words.

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

4 W hen thou vowest a vow unto God, defer not to pay it; for he hath no pleasure in fools: pay that which thou hast vowed.

When 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.

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

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

6 S uffer not thy mouth to cause thy flesh to sin; neither say thou before the angel, that it was an inadvertence. Wherefore should God be wroth at thy voice, and destroy the work of thy hands?

Do 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?

7 F or in the multitude of dreams are vanities; so with many words: but fear God.

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

8 I f thou seest the oppression of the poor, and violent perverting of judgment and justice in a province, marvel not at the matter; for a higher than the high is watching, and there are higher than they.

If 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.

9 M oreover the earth is every way profitable: the king is dependent upon the field.

Moreover, 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.

10 H e that loveth silver shall not be satisfied with silver, nor he that loveth abundance with increase. This also is vanity.

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

11 W hen goods increase, they are increased that eat them; and what profit is there to the owner thereof, except the beholding with his eyes?

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

12 T he sleep of the labourer is sweet, whether he have eaten little or much; but the fulness of the rich doth not suffer him to sleep.

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

13 T here is a grievous evil that I have seen under the sun: riches kept for the owners thereof to their hurt;

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

14 o r those riches perish by some evil circumstance, and if he have begotten a son, there is nothing in his hand.

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

15 A s he came forth from his mother's womb, naked shall he go away again as he came, and shall take nothing of his labour, which he may carry away in his hand.

As 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.

16 A nd this also is a grievous evil, that in all points as he came so doth he go away, and what profit hath he, in having laboured for the wind?

And 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?

17 A ll his days also he eateth in darkness, and hath much vexation, and sickness, and irritation.

All his days also he eats in darkness, and much sorrow and sickness and wrath are his.

18 B ehold what I have seen good and comely: to eat and to drink, and to enjoy good in all his labour wherewith laboureth under the sun, all the days of his life which God hath given him: for that is his portion.

Behold, 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.

19 E very man also to whom God hath given riches and wealth, and power to eat thereof, and to take his portion and to rejoice in his labour: that is a gift of God.

Also, 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.

20 F or he will not much remember the days of his life, because God answereth with the joy of his heart.

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