Ecclesiastes 5

¹⁹My beloved brothers, understand this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to anger,

²⁸Therefore, since we are receiving an unshakable kingdom, let us be filled with gratitude, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe.

²⁹“For our God is a consuming fire.”

⁸The sacrifice of the wicked is detestable to the Lord, but the prayer of the upright is His delight.

¹Rid yourselves, therefore, of all malice, deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander.

²Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation,

¹²When you come to appear before Me, who has required this of you—this trampling of My courts?

¹³Bring your worthless offerings no more; your incense is detestable to Me. New Moons, Sabbaths, and convocations—I cannot endure iniquity in a solemn assembly.

²⁷The sacrifice of the wicked is detestable—how much more so when brought with ill intent!

⁷And when you pray, do not babble on like pagans, for they think that by their many words they will be heard.

¹⁹When words are many, sin is unavoidable, but he who restrains his lips is wise.

⁹“For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so My ways are higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts.

⁹So then, this is how you should pray: ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name.

²If a man makes a vow to the Lord or swears an oath to obligate himself by a pledge, he must not break his word; he must do everything he has promised.

³And if a woman in her father’s house during her youth makes a vow to the Lord or obligates herself by a pledge,

⁷For as many dreams bring futility, so do many words. Therefore, fear God.

²The tongue of the wise commends knowledge, but the mouth of the fool spouts folly.

¹²The words of a wise man’s mouth are gracious, but the lips of a fool consume him.

¹³The beginning of his talk is folly, and the end of his speech is evil madness.

¹⁹When words are many, sin is unavoidable, but he who restrains his lips is wise.

²“Should this stream of words go unanswered and such a speaker be vindicated?

²If a man makes a vow to the Lord or swears an oath to obligate himself by a pledge, he must not break his word; he must do everything he has promised.

³³Again, you have heard that it was said to the ancients, ‘Do not break your oath, but fulfill your vows to the Lord.’

²¹If you make a vow to the Lord your God, do not be slow to keep it, because He will surely require it of you, and you will be guilty of sin.

²²But if you refrain from making a vow, you will not be guilty of sin.

¹¹Make and fulfill your vows to the Lord your God; let all the neighboring lands bring tribute to Him who is to be feared.

¹³I will enter Your house with burnt offerings; I will fulfill my vows to You—

¹⁴the vows that my lips promised and my mouth spoke in my distress.

¹⁴Sacrifice a thank offering to God, and fulfill your vows to the Most High.

⁴Did it not belong to you before it was sold? And after it was sold, was it not at your disposal? How could you conceive such a deed in your heart? You have not lied to men, but to God!”

²²But if you refrain from making a vow, you will not be guilty of sin.

²⁵It is a trap for a man to dedicate something rashly, only later to reconsider his vows.

²⁶If anyone considers himself religious and yet does not bridle his tongue, he deceives his heart and his religion is worthless.

⁸Watch yourselves, so that you do not lose what we have worked for, but that you may be fully rewarded.

²We all stumble in many ways. If anyone is never at fault in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to control his whole body.

¹Guard your steps when you go to the house of God. Draw near to listen rather than to offer the sacrifice of fools, who do not know that they do wrong.

²Do not be quick to speak, and do not be hasty in your heart to utter a word before God. For God is in heaven and you are on earth. So let your words be few.

⁷For the lips of a priest should preserve knowledge, and people should seek instruction from his mouth, because he is the messenger of the Lord of Hosts.

⁴Or if someone swears thoughtlessly with his lips to do anything good or evil—in whatever matter a man may rashly pronounce an oath—even if he is unaware of it, when he realizes it, he is guilty in the matter.

⁵If someone incurs guilt in one of these ways, he must confess the sin he has committed,

³⁶But I tell you that men will give an account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken.

¹³When all has been heard, the conclusion of the matter is this: Fear God and keep His commandments, because this is the whole duty of man.

¹²Although a sinner does evil a hundred times and still lives long, yet I also know that it will go well with those who fear God, who are reverent in His presence.

³As a dream comes through many cares, so the speech of a fool comes with many words.

¹⁰Who among you fears the Lord and obeys the voice of His Servant? Who among you walks in darkness and has no light? Let him trust in the name of the Lord; let him lean on his God.

¹¹Behold, all you who kindle a fire, who array yourselves with firebrands, walk in the light of your fire and of the firebrands you have lit! This is what you will receive from My hand: You will lie down in a place of torment.

¹⁷Do not let your heart envy sinners, but always continue in the fear of the Lord.

⁵“For the cause of the oppressed and for the groaning of the needy, I will now arise,” says the Lord. “I will bring safety to him who yearns.”

¹Again I looked, and I considered all the oppression taking place under the sun. I saw the tears of the oppressed, and they had no comforter; the power lay in the hands of their oppressors, and there was no comforter.

¹⁶Furthermore, I saw under the sun that in the place of judgment there is wickedness, and in the place of righteousness there is wickedness.

¹⁹Tell him that this is what the Lord says: ‘Have you not murdered a man and seized his land?’ Then tell him that this is also what the Lord says: ‘In the place where the dogs licked up the blood of Naboth, there also the dogs will lick up your blood—yes, yours!’”

²⁰When Elijah arrived, Ahab said to him, “So you have found me out, my enemy.” He replied, “I have found you out because you have sold yourself to do evil in the sight of the Lord.

¹⁰The righteous will rejoice when they see they are avenged; they will wash their feet in the blood of the wicked.

¹¹Then men will say, “There is surely a reward for the righteous! There is surely a God who judges the earth!”

⁶I could see that the woman was drunk with the blood of the saints and witnesses for Jesus. And I was utterly amazed at the sight of her.

⁷“Why are you so amazed?” said the angel. “I will tell you the mystery of the woman and of the beast that carries her, which has the seven heads and ten horns.

¹⁶The highest heavens belong to the Lord, but the earth He has given to mankind.

⁷Solomon had twelve governors over all Israel to provide food for the king and his household. Each one would arrange provisions for one month of the year,

⁸and these were their names: Ben-hur in the hill country of Ephraim;

²⁹Then God said, “Behold, I have given you every seed-bearing plant on the face of all the earth, and every tree whose fruit contains seed. They will be yours for food.

³⁰And to every beast of the earth and every bird of the air and every creature that crawls upon the earth—everything that has the breath of life in it—I have given every green plant for food.” And it was so.

¹⁴He makes the grass grow for the livestock and provides crops for man to cultivate, bringing forth food from the earth:

¹⁵wine that gladdens the heart of man, oil that makes his face to shine, and bread that sustains his heart.

²⁶Ezri son of Chelub was in charge of the workers in the fields who tilled the soil.

²⁷Shimei the Ramathite was in charge of the vineyards. Zabdi the Shiphmite was in charge of the produce of the vineyards for the wine vats.

²³Be sure to know the state of your flocks, and pay close attention to your herds;

²⁴for riches are not forever, nor does a crown endure to every generation.

¹⁰For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. By craving it, some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows.

²⁴No one can serve two masters: Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.

¹⁵And He said to them, “Watch out! Guard yourselves against every form of greed, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.”

¹⁹Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.

⁸There is a man all alone, without even a son or brother. And though there is no end to his labor, his eyes are still not content with his wealth: “For whom do I toil and bereave my soul of enjoyment?” This too is futile—a miserable task.

²⁶To the man who is pleasing in His sight, He gives wisdom and knowledge and joy, but to the sinner He assigns the task of gathering and accumulating that which he will hand over to one who pleases God. This too is futile and a pursuit of the wind.

¹⁶For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh, the desires of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not from the Father but from the world.

¹³Is it not indeed from the Lord of Hosts that the labor of the people only feeds the fire, and the nations weary themselves in vain?

³⁶Turn my heart to Your testimonies and not to covetous gain.

³⁷Turn my eyes away from worthless things; revive me with Your word.

⁵When you glance at wealth, it disappears, for it makes wings for itself and flies like an eagle to the sky.

⁹Better what the eye can see than the wandering of desire. This too is futile and a pursuit of the wind.

⁵Now Lot, who was traveling with Abram, also had flocks and herds and tents.

⁶But the land was unable to support both of them while they stayed together, for they had so many possessions that they were unable to coexist.

²⁴When you lie down, you will not be afraid; when you rest, your sleep will be sweet.

⁸I will lie down and sleep in peace, for You alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety.

²⁶At this I awoke and looked around. My sleep had been most pleasant to me.

²In vain you rise early and stay up late, toiling for bread to eat—for He gives sleep to His beloved.

¹There is another evil I have seen under the sun, and it weighs heavily upon mankind:

²God gives a man riches, wealth, and honor, so that he lacks nothing his heart desires; but God does not allow him to enjoy them. Instead, a stranger will enjoy them. This is futile and a grievous affliction.

²²On hearing this, Jesus told him, “You still lack one thing: Sell everything you own and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow Me.”

²³But when the ruler heard this, he became very sad, because he was extremely wealthy.

²²One day the beggar died and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s side. And the rich man also died and was buried.

²³In Hades, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham from afar, with Lazarus by his side.

¹⁴So Lot went out and spoke to the sons-in-law who were pledged in marriage to his daughters. “Get up,” he said. “Get out of this place, for the Lord is about to destroy the city!” But his sons-in-law thought he was joking.

¹Come now, you who are rich, weep and wail over the misery to come upon you.

²Your riches have rotted and moths have eaten your clothes.

⁶For a fool speaks foolishness; his mind plots iniquity. He practices ungodliness and speaks falsely about the Lord; he leaves the hungry empty and deprives the thirsty of drink.

⁷The weapons of the scoundrel are destructive; he hatches plots to destroy the poor with lies, even when the plea of the needy is just.

²⁶To the man who is pleasing in His sight, He gives wisdom and knowledge and joy, but to the sinner He assigns the task of gathering and accumulating that which he will hand over to one who pleases God. This too is futile and a pursuit of the wind.

¹⁶from that time, when one came expecting a heap of twenty ephahs of grain, there were but ten. When one came to the winepress to draw out fifty baths, there were but twenty.

¹⁷I struck you—all the work of your hands—with blight, mildew, and hail, but you did not turn to Me, declares the Lord.

⁹You expected much, but behold, it amounted to little. And what you brought home, I blew away. Why? declares the Lord of Hosts. Because My house still lies in ruins, while each of you is busy with his own house.

¹⁵He swallows wealth but vomits it out; God will force it from his stomach.

¹⁶He will suck the poison of cobras; the fangs of a viper will kill him.

⁵When you glance at wealth, it disappears, for it makes wings for itself and flies like an eagle to the sky.

⁵The hungry consume his harvest, taking it even from the thorns, and the thirsty pant after his wealth.

¹⁷For when he dies, he will carry nothing away; his abundance will not follow him down.

²¹saying: “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will return. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord.”

⁷For we brought nothing into the world, so we cannot carry anything out of it.

²⁰But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be required of you. Then who will own what you have accumulated?’

²⁹He who brings trouble on his house will inherit the wind, and the fool will be servant to the wise of heart.

³What does a man gain from all his labor, at which he toils under the sun?

³⁶What does it profit a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul?

¹³There is a grievous evil I have seen under the sun: wealth hoarded to the harm of its owner,

²⁷Do not work for food that perishes, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For on Him God the Father has placed His seal of approval.”

⁷For they sow the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind. There is no standing grain; what sprouts fails to yield flour. Even if it should produce, the foreigners would swallow it up.

²In vain you rise early and stay up late, toiling for bread to eat—for He gives sleep to His beloved.

²⁴Although the Aramean army had come with only a few men, the Lord delivered into their hand a very great army. Because Judah had forsaken the Lord, the God of their fathers, judgment was executed on Joash.

²⁵And when the Arameans had withdrawn, they left Joash severely wounded. His own servants conspired against him for shedding the blood of the son of Jehoiada the priest, and they killed him on his bed. So he died and was buried in the City of David, but not in the tombs of the kings.

²⁷when your dread comes like a storm, and your destruction like a whirlwind, when distress and anguish overwhelm you.

²⁸Then they will call on me, but I will not answer; they will earnestly seek me, but will not find me.

²⁵Yet another man dies in the bitterness of his soul, having never tasted prosperity.

³⁰That is why many among you are weak and sick, and a number of you have fallen asleep.

³¹Now if we judged ourselves properly, we would not come under judgment.

²⁷Therefore, the leprosy of Naaman will cling to you and your descendants forever!” And as Gehazi left his presence, he was leprous—as white as snow.

²⁴Nothing is better for a man than to eat and drink and enjoy his work. I have also seen that this is from the hand of God.

²²I have seen that there is nothing better for a man than to enjoy his work, because that is his lot. For who can bring him to see what will come after him?

¹²I know that there is nothing better for them than to rejoice and do good while they live,

¹³and also that every man should eat and drink and find satisfaction in all his labor—this is the gift of God.

⁷Go, eat your bread with joy, and drink your wine with a cheerful heart, for God has already approved your works:

¹⁷Instruct those who are rich in the present age not to be conceited and not to put their hope in the uncertainty of wealth, but in God, who richly provides all things for us to enjoy.

¹⁰Anything my eyes desired, I did not deny myself. I refused my heart no pleasure. For my heart took delight in all my work, and this was the reward for all my labor.

¹⁸But remember that it is the Lord your God who gives you the power to gain wealth, in order to confirm His covenant that He swore to your fathers even to this day.

¹³and also that every man should eat and drink and find satisfaction in all his labor—this is the gift of God.

²God gives a man riches, wealth, and honor, so that he lacks nothing his heart desires; but God does not allow him to enjoy them. Instead, a stranger will enjoy them. This is futile and a grievous affliction.

¹²therefore wisdom and knowledge have been granted to you. And I will also give you riches and wealth and honor unlike anything given to the kings before you or after you.”

²⁴Nothing is better for a man than to eat and drink and enjoy his work. I have also seen that this is from the hand of God.

²⁵For apart from Him, who can eat and who can find enjoyment?

¹³Moreover, I will give you what you did not request—both riches and honor—so that during all your days no man in any kingdom will be your equal.

²¹They will build houses and dwell in them; they will plant vineyards and eat their fruit.

²²No longer will they build houses for others to inhabit, nor plant for others to eat. For as is the lifetime of a tree, so will be the days of My people, and My chosen ones will fully enjoy the work of their hands.

¹⁶Better is the little of the righteous than the abundance of many who are wicked.

¹³Therefore this is what the Lord God says: “My servants will eat, but you will go hungry; My servants will drink, but you will go thirsty; My servants will rejoice, but you will be put to shame.

¹⁴My servants will shout for joy with a glad heart, but you will cry out with a heavy heart and wail with a broken spirit.

⁶Many ask, “Who can show us the good?” Shine the light of Your face upon us, O Lord.

⁷You have filled my heart with more joy than when grain and new wine abound.

¹Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,

⁴⁷Because you did not serve the Lord your God with joy and gladness of heart in all your abundance,