Passage

Ecclesiastes 5

Book: Ecclesiastes · NASB95

Immediate context (±2 verses)

ASV (ASV)

"1. Keep thy foot when thou goest to the house of God; for to draw nigh to hear is better than to give the sacrifice of fools: for they know not that they do evil. 2. Be not rash with thy mouth, and let not thy heart be hasty to utter anything before God; for God is in heaven, and thou upon earth: therefore let thy words be few. 3. For a dream cometh with a multitude of business, and a fool's voice with a multitude of words. 4. When thou vowest a vow unto God, defer not to pay it; for he hath no pleasure in fools: pay that which thou vowest. 5. Better is it that thou shouldest not vow, than that thou shouldest vow and not pay. 6. Suffer not thy mouth to cause thy flesh to sin; neither say thou before the angel, that it was an error: wherefore should God be angry at thy voice, and destroy the work of thy hands? 7. For in the multitude of dreams there are vanities, and in many words: but fear thou God. 8. If thou seest the oppression of the poor, and the violent taking away of justice and righteousness in a province, marvel not at the matter: for one higher than the high regardeth; and there are higher than they. 9. Moreover the profit of the earth is for all: the king himself is served by the field. 10. He that loveth silver shall not be satisfied with silver; nor he that loveth abundance, with increase: this also is vanity. 11. When goods increase, they are increased that eat them; and what advantage is there to the owner thereof, save the beholding of them with his eyes? 12. The sleep of a laboring man is sweet, whether he eat little or much; but the fulness of the rich will not suffer him to sleep. 13. There is a grievous evil which I have seen under the sun, namely, riches kept by the owner thereof to his hurt: 14. and those riches perish by evil adventure; and if he hath begotten a son, there is nothing in his hand. 15. As he came forth from his mother's womb, naked shall he go again as he came, and shall take nothing for his labor, which he may carry away in his hand. 16. And this also is a grievous evil, that in all points as he came, so shall he go: and what profit hath he that he laboreth for the wind? 17. All his days also he eateth in darkness, and he is sore vexed, and hath sickness and wrath. 18. Behold, that which I have seen to be good and to be comely is for one to eat and to drink, and to enjoy good in all his labor, wherein he laboreth under the sun, all the days of his life which God hath given him: for this is his portion. 19. Every man also to whom God hath given riches and wealth, and hath given him power to eat thereof, and to take his portion, and to rejoice in his labor, this is the gift of God. 20. For he shall not much remember the days of his life; because God answereth him in the joy of his heart." (Ecclesiastes 5:1-20, ASV)

WEB (WEB)

"1. Guard your steps when you go to God’s house; for to draw near to listen is better than to give the sacrifice of fools, for they don’t know that they do evil. 2. Don’t be rash with your mouth, and don’t let your heart be hasty to utter anything before God; for God is in heaven, and you on earth. Therefore let your words be few. 3. For as a dream comes with a multitude of cares, so a fool’s speech with a multitude of words. 4. When you vow a vow to God, don’t defer to pay it; for he has no pleasure in fools. Pay that which you vow. 5. It is better that you should not vow, than that you should vow and not pay. 6. Don’t allow your mouth to lead you into sin. Don’t protest before the messenger that this was a mistake. Why should God be angry at your voice, and destroy the work of your hands? 7. For in the multitude of dreams there are vanities, as well as in many words: but you must fear God. 8. If you see the oppression of the poor, and the violent taking away of justice and righteousness in a district, don’t marvel at the matter: for one official is eyed by a higher one; and there are officials over them. 9. Moreover the profit of the earth is for all. The king profits from the field. 10. He who loves silver shall not be satisfied with silver; nor he who loves abundance, with increase: this also is vanity. 11. When goods increase, those who eat them are increased; and what advantage is there to its owner, except to feast on them with his eyes? 12. The sleep of a laboring man is sweet, whether he eats little or much; but the abundance of the rich will not allow him to sleep. 13. There is a grievous evil which I have seen under the sun: wealth kept by its owner to his harm. 14. Those riches perish by misfortune, and if he has fathered a son, there is nothing in his hand. 15. As he came out of his mother’s womb, naked shall he go again as he came, and shall take nothing for his labor, which he may carry away in his hand. 16. This also is a grievous evil, that in all points as he came, so shall he go. And what profit does he have who labors for the wind? 17. All his days he also eats in darkness, he is frustrated, and has sickness and wrath. 18. Behold, that which I have seen to be good and proper is for one to eat and to drink, and to enjoy good in all his labor, in which he labors under the sun, all the days of his life which God has given him; for this is his portion. 19. Every man also to whom God has given riches and wealth, and has given him power to eat of it, and to take his portion, and to rejoice in his labor, this is the gift of God. 20. For he shall not often reflect on the days of his life; because God occupies him with the joy of his heart." (Ecclesiastes 5:1-20, WEB)

KJV (KJV)

"1. Keep thy foot when thou goest to the house of God, and be more ready to hear, than to give the sacrifice of fools: for they consider not that they do evil. 2. Be not rash with thy mouth, and let not thine heart be hasty to utter any thing before God: for God is in heaven, and thou upon earth: therefore let thy words be few. ^{thing: or, word} 3. For a dream cometh through the multitude of business; and a fool's voice is known by multitude of words. 4. When thou vowest a vow unto God, defer not to pay it; for he hath no pleasure in fools: pay that which thou hast vowed. 5. Better is it that thou shouldest not vow, than that thou shouldest vow and not pay. 6. Suffer not thy mouth to cause thy flesh to sin; neither say thou before the angel, that it was an error: wherefore should God be angry at thy voice, and destroy the work of thine hands? 7. For in the multitude of dreams and many words there are also divers vanities: but fear thou God. 8. If thou seest the oppression of the poor, and violent perverting of judgment and justice in a province, marvel not at the matter: for he that is higher than the highest regardeth; and there be higher than they. ^{at the: Heb. at the will, or, purpose} 9. Moreover the profit of the earth is for all: the king himself is served by the field. 10. He that loveth silver shall not be satisfied with silver; nor he that loveth abundance with increase: this is also vanity. 11. When goods increase, they are increased that eat them: and what good is there to the owners thereof, saving the beholding of them with their eyes? 12. The sleep of a labouring man is sweet, whether he eat little or much: but the abundance of the rich will not suffer him to sleep. 13. There is a sore evil which I have seen under the sun, namely, riches kept for the owners thereof to their hurt. 14. But those riches perish by evil travail: and he begetteth a son, and there is nothing in his hand. 15. 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. And this also is a sore evil, that in all points as he came, so shall he go: and what profit hath he that hath laboured for the wind? 17. All his days also he eateth in darkness, and he hath much sorrow and wrath with his sickness. 18. Behold that which I have seen: it is good and comely for one to eat and to drink, and to enjoy the good of all his labour that he taketh under the sun all the days of his life, which God giveth him: for it is his portion. ^{It is good: Heb. there is a good which is comely, etc} ^{all the days: Heb. the number of the days} 19. Every man also to whom God hath given riches and wealth, and hath given him power to eat thereof, and to take his portion, and to rejoice in his labour; this is the gift of God. 20. For he shall not much remember the days of his life; because God answereth him in the joy of his heart. ^{For: or, Though he give not much, yet he remembereth, etc}" (Ecclesiastes 5:1-20, KJV)

YLT (YLT)

"1. Keep thy feet when thou goest unto a house of God, and draw near to hear rather than to give of fools the sacrifice, for they do not know they do evil. 2. Cause not thy mouth to hasten, and let not thy heart hasten to bring out a word before God, for God is in the heavens, and thou on the earth, therefore let thy words be few. 3. For the dream hath come by abundance of business, and the voice of a fool by abundance of words. 4. When thou vowest a vow to God, delay not to complete it, for there is no pleasure in fools; that which thou vowest, complete. 5. Better that thou do not vow, than that thou dost vow and dost not complete. 6. Suffer not thy mouth to cause thy flesh to sin, nor say before the messenger, that 'it [is] an error,' why is God wroth because of thy voice, and hath destroyed the work of thy hands? 7. For, in the abundance of dreams both vanities and words abound; but fear thou God. 8. If oppression of the poor, and violent taking away of judgment and righteousness thou seest in a province, do not marvel at the matter, for a higher than the high is observing, and high ones [are] over them. 9. And the abundance of a land is for all. A king for a field is served. 10. Whoso is loving silver is not satisfied [with] silver, nor he who is in love with stores [with] increase. Even this [is] vanity. 11. In the multiplying of good have its consumers been multiplied, and what benefit [is] to its possessor except the sight of his eyes? 12. Sweet [is] the sleep of the labourer whether he eat little or much; and the sufficiency of the wealthy is not suffering him to sleep. 13. There is a painful evil I have seen under the sun: wealth kept for its possessor, for his evil. 14. And that wealth hath been lost in an evil business, and he hath begotten a son and there is nothing in his hand! 15. As he came out from the belly of his mother, naked he turneth back to go as he came, and he taketh not away anything of his labour, that doth go in his hand. 16. And this also [is] a painful evil, just as he came, so he goeth, and what advantage [is] to him who laboureth for wind? 17. Also all his days in darkness he consumeth, and sadness, and wrath, and sickness abound. 18. Lo, that which I have seen: [It is] good, because beautiful, to eat, and to drink, and to see good in all one's labour that he laboureth at under the sun, the number of the days of his life that God hath given to him, for it [is] his portion. 19. Every man also to whom God hath given wealth and riches, and hath given him power to eat of it, and to accept his portion, and to rejoice in his labour, this is a gift of God. 20. For he doth not much remember the days of his life, for God is answering through the joy of his heart." (Ecclesiastes 5:1-20, YLT)

Setting

Speaker: TBD
Audience: TBD
Location: TBD
Time period: TBD

Theological reading

Patristic / early-church-father exegesis, to be added.

Key words

Theologically-loaded Greek or Hebrew words in this verse may have entries in the lexicon. Curated to roughly 100 contested terms across the corpus, not every word; see Lexicon Roadmap.

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Quoted in

Biblical Stewardship

Why these four translations

ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the most literal English translations available (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the public domain in the United States, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance.

The four:

ASV (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
WEB (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
KJV (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
YLT (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff.

See Bibles for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.