| Berean Study Bible | New American Standard Bible 1995 |
| 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. | 1Guard your steps as you go to the house of God and draw near to listen rather than to offer the sacrifice of fools; for they do not know they are doing evil. |
| 2Do not be quick to speak, and do not be hasty in your heart to utter a word before God. After all, God is in heaven and you are on earth. So let your words be few. | 2Do not be hasty in word or impulsive in thought to bring up a matter in the presence of God. For God is in heaven and you are on the earth; therefore let your words be few. |
| 3As a dream comes through many cares, so the speech of a fool comes with many words. | 3For the dream comes through much effort and the voice of a fool through many words. |
| 4When you make a vow to God, do not delay in fulfilling it, because He takes no pleasure in fools. Fulfill your vow. | 4When you make a vow to God, do not be late in paying it; for He takes no delight in fools. Pay what you vow! |
| 5It is better not to vow than to make a vow and not fulfill it. | 5It is better that you should not vow than that you should vow and not pay. |
| 6Do not let your mouth cause your flesh to sin, and do not tell the messenger that your vow was a mistake. Why should God be angry with your words and destroy the work of your hands? | 6Do not let your speech cause you to sin and do not say in the presence of the messenger of God that it was a mistake. Why should God be angry on account of your voice and destroy the work of your hands? |
| 7For as many dreams bring futility, so do many words. Therefore, fear God. | 7For in many dreams and in many words there is emptiness. Rather, fear God. |
| 8If you see the oppression of the poor and the denial of justice and righteousness in the province, do not be astonished at the matter; for one official is watched by a superior, and others higher still are over them. | 8If you see oppression of the poor and denial of justice and righteousness in the province, do not be shocked at the sight; for one official watches over another official, and there are higher officials over them. |
| 9The produce of the earth is taken by all; the king himself profits from the fields. | 9After all, a king who cultivates the field is an advantage to the land. |
| 10He who loves money is never satisfied by money, and he who loves wealth is never satisfied by income. This too is futile. | 10He who loves money will not be satisfied with money, nor he who loves abundance with its income. This too is vanity. |
| 11When good things increase, so do those who consume them; what then is the profit to the owner, except to behold them with his eyes? | 11When good things increase, those who consume them increase. So what is the advantage to their owners except to look on? |
| 12The sleep of the worker is sweet, whether he eats little or much, but the abundance of the rich man permits him no sleep. | 12The sleep of the working man is pleasant, whether he eats little or much; but the full stomach of the rich man does not allow him to sleep. |
| 13There is a grievous evil I have seen under the sun: wealth hoarded to the harm of its owner, | 13There is a grievous evil which I have seen under the sun: riches being hoarded by their owner to his hurt. |
| 14or wealth lost in a failed venture, so when that man has a son there is nothing to pass on. | 14When those riches were lost through a bad investment and he had fathered a son, then there was nothing to support him. |
| 15As a man came from his mother’s womb, so he will depart again, naked as he arrived. He takes nothing for his labor to carry in his hands. | 15As he had come naked from his mother's womb, so will he return as he came. He will take nothing from the fruit of his labor that he can carry in his hand. |
| 16This too is a grievous evil: Exactly as a man is born, so he will depart. What does he gain as he toils for the wind? | 16This also is a grievous evil-- exactly as a man is born, thus will he die. So what is the advantage to him who toils for the wind? |
| 17Moreover, all his days he eats in darkness, with much sorrow, sickness, and anger. | 17Throughout his life he also eats in darkness with great vexation, sickness and anger. |
| 18Here is what I have seen to be good and fitting: to eat and drink, and to find satisfaction in all the labor one does under the sun during the few days of life that God has given him—for this is his lot. | 18Here is what I have seen to be good and fitting: to eat, to drink and enjoy oneself in all one's labor in which he toils under the sun during the few years of his life which God has given him; for this is his reward. |
| 19Furthermore, God has given riches and wealth to every man, and He has enabled him to enjoy them, to accept his lot, and to rejoice in his labor. This is a gift from God. | 19Furthermore, as for every man to whom God has given riches and wealth, He has also empowered him to eat from them and to receive his reward and rejoice in his labor; this is the gift of God. |
| 20For a man seldom considers the days of his life, because God keeps him occupied with the joy of his heart. | 20For he will not often consider the years of his life, because God keeps him occupied with the gladness of his heart. |
| The Berean Bible (Berean Study Bible (BSB) © 2016, 2018 by Bible Hub and Berean.Bible. Used by Permission. All rights Reserved. | New American Standard Bible Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, Calif. All rights reserved. For Permission to Quote Information visit //www.lockman.org |
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