5:1 Ne temere quid loquaris, neque cor tuum sit velox ad proferendum sermonem coram Deo. Deus enim in cælo, et tu super terram ; idcirco sint pauci sermones tui.

5:1 Speak not any thing rashly, and let not thy heart be hasty to utter a word before God. For God is in heaven, and thou upon earth: therefore let thy words be few.

5:2 Multas curas sequuntur somnia, et in multis sermonibus invenietur stultitia.

5:2 Dreams follow many cares: and in many words shall be found folly.

5:3 Si quid vovisti Deo, ne moreris reddere : displicet enim ei infidelis et stulta promissio, sed quodcumque voveris redde :

5:3 If thou hast vowed any thing to God, defer not to pay it: for an unfaithful and foolish promise displeaseth him: but whatsoever thou hast vowed, pay it.

5:4 multoque melius est non vovere, quam post votum promissa non reddere.

5:4 And it is much better not to vow, than after a vow not to perform the things promised.

5:5 Ne dederis os tuum ut peccare facias carnem tuam, neque dicas coram angelo : Non est providentia : ne forte iratus Deus contra sermones tuos dissipet cuncta opera manuum tuarum.

5:5 Give not thy mouth to cause thy flesh to sin: and say not before the angel: There is no providence: lest God be angry at thy words, and destroy all the works of thy hands.

5:6 Ubi multa sunt somnia, plurimæ sunt vanitates, et sermones innumeri ; tu vero Deum time.

5:6 Where there are many dreams, there are many vanities, and words without number: but do thou fear God.

5:7 Si videris calumnias egenorum, et violenta judicia, et subverti justitiam in provincia, non mireris super hoc negotio : quia excelso excelsior est alius, et super hos quoque eminentiores sunt alii ;

5:7 If thou shalt see the oppressions of the poor, and violent judgments, and justice perverted in the province, wonder not at this matter: for he that is high hath another higher, and there are others still higher than these:

5:8 et insuper universæ terræ rex imperat servienti.

5:8 Moreover there is the king that reigneth over all the land subject to him.

5:9 Avarus non implebitur pecunia, et qui amat divitias fructum non capiet ex eis ; et hoc ergo vanitas.

5:9 A covetous man shall not be satisfied with money: and he that loveth riches shall reap no fruit from them: so this also is vanity.

5:10 Ubi multæ sunt opes, multi et qui comedunt eas. Et quid prodest possessori, nisi quod cernit divitias oculis suis ?

5:10 Where there are great riches, there are also many to eat them. And what doth it profit the owner, but that he seeth the riches with his eyes?

5:11 Dulcis est somnus operanti, sive parum sive multum comedat ; saturitas autem divitis non sinit eum dormire.

5:11 Sleep is sweet to a labouring man, whether he eat little or much: but the fulness of the rich will not suffer him to sleep.

5:12 Est et alia infirmitas pessima quam vidi sub sole : divitiæ conservatæ in malum domini sui.

5:12 There is also another grievous evil, which I have seen under the sun: riches kept to the hurt of the owner.

5:13 Pereunt enim in afflictione pessima : generavit filium qui in summa egestate erit.

5:13 For they are lost with very great affliction: he hath begotten a son, who shall be in extremity of want.

5:14 Sicut egressus est nudus de utero matris suæ, sic revertetur, et nihil auferet secum de labore suo.

5:14 As he came forth naked from his mother's womb, so shall he return, and shall take nothing away with him of his labour.

5:15 Miserabilis prorsus infirmitas : quomodo venit, sic revertetur. Quid ergo prodest ei quod laboravit in ventum ?

5:15 A most deplorable evil: as he came, so shall he return. What then doth it profit him that he hath laboured for the wind?

5:16 cunctis diebus vitæ suæ comedit in tenebris, et in curis multis, et in ærumna atque tristitia.

5:16 All the days of his life he eateth in darkness, and in many cares, and in misery, and sorrow.

5:17 Hoc itaque visum est mihi bonum, ut comedat quis et bibat, et fruatur lætitia ex labore suo quo laboravit ipse sub sole, numero dierum vitæ suæ quos dedit ei Deus ; et hæc est pars illius.

5:17 This therefore hath seemed good to me, that a man should eat and drink, and enjoy the fruit of his labour, wherewith he hath laboured under the sun, all the days of his life, which God hath given him: and this is his portion.

5:18 Et omni homini cui dedit Deus divitias atque substantiam, potestatemque ei tribuit ut comedat ex eis, et fruatur parte sua, et lætetur de labore suo : hoc est donum Dei.

5:18 And every man to whom God hath given riches, and substance, and hath given him power to eat thereof, and to enjoy his portion, and to rejoice of his labour: this is the gift of God.

5:19 Non enim satis recordabitur dierum vitæ suæ, eo quod Deus occupet deliciis cor ejus.

5:19 For he shall not much remember the days of his life, because God entertaineth his heart with delight.