Ecclesiastes 5
Caution in words. Vows are to be paid. Riches are often pernicious: the moderate use of them is the gift of God.
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.
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.
Multas curas sequuntur somnia, et in multis sermonibus invenietur stultitia.
Dreams follow many cares: and in many words shall be found folly.
Si quid vovisti Deo, ne moreris reddere: displicet enim ei infidelis et stulta promissio, sed quodcumque voveris redde:
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.
multoque melius est non vovere, quam post votum promissa non reddere.
And it is much better not to vow, than after a vow not to perform the things promised.
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.
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.
Ubi multa sunt somnia, plurimæ sunt vanitates, et sermones innumeri; tu vero Deum time.
Where there are many dreams, there are many vanities, and words without number: but do thou fear God.
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;
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:
et insuper universæ terræ rex imperat servienti.
Moreover there is the king that reigneth over all the land subject to him.
Avarus non implebitur pecunia, et qui amat divitias fructum non capiet ex eis; et hoc ergo vanitas.
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.
Ubi multæ sunt opes, multi et qui comedunt eas. Et quid prodest possessori, nisi quod cernit divitias oculis suis?
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?
Dulcis est somnus operanti, sive parum sive multum comedat; saturitas autem divitis non sinit eum dormire.
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.
Est et alia infirmitas pessima quam vidi sub sole: divitiæ conservatæ in malum domini sui.
There is also another grievous evil, which I have seen under the sun: riches kept to the hurt of the owner.
Pereunt enim in afflictione pessima: generavit filium qui in summa egestate erit.
For they are lost with very great affliction: he hath begotten a son, who shall be in extremity of want.
Sicut egressus est nudus de utero matris suæ, sic revertetur, et nihil auferet secum de labore suo.
As he came forth naked from his mother's womb, so shall he return, and shall take nothing away with him of his labour.
Miserabilis prorsus infirmitas: quomodo venit, sic revertetur. Quid ergo prodest ei quod laboravit in ventum?
A most deplorable evil: as he came, so shall he return. What then doth it profit him that he hath laboured for the wind?
cunctis diebus vitæ suæ comedit in tenebris, et in curis multis, et in ærumna atque tristitia.
All the days of his life he eateth in darkness, and in many cares, and in misery, and sorrow.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Non enim satis recordabitur dierum vitæ suæ, eo quod Deus occupet deliciis cor ejus.
For he shall not much remember the days of his life, because God entertaineth his heart with delight.