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          DASV: Ecclesiastes 5    

1 Guard you steps when you go to the house of God;
     for it is better to draw near to listen,
          than to offer the sacrifice of fools,
           for they know not that they do evil.
2 Do not be rash with your mouth,
     do not let your heart be hasty
           to utter anything before God;
     for God is in heaven,
          and you are on earth,
           therefore let your words be few.
3 For just as dreams come with many cares,
      so a fool's voice comes with many words.

4 When you make a vow to God,
     do not delay to fulfill it;
  for he has no pleasure in fools,
     fulfill what you have vowed.
5 It is better that you not vow,
     than that you make a vow and not fulfill it.
6 Do not allow your mouth to cause you to sin;
     do not tell the temple messenger,
           "It was a mistake."
  Why should God be angry at your voice,
     and so destroy the work of your hands?
7 For with many dreams there is futility,
     so too with many words,
           rather fear God.
8 If you see in a province the oppression of the poor,
     and violence exploiting justice and righteousness,
          do not be astonished by it,
  for a high official is monitored by a higher one;
      and there are ones even higher over them.
9 The produce of the land benefits everyone,
     even the king is served by the field.
10 He who loves money will never be satisfied with money;
     nor he who loves wealth with his wages.
           This also is futile.
11 When goods increase,
     so do those who consume them;
  so what advantage is it for its owner,
     except he gets to gaze on them with his own eyes?
12 The sleep of a hard worker is sweet,
      whether he eats little or much;
  but the wealth of the rich,
     will not let him sleep.

13 There is a great misfortune I have seen under the sun,
     riches hoarded by its owner,
           to his own demise.
14 Those riches lost by a bad endeavor,
     even though he has a son,
           there will be nothing left to give him.
15 As naked as one comes from his mother's womb,
     so he will depart again, naked as he came.
  He can take away nothing for all his toil,
     that he may carry it away in his hand.

16 This also is a great misfortune,
     just as he came, so he will depart.
           What gain does he get from toiling for the wind?
17 Also all his days he eats in darkness,
     terribly frustrated, sick and angry.

18 This is what I have discovered to be good and appropriate:
to eat and drink, and find enjoyment in all one's
laborious toil under the sun, all the days of his life
God has given him, for this is his lot in life.
19 Also everyone to whom God has given riches and wealth,
he also has given him ability to eat them, to accept his
lot, and to find enjoyment in his toil--this is the gift
of God.
20 For he does not constantly reflect back on the days of
his life; because God keeps him occupied with the present
joy of his heart.

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