1Cautions against abuses in divine service; 8against murmuring at oppression. 9The vanity of riches. 18The cheerful enjoyment of what a man hath is good, and the gift of God, and a blessing to him that hath it.
1KEEP athy foot when thou goest to the house of God, and be more ready to hear, bthan to give the sacrifice of fools: for they consider not that they do evil.
a Ex. 3.5; 30.18-20. 2Ch. 26.16. Ps. 89.7. Jos. 5.15. 1Pe. 2.1,2. Ac. 10.33. Ja. 1.19,21. b 1Sa. 15.22. Ps. 50.8,9. Is. 1.11-15; 66.3. Ho. 6.6. Pr. 15.8; 21.27. Je. 7.9,10.
2cBe not rash with thy mouth, and let not thine heart be hasty to utter any 1thing before God: for God is in heaven, and thou upon earth: therefore let thy words dbe few.
1Or, word.
c Ge. 18.27,30. Ps. 39.1; 106.33; 116.11. d Pr. 10.19. Mat. 6.7. v.3,7.
3For a dream cometh through the multitude of business; and ea fool's voice is known by multitude of words.
e Pr. 10.19; 15.2. ch. 10.3,14.
4fWhen thou vowest a vow unto God, defer not to pay it; for ghe hath no pleasure in fools: pay that which thou hast vowed.
f Nu. 30.2. Ge. 28.20. De. 23.21-23. Ps. 50.14; 66.13,14; 76.11; 119.106. Is. 19.21. Je. 50.5. 2Co. 8.5. Pr. 20.23. g He. 10.38.
5hBetter is it that thou shouldest not vow, than that thou shouldest vow and not pay.
h Ac. 5.4. Pr. 20.25. De. 23.22.
6iSuffer not thy mouth to cause thy flesh to sin; neither say thou before jthe angel, that it was an error: wherefore should God be angry at thy voice, and kdestroy the work of thine hands?
i v.1,2. Ja. 1.12; 3.2. j 1Ti. 5.21. 1Co. 11.10. Mal. 2.7. Le. 5.4,5. He. 1.14. k De. 28.15.
7For in the lmultitude of dreams and many words there are also *divers vanities: mbut fear thou God.
*divers-various, diverse.
l Mat. 12.36. v.3. m ch. 12.13. Pr. 23.17. He. 12.28.
8¶nIf thou seest othe oppression of the poor, and violent perverting of judgment and justice in a province, marvel not 2at the matter: pfor he that is higher than the highest regardeth; and qthere be higher than they.
2Heb. at the will, or, purpose.
n ch. 3.16; 4.1. o Eze. 18.18. p Is. 59.15. Ps. 58.11; 82.1; 83.18; 12.5; 10.18; 33.13-15. q Ps. 95.3.
9¶Moreover rthe profit of the earth is for all: the king himself is served by the field.
r Ps. 104.14,15. 1Ch. 26.25-31. 1Ki. 4.7-23. 2Ch. 26.10.
10sHe that loveth silver shall not be satisfied with silver; nor he that tloveth abundance with increase: this is also vanity.
s Mat. 6.19,24. Ps. 52.7. 1Ti. 6.10. ch. 6.7; 4.8. 1Ki. 21.6. Pr. 30.15. t Ps. 37.16.
11uWhen goods increase, they are increased that eat them: vand what good is there to the owners thereof, saving the beholding of them with their eyes?
u 1Ki. 3.13; 4.22,23. v Pr. 23.5. Ps. 127.2.
12The wsleep of a labouring man is sweet, whether he eat little or much: but the abundance of the rich will not suffer him to sleep.
w Ps. 4.8; 127.2.
13There is a x*sore evil which I have seen under the sun, namely , yriches kept for the owners thereof to their hurt.
*sore-very great or severe.
x ch. 1.14; 6.1,2. y Pr. 1.19,32; 30.9. Lu. 16.19. 1Ti. 6.9,10. Ja. 2.6,7; 5.1,2,4-6. 1Ki. 21.7,13.
14But zthose riches perish by evil *travail: and he begetteth a son, and there is nothing in his hand.
*travail-distress, trouble.
z Job 5.5; 20.15-22; 18.5-21.
15As he acame 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.
a Job 1.21. Ps. 49.17. Pr. 11.4. 1Ti. 6.7.
16And this also is a *sore evil, that in all points as he came, so shall he go: and bwhat profit hath he that hath laboured for the wind?
*sore-very great or severe.
b Ps. 127.2. Pr. 23.5; 11.29. Ho. 8.7. ch. 1.3. Mat. 16.26. Jn. 6.27.
17cAll his days also he eateth in darkness, and dhe hath much sorrow and wrath with his sickness.
c Ps. 127.2; 90.7,9; 78.33. ch. 6.2,4. d Pr. 1.27-29.
18¶Behold that which I have seen: e3it 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 4the days of his life, which God giveth him: for it is fhis portion.
3Heb. there is a good which is comely.
4Heb. the number of the days.
e ch. 2.24; 5.12,13; 8.15; 9.7; 11.9. 1Ti. 6.17. f ch. 3.22; 2.22. v.19.
19Every gman 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; hthis is the gift of God.
g ch. 2.24; 3.12,13; 6.2. De. 8.18. 1Ki. 3.13. h v.18. ch. 2.22.
205For he shall not much remember the days of his life; because iGod answereth him in the joy of his heart.
5Or, Though hegive not much, yet he remembereth.
i Ex. 23.25. De. 28.8-12. Ps. 4.6,7. Is. 64.5. Ro. 5.1-5,11.