1 μὴ σπεῦδε ἐπὶ στόματί σου,
καὶ καρδία σου μὴ ταχυνάτω
τοῦ ἐξενέγκαι λόγον πρὸ προσώπου τοῦ θεοῦ·
ὅτι ὁ θεὸς ἐν τῷ οὐρανῷ, καὶ σὺ ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς,
ἐπὶ τούτῳ ἔστωσαν οἱ λόγοι σου ὀλίγοι.
2 ὅτι παραγίνεται ἐνύπνιον ἐν πλήθει περισπασμοῦ
καὶ φωνὴ ἄφρονος ἐν πλήθει λόγων.
3 καθὼς ἂν εὔξῃ εὐχὴν τῷ θεῷ,
μὴ χρονίσῃς τοῦ ἀποδοῦναι αὐτήν·
ὅτι οὐκ ἔστιν θέλημα ἐν ἄφροσιν,
σὺν ὅσα ἐὰν εὔξῃ ἀπόδος.
4 ἀγαθὸν τὸ μὴ εὔξασθαί σε
ἢ τὸ εὔξασθαί σε καὶ μὴ ἀποδοῦναι.
5 μὴ δῷς τὸ στόμα σου τοῦ ἐξαμαρτῆσαι τὴν σάρκα σου
καὶ μὴ εἴπῃς πρὸ προσώπου τοῦ θεοῦ ὅτι Ἄγνοιά ἐστιν,
ἵνα μὴ ὀργισθῇ ὁ θεὸς ἐπὶ φωνῇ σου
καὶ διαφθείρῃ τὰ ποιήματα χειρῶν σου.
6 ὅτι ἐν πλήθει ἐνυπνίων καὶ ματαιότητες καὶ λόγοι πολλοί·
ὅτι σὺν τὸν θεὸν φοβοῦ.
7 Ἐὰν συκοφαντίαν πένητος καὶ ἁρπαγὴν κρίματος καὶ δικαιοσύνης ἴδῃς ἐν χώρᾳ,
μὴ θαυμάσῃς ἐπὶ τῷ πράγματι·
ὅτι ὑψηλὸς ἐπάνω ὑψηλοῦ φυλάξαι
καὶ ὑψηλοὶ ἐπ᾽ αὐτούς.
8 καὶ περισσεία γῆς ἐν παντί ἐστι,
βασιλεὺς τοῦ ἀγροῦ εἰργασμένου.
9 Ἀγαπῶν ἀργύριον οὐ πλησθήσεται ἀργυρίου·
καὶ τίς ἠγάπησεν ἐν πλήθει αὐτῶν γένημα;
καί γε τοῦτο ματαιότης.
10 ἐν πλήθει τῆς ἀγαθωσύνης ἐπληθύνθησαν ἔσθοντες αὐτήν·
καὶ τί ἀνδρεία τῷ παρ᾽ αὐτῆς
ὅτι ἀλλ᾽ ἢ τοῦ ὁρᾶν ὀφθαλμοῖς αὐτοῦ;
11 γλυκὺς ὕπνος τοῦ δούλου,
εἰ ὀλίγον καὶ εἰ πολὺ φάγεται·
καὶ τῷ ἐμπλησθέντι τοῦ πλουτῆσαι
οὐκ ἔστιν ἀφίων αὐτὸν τοῦ ὑπνῶσαι.
12 ἔστιν ἀρρωστία, ἣν εἶδον ὑπὸ τὸν ἥλιον,
πλοῦτον φυλασσόμενον τῷ παρ᾽ αὐτοῦ εἰς κακίαν αὐτοῦ,
13 καὶ ἀπολεῖται ὁ πλοῦτος ἐκεῖνος ἐν περισπασμῷ πονηρῷ,
καὶ ἐγέννησεν υἱόν, καὶ οὐκ ἔστιν ἐν χειρὶ αὐτοῦ οὐδέν.
14 καθὼς ἐξῆλθεν ἀπὸ γαστρὸς μητρὸς αὐτοῦ γυμνός,
ἐπιστρέψει τοῦ πορευθῆναι ὡς ἥκει
καὶ οὐδὲν οὐ λήμψεται ἐν μόχθῳ αὐτοῦ,
ἵνα πορευθῇ ἐν χειρὶ αὐτοῦ.
15 καί γε τοῦτο πονηρὰ ἀρρωστία·
ὥσπερ γὰρ παρεγένετο, οὕτως καὶ ἀπελεύσεται,
καὶ τίς περισσεία αὐτῷ, ᾗ μοχθεῖ εἰς ἄνεμον;
16 καί γε πᾶσαι αἱ ἡμέραι αὐτοῦ ἐν σκότει καὶ πένθει
καὶ θυμῷ πολλῷ καὶ ἀρρωστίᾳ καὶ χόλῳ.
17 Ἰδοὺ ὃ εἶδον ἐγὼ ἀγαθόν, ὅ ἐστιν καλόν,
τοῦ φαγεῖν καὶ τοῦ πιεῖν
καὶ τοῦ ἰδεῖν ἀγαθωσύνην
ἐν παντὶ μόχθῳ αὐτοῦ,
ᾧ ἐὰν μοχθῇ ὑπὸ τὸν ἥλιον
ἀριθμὸν ἡμερῶν ζωῆς αὐτοῦ,
ὧν ἔδωκεν αὐτῷ ὁ θεός·
ὅτι αὐτὸ μερὶς αὐτοῦ.
18 καί γε πᾶς ὁ ἄνθρωπος, ᾧ ἔδωκεν αὐτῷ ὁ θεὸς
πλοῦτον καὶ ὑπάρχοντα καὶ ἐξουσίασεν αὐτὸν
τοῦ φαγεῖν ἀπ᾽ αὐτοῦ καὶ τοῦ λαβεῖν τὸ μέρος αὐτοῦ
καὶ τοῦ εὐφρανθῆναι ἐν μόχθῳ αὐτοῦ,
τοῦτο δόμα θεοῦ ἐστιν.
19 ὅτι οὐ πολλὰ μνησθήσεται τὰς ἡμέρας τῆς ζωῆς αὐτοῦ·
ὅτι ὁ θεὸς περισπᾷ αὐτὸν ἐν εὐφροσύνῃ καρδίας αὐτοῦ.
1 Keep thy foot when thou goest to the house of God, and be more ready to hear, than to give the sacrifice of fools: for they consider not that they do evil. 2 Be not rash with thy mouth, and let not thine heart be hasty to utter any thing before God: for God is in heaven, and thou upon earth: therefore let thy words be few. 3 For a dream cometh through the multitude of business; and a fool’s voice is known by multitude of words.
4 When thou vowest a vow unto God, defer not to pay it; for he hath no pleasure in fools: pay that which thou hast vowed. 5 Better is it that thou shouldest not vow, than that thou shouldest vow and not pay. 6 Suffer not thy mouth to cause thy flesh to sin; neither say thou before the angel, that it was an error: wherefore should God be angry at thy voice, and destroy the work of thine hands? 7 For in the multitude of dreams and many words there are also divers vanities: but fear thou God.
8 ¶ If thou seest the oppression of the poor, and violent perverting of judgment and justice in a province, marvel not at the matter: for he that is higher than the highest regardeth; and there be higher than they.
9 ¶ Moreover the profit of the earth is for all: the king himself is served by the field. 10 He that loveth silver shall not be satisfied with silver; nor he that loveth abundance with increase: this is also vanity. 11 When goods increase, they are increased that eat them: and what good is there to the owners thereof, saving the beholding of them with their eyes? 12 The sleep of a labouring man is sweet, whether he eat little or much: but the abundance of the rich will not suffer him to sleep. 13 There is a sore evil which I have seen under the sun, namely , riches kept for the owners thereof to their hurt. 14 But those riches perish by evil travail: and he begetteth a son, and there is nothing in his hand. 15 As he came 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. 16 And this also is a sore evil, that in all points as he came, so shall he go: and what profit hath he that hath laboured for the wind? 17 All his days also he eateth in darkness, and he hath much sorrow and wrath with his sickness.
18 ¶ Behold that which I have seen: it 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 the days of his life, which God giveth him: for it is his portion. 19 Every man 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; this is the gift of God. 20 For he shall not much remember the days of his life; because God answereth him in the joy of his heart.