5As you enter the house of God, keep your ears open and your mouth shut. It is evil to make mindless offerings to God.H8104H7272H3212H1004H430H7138H8085H5414H2077H3684H3045H6213H74512Don’t make rash promises, and don’t be hasty in bringing matters before God. After all, God is in heaven, and you are here on earth. So let your words be few.H926H6310H3820H4116H3318H1697H6440H430H430H8064H776H1697H45923Too much activity gives you restless dreams; too many words make you a fool.H2472H935H7230H6045H3684H6963H7230H16974When you make a promise to God, don’t delay in following through, for God takes no pleasure in fools. Keep all the promises you make to him.H5087H5088H430H309H7999H2656H3684H7999H50875It is better to say nothing than to make a promise and not keep it.H2896H5087H5087H79996Don’t let your mouth make you sin. And don’t defend yourself by telling the Temple messenger that the promise you made was a mistake. That would make God angry, and he might wipe out everything you have achieved.H5414H6310H1320H2398H559H6440H4397H7684H430H7107H6963H2254H4639H30277Talk is cheap, like daydreams and other useless activities. Fear God instead.H7230H2472H7235H1697H1892H3372H430
The Futility of Wealth
8Don’t be surprised if you see a poor person being oppressed by the powerful and if justice is being miscarried throughout the land. For every official is under orders from higher up, and matters of justice get lost in red tape and bureaucracy.H7200H6233H7326H1499H4941H6664H4082H8539H2656H1364H1364H8104H1364H59219Even the king milks the land for his own profit!H3504H776H4428H5647H770410Those who love money will never have enough. How meaningless to think that wealth brings true happiness!H157H3701H7646H3701H157H1995H8393H189211The more you have, the more people come to help you spend it. So what good is wealth—except perhaps to watch it slip through your fingers!H2896H7235H7231H398H3788H1167H518H7207H7212H586912People who work hard sleep well, whether they eat little or much. But the rich seldom get a good night’s sleep.H8142H5647H4966H398H4592H7235H7647H6223H3240H346213There is another serious problem I have seen under the sun. Hoarding riches harms the saver.H3426H2470H7451H7200H8121H6239H8104H1167H745114Money is put into risky investments that turn sour, and everything is lost. In the end, there is nothing left to pass on to one’s children.H6239H6H7451H6045H3205H1121H3972H302715We all come to the end of our lives as naked and empty-handed as on the day we were born. We can’t take our riches with us.H3318H517H990H6174H7725H3212H935H5375H3972H5999H3212H302716And this, too, is a very serious problem. People leave this world no better off than when they came. All their hard work is for nothing—like working for the wind.H2090H2470H7451H5980H935H3212H3504H5998H730717Throughout their lives, they live under a cloud—frustrated, discouraged, and angry.H3117H398H2822H7235H3707H7110H248318Even so, I have noticed one thing, at least, that is good. It is good for people to eat, drink, and enjoy their work under the sun during the short life God has given them, and to accept their lot in life.H7200H2896H3303H398H8354H7200H2896H5999H5998H8121H4557H3117H2416H430H5414H250619And it is a good thing to receive wealth from God and the good health to enjoy it. To enjoy your work and accept your lot in life—this is indeed a gift from God.H120H430H5414H6239H5233H7980H398H5375H2506H8055H5999H2090H4991H43020God keeps such people so busy enjoying life that they take no time to brood over the past.H7235H2142H3117H2416H430H6031H8057H3820
Dublin, OH
As you enter the house of God, keep your ears open and your mouth shut. It is evil to make mindless offerings to God.H8104
