¶ Keep thy foot¹ when thou goest to the house of God, and be more ready² to hear, than to give³ the sacrifice of fools: for they consider not that they do evil.

Be not rash⁴ with thy mouth, and let not thine heart be hasty to utter any thing⁵ before God: for God is in heaven, and thou upon earth: therefore let thy⁶ words be few.

For a dream cometh through the multitude of business; and a fool's⁷ voice is known by multitude of words.

¶ When thou vowest⁸ a vow unto God, defer not to pay it; for⁹ he hath no pleasure in fools: pay¹⁰ that which thou hast vowed.

¹¹Better is it that thou shouldest not vow, than that thou shouldest vow and not pay.

Suffer not thy mouth¹² to cause thy flesh to sin; neither say thou before¹³ the angel, that it was¹⁵ an error: wherefore should God be angry at thy voice, and destroy¹⁶ the work of thine hands?

For in the¹⁷ multitude of dreams and many words there are also divers vanities: but¹⁸ fear thou God.

If thou seest¹⁹ the oppression of the poor, and violent perverting of judgment and justice in a province, marvel²⁰ not at the matter²¹: for²² he that is higher than the highest regardeth²³; and there be higher than they²⁴.

¶ Moreover the profit²⁵ of the earth is for all: the king²⁶ himself is served by the field.

¶ He that²⁷ loveth silver shall not be satisfied with silver; nor he that loveth abundance with increase: this²⁸ is also vanity.

When goods increase, they²⁹ are increased that eat them: and what³⁰ good is there to the owners thereof, saving the beholding of them with their eyes?

³¹The 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.

There is a sore³² evil which I have seen under the sun, namely, riches³³ kept for the owners thereof to their hurt.

But those³⁴ riches perish by evil travail: and he³⁵ begetteth a son, and there is nothing in his hand.

³⁶As 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.

And this also is a sore³⁷ evil, that in all points as he came, so shall he go: and what³⁸ profit hath he that hath laboured for³⁹ the wind?

All his days also he eateth⁴⁰ in darkness, and he hath much⁴¹ sorrow and wrath with his sickness.

¶ Behold that which I have seen: it is good and comely⁴² for one to eat and to drink, and to enjoy the good of all his labour that he taketh under the sun all the days⁴³ of his life, which God giveth him: for it is his portion.

Every man also to whom⁴⁴ 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 is⁴⁵ the gift of God.

¶ For he shall not much remember⁴⁶ the days of his life; because⁴⁷ God answereth him in the joy of his heart.