Hello, this is Father Paul, and I'm glad we're
taking this journey together to read the Bible
in a year. Today's reading is from Ecclesiastes
chapters 5 through 8. Chapter 5. Walk prudently
when you go to the house of God, and draw near
to hear rather than to give the sacrifice of
fools, for they do not know that they do evil.
Do not be rash with your mouth, and let not your
heart utter anything hastily before God, for
God is in heaven and you are on earth. Therefore
let your words be few, for a dream comes through
much activity, and a fool's voice is known by
his many words. When you make a vow to God, do
not delay to pay it, for he has no pleasure in
fools. Pay what you have vowed. Better not to
vow than to vow and not pay. Do not let your
mouth cause your flesh to sin, nor say before
the messenger of God that it was an error. Why
should God be angry at your excuse and destroy
the work of your hands? For in the multitude
of dreams and many words there is also vanity,
but fear God. If you see the oppression of the
poor and the violent perversion of justice and
righteousness in a province, do not marvel at
the matter. For high official watches over high
official, and higher officials are over them.
Moreover, the profit of the land is for all.
Even the king is served from the field. He who
loves silver will not be satisfied with silver,
nor he who loves abundance with increase. This
also is vanity. When goods increase, they increase
who eat them. So what profit have the owners
except to see them with their eyes? The sleep
of a laboring man is sweet, whether he eats little
or much, but the abundance of the rich will not
permit him to sleep. There is a severe evil which
I have seen under the sun. Riches kept for their
owner to his hurt, but those riches perish through
misfortune. When he begets a son, there is nothing
in his hand. As he came from his mother's womb,
naked shall he return, to go as he came, and
he shall take nothing from his labor, which he
may carry away in his hand. And this also is
a severe evil. Just exactly as he came, so shall
he go. And what profit has he who has labored
for the wind? All his days he also eats in darkness,
and he has much sorrow and sickness and anger.
Here is what I have seen. Chapter 6 There is
an evil which I have seen under the sun, and
it is common among men, a man to whom God has
given riches and wealth and honor, so that he
lacks nothing for himself of all he desires.
Yet God does not give him power to eat of it,
but a foreigner consumes it. This is vanity,
and it is an evil affliction. If a man begets
a hundred children and lives many years, so that
the days of his years are many, but his soul
is not satisfied with goodness, or indeed he
has no burial, I say that a stillborn child is
better than he. For it comes in vanity and departs
in darkness, and its name is covered with darkness.
Though it has not seen the sun or known anything,
this has more rest than that man, even if he
lives a thousand years twice, but has not seen
goodness. Do not all go to one place? All the
labor of man is for his mouth, and yet the soul
is not satisfied. For what more has the wise
man than the fool? What does the poor man have
who knows how to walk before the living? Better
is the sight of the eyes than the wandering of
desire. This also is vanity and grasping for
the wind. Whatever one is, he has been named
already, for it is known that he is man, and
he cannot contend with him who is mightier than
he. Since there are many things that increase
vanity, how is man the better? For who knows
what is good for man in life? all the days of
his vain life which he passes like a shadow.
Who can tell a man what will happen after him
under the sun? A good name is better than precious
ointment, and the day of death than the day of
one's birth. Better to go to the house of mourning
than to go to the house of feasting, for that
is the end of all men, and the living will take
it to heart. Sorrow is better than laughter,
for by a sad countenance the heart is made better.
The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning,
but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth.
It is better to hear the rebuke of the wise than
for a man to hear the song of fools. For like
the crackling of thorns under a pot, so is the
laughter of the fool. This also is vanity. Surely
oppression destroys a wise man's reason, and
a bribe debases the heart. The end of a thing
is better than its beginning. The patient in
spirit is better than the proud in spirit. Do
not hasten in your spirit to be angry, for anger
rests in the bosom of fools. Do not say, why
were the former days better than these? For you
do not inquire wisely concerning this. Wisdom
is good with an inheritance, and profitable to
those who see the sun. For wisdom is a defense,
as money is a defense. But the excellence of
knowledge is that wisdom gives life to those
who have it. Consider the work of God, for who
can make straight what he has made crooked? In
the day of prosperity be joyful, but in the day
of adversity consider. Surely God has appointed
the one as well as the other, so that man can
find out nothing that will come after him. I
have seen everything in my days of vanity. There
is a man who perishes in his righteousness, and
there is a wicked man who prolongs life in his
wickedness. Do not be overly righteous, nor be
overly wise. Why should you destroy yourself?
Do not be overly wicked, nor be foolish. Why
should you die before your time? It is good that
you grasp this, and also not remove your hand
from the other, for he who fears God will escape
them all. Wisdom strengthens the wise, more than
ten rulers of the city. For there is not a just
man on earth who does good and does not sin.
Also do not take to heart everything people say,
lest you hear your servant cursing you. for many
times also your own heart has known that even
you have cursed others all this i have proved
by wisdom i said i will be wise but it was far
from me as for that which is far off and exceedingly
deep who can find it out i applied my heart to
know to search and seek out wisdom and the reason
of things to know the wickedness of folly even
of foolishness and madness and i find more bitter
than death the woman whose heart is snares and
nets whose hands are fetters. He who pleases
God shall escape from her, but the sinner shall
be trapped by her. Here is what I have found,
says the preacher, adding one thing to the other
to find out the reason, which my soul still seeks
but I cannot find. One man among a thousand I
have found, but a woman among all these I have
not found. Truly, this only I have found, that
God made man upright, but they have sought out
many schemes. Chapter 8 Who is like a wise man,
and who knows the interpretation of a thing?
A man's wisdom makes his face shine, and the
sternness of his face is changed. I say, keep
the king's commandment for the sake of your oath
to God. Do not be hasty to go from his presence.
Do not take your stand for an evil thing, for
he does whatever pleases him. Where the word
of a king is, there is power. And who may say
to him, What are you doing? He who keeps his
command will experience nothing harmful. And
a wise man's heart discerns both time and judgment.
Because for every matter there is a time and
judgment. Though the misery of man increases
greatly, for he does not know what will happen.
So who can tell him when it will occur? No one
has power over the spirit to retain the spirit,
and no one has power in the day of death. There
is no release from that war. and wickedness will
not deliver those who are given to it. All this
I have seen, and applied my heart to every work
that is done under the sun. There is a time in
which one man rules over another to his own hurt.
Then I saw the wicked buried, who had come and
gone from the place of holiness, and they were
forgotten in the city where they had so done.
This also is vanity, because the sentence against
an evil work is not executed speedily. Therefore
the heart of the sons of men is fully set in
them to do evil. Though a sinner does evil a
hundred times and his days are prolonged, yet
I surely know that it will be well with those
who fear God, who fear before him. But it will
not be well with the wicked, nor will he prolong
his days, which are as a shadow, because he does
not fear before God. There is a vanity which
occurs on earth, that there are just men. to
whom it happens according to the work of the
wicked. Again, there are wicked men, to whom
it happens according to the work of the righteous.
I said that this also is vanity. So I commanded
enjoyment, because a man has nothing better under
the sun than to eat, drink, and be merry. For
this will remain with him in his labor all the
days of his life, which God gives him under the
sun. When I applied my heart to know wisdom and
to see the business that is done on earth, even
though one sees no sleep day or night, then I
saw all the work of God, that a man cannot find
out the work that is done under the sun. For
though a man labors to discover it, yet he will
not find it. Moreover, though a wise man attempts
to know it, he will not be able to find it. I
hope you enjoyed today's reading as much as I
did and I look forward to seeing you again tomorrow
to continue on our journey. God bless you and
have a great day.