Ecclesiastes / Chapter 5

Ecclesiastes 5

19 verses • Westminster Leningrad Codex

Translator's Introduction

What This Chapter Is About

The chapter opens with a rare direct instruction on how to approach God: guard your steps when you go to the house of God, let your words be few, and fulfill your vows. Qohelet then turns to the familiar theme of oppression, noting the bureaucratic chain of exploitation where official watches over official. The second half addresses the futility of wealth: the one who loves money is never satisfied, the rich man's sleep is disturbed, and a devastating misfortune can wipe out everything, leaving a man naked as the day he was born. The chapter closes with the fourth enjoyment passage: to eat, drink, and find satisfaction in one's toil during the few days God gives is itself God's gift.

What Makes This Chapter Remarkable

The opening verses (1-7) are the only sustained passage in Ecclesiastes that sounds like conventional religious instruction. Qohelet, who elsewhere questions everything, here speaks with uncharacteristic directness about reverence before God. The shift is striking: the skeptic becomes the preacher. But even here, the counsel is rooted in Qohelet's characteristic realism — God is in heaven and you are on earth, so keep your words few. The distance between God and humanity is not a theological problem to solve but a fact to respect. The poverty-at-death image (vv. 15-16) — arriving naked and departing naked, carrying nothing — will echo through centuries of literature and be directly quoted in Job 1:21 (which may be the older text that Qohelet draws from).

Translation Friction

The Hebrew versification of chapter 5 differs from the English. What is 5:1 in Hebrew is 4:17 in many English versions, shifting the entire chapter by one verse. We follow the Hebrew versification throughout. The phrase 'do not let your mouth cause your flesh to sin' (v. 5) is textually difficult — 'flesh' (basar) here likely means 'body' or 'self' rather than 'physical flesh,' and the 'messenger' (mal'akh) before whom one speaks may be a priest, a temple official, or an angelic being. The ambiguity is preserved in the rendering.

Connections

The vow-keeping instruction echoes Deuteronomy 23:21-23 ('when you make a vow to the LORD your God, do not delay fulfilling it'). The 'God is in heaven, you are on earth' theology connects to Isaiah 55:8-9 ('my thoughts are not your thoughts'). The naked-at-birth/naked-at-death image parallels Job 1:21 ('naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked I will return'). The enjoyment passage (vv. 18-20) is the most developed so far and introduces the idea that God keeps a person occupied with the joy of his heart.

Ecclesiastes 5:1

אַל־תְּבַהֵ֣ל עַל־פִּ֗יךָ וְלִבְּךָ֙ אַל־יְמַהֵ֔ר לְהוֹצִ֥יא דָבָ֖ר לִפְנֵ֣י הָאֱלֹהִ֑ים כִּ֣י הָאֱלֹהִ֤ים בַּשָּׁמַ֙יִם֙ וְאַתָּ֣ה עַל־הָאָ֔רֶץ עַל־כֵּ֛ן יִהְי֥וּ דְבָרֶ֖יךָ מְעַטִּֽים׃

Do not be hasty with your mouth, and do not let your heart rush to bring a word before God. For God is in heaven and you are on earth — therefore let your words be few.

KJV 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.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The verb bahel ('to be hasty, to be alarmed') suggests reckless speech born of anxiety rather than reverence. The instruction addresses prayer and temple worship — the 'house of God' context from the Hebrew 4:17 (English 5:1 in some versions) carries over. The contrast between heaven and earth is cosmological but also relational: it defines the posture of the worshiper.
Ecclesiastes 5:2

כִּ֛י בָּ֥א הַחֲל֖וֹם בְּרֹ֣ב עִנְיָ֑ן וְק֥וֹל כְּסִ֖יל בְּרֹ֥ב דְּבָרִֽים׃

For dreams come with many cares, and a fool's voice with many words.

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

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The proverb links two parallel phenomena: excessive cares produce disordered dreams, and excessive words mark the fool. The comparison implies that many words before God are as disjointed and useless as anxiety dreams — sound without substance.
Ecclesiastes 5:3

כַּאֲשֶׁ֨ר תִּדֹּ֥ר נֶ֙דֶר֙ לֵֽאלֹהִ֔ים אַל־תְּאַחֵ֖ר לְשַׁלְּמ֑וֹ כִּ֣י אֵ֥ין חֵ֙פֶץ֙ בַּכְּסִילִ֔ים אֵ֥ת אֲשֶׁר־תִּדֹּ֖ר שַׁלֵּֽם׃

When you make a vow to God, do not delay fulfilling it, for he takes no pleasure in fools. Fulfill what you vow.

KJV 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.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The vow instruction echoes Deuteronomy 23:21-23 almost verbatim. The characterization of the vow-breaker as a kesil ('fool') places this in wisdom's moral framework: failing to keep a vow is not just wrong, it is foolish — it misreads the character of God.
Ecclesiastes 5:4

ט֖וֹב אֲשֶׁ֣ר לֹא־תִדֹּ֑ר מִשֶּׁתִּדּ֖וֹר וְלֹ֥א תְשַׁלֵּֽם׃

Better not to vow at all than to vow and not fulfill it.

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

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The 'better than' proverb applies Qohelet's realism to religious practice: do not make promises to God that you cannot keep. The absence of a vow is preferable to a broken one. This is not discouraging vows but insisting on integrity in making them.
Ecclesiastes 5:5

אַל־תִּתֵּ֥ן אֶת־פִּ֖יךָ לַחֲטִ֣יא אֶת־בְּשָׂרֶ֑ךָ וְאַל־תֹּאמַר֙ לִפְנֵ֣י הַמַּלְאָ֔ךְ כִּ֥י שְׁגָגָ֖ה הִ֑יא לָ֣מָּה יִקְצֹ֤ף הָאֱלֹהִים֙ עַל־קוֹלֶ֔ךָ וְחִבֵּ֖ל אֶת־מַעֲשֵׂ֥ה יָדֶֽיךָ׃

Do not let your mouth lead your body into sin, and do not say before the messenger, 'It was a mistake.' Why should God be angry at your words and destroy the work of your hands?

KJV 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?

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The mal'akh ('messenger') is likely a temple priest who collects vow offerings (Malachi 2:7 calls the priest a 'messenger of the LORD'). The excuse shegagah hi ('it was an inadvertent error') is the technical term for unintentional sin (Leviticus 4:2; Numbers 15:25). Qohelet warns against misusing this category to escape a deliberate vow.
Ecclesiastes 5:6

כִּ֣י בְּרֹ֤ב חֲלֹמוֹת֙ וַהֲבָלִ֔ים וּדְבָרִ֖ים הַרְבֵּ֑ה כִּ֥י אֶת־הָאֱלֹהִ֖ים יְרָֽא׃

For in many dreams and many words there is much vapor. Rather, fear God.

KJV For in the multitude of dreams and many words there are also divers vanities: but fear thou God.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The section closes with a terse command: et ha-Elohim yera ('fear God'). After all the warnings about hasty speech, unfulfilled vows, and many words, the summary is stark: reverence. The havalim ('vapors, futilities') associated with excessive dreaming and speaking are swept aside by the single imperative.
Ecclesiastes 5:7

אִם־עֹ֣שֶׁק רָ֠שׁ וְגֵ֨זֶל מִשְׁפָּ֤ט וָצֶ֙דֶק֙ תִּרְאֶ֣ה בַמְּדִינָ֔ה אַל־תִּתְמַ֖הּ עַל־הַחֵ֑פֶץ כִּ֣י גָבֹ֜הַּ מֵעַ֤ל גָּבֹ֙הַּ֙ שֹׁמֵ֔ר וּגְבֹהִ֖ים עֲלֵיהֶֽם׃

If you see oppression of the poor and the denial of justice and righteousness in a province, do not be astonished at the matter. For one official is watched by a higher one, and there are still higher ones over them.

KJV 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.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The word gavo'ah me-al gavo'ah ('high one above high one') describes a bureaucratic hierarchy of exploitation. Each official takes his cut and passes the responsibility upward. The instruction 'do not be astonished' (al titmah) is not a counsel of indifference but of realism — this is how power structures work. The chain of exploitation explains why reform is so difficult: the corruption is systemic.
Ecclesiastes 5:8

וְיִתְר֥וֹן אֶ֖רֶץ בַּכֹּ֣ל הִ֑יא מֶ֖לֶךְ לְשָׂדֶ֥ה נֶעֱבָֽד׃

But the advantage of land is for everyone — even a king is served by the field.

KJV Moreover the profit of the earth is for all: the king himself is served by the field.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. This cryptic verse seems to assert that agricultural land is the one form of wealth that benefits all levels of society. Even the king depends on the field (sadeh) for food. The point may be that despite all the bureaucratic exploitation described in verse 7, the basic economy of the earth still functions and feeds everyone.
Ecclesiastes 5:9

אֹהֵ֥ב כֶּ֖סֶף לֹא־יִשְׂבַּ֣ע כָּ֑סֶף וּמִי־אֹהֵ֤ב בֶּהָמוֹן֙ לֹ֣א תְבוּאָ֔ה גַּם־זֶ֖ה הָֽבֶל׃

The one who loves money will never be satisfied with money, and the one who loves wealth will never be satisfied with income. This too is vapor.

KJV He that loveth silver shall not be satisfied with silver; nor he that loveth abundance with increase: this is also vanity.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The proverb diagnoses the paradox of wealth: loving money (kessef) guarantees that money will never be enough. The verb yisba ('be satisfied, be sated') is the same word used for eating one's fill — the money-lover's hunger is insatiable. The parallel 'loves abundance / no income satisfies' reinforces the point: desire outpaces acquisition.
Ecclesiastes 5:10

בִּרְבּ֥וֹת הַטּוֹבָ֖ה רַבּ֣וּ אוֹכְלֶ֑יהָ וּמַה־כִּשְׁר֣וֹן לִבְעָלֶ֔יהָ כִּ֖י אִם־רְא֥וּת עֵינָֽיו׃

When goods increase, so do those who consume them. What benefit do their owners have except to look at them?

KJV 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?

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. Wealth attracts dependents. As goods (tovah, 'good things') increase, the number of mouths increases proportionally. The owner's only exclusive benefit is re'ut einav ('the sight of his eyes') — he can look at his wealth even if he cannot consume it all himself. The kishron ('advantage, benefit') is purely visual.
Ecclesiastes 5:11

מְתוּקָה֙ שְׁנַ֣ת הָעֹבֵ֔ד אִם־מְעַ֥ט וְאִם־הַרְבֵּ֖ה יֹאכֵ֑ל וְהַשָּׂבָע֙ לֶֽעָשִׁ֔יר אֵינֶ֛נּוּ מַנִּ֥יחַ ל֖וֹ לִישֽׁוֹן׃

The sleep of the worker is sweet, whether he eats little or much; but the abundance of the rich will not let him sleep.

KJV 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.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. A vivid contrast. The oved ('laborer, worker') sleeps sweetly because his body is tired and his mind is untroubled. The ashir ('rich man') lies awake because ha-sava ('the fullness, the abundance') generates anxiety — worry about loss, management, and protection. Wealth produces insomnia. This is one of Qohelet's sharpest social observations.
Ecclesiastes 5:12

יֵ֚שׁ רָעָ֣ה חוֹלָ֔ה רָאִ֖יתִי תַּ֣חַת הַשָּׁ֑מֶשׁ עֹ֛שֶׁר שָׁמ֥וּר לִבְעָלָ֖יו לְרָעָתֽוֹ׃

There is a sickening evil I have seen under the sun: wealth hoarded by its owner to his own harm.

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

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The phrase ra'ah cholah ('a sickening evil, a grievous ill') is stronger than the usual hevel verdict. The wealth that was supposed to protect becomes the very thing that harms. The word shamur ('guarded, hoarded, kept') suggests not just saving but clutching — the owner holds on and is destroyed by what he holds.
Ecclesiastes 5:13

וְאָבַ֛ד הָעֹ֥שֶׁר הַה֖וּא בְּעִנְיַ֣ן רָ֑ע וְהוֹלִ֣יד בֵּ֔ן וְאֵ֥ין בְּיָד֖וֹ מְאֽוּמָה׃

That wealth was lost in a bad venture, and though he fathered a son, he has nothing in his hand.

KJV But those riches perish by evil travail: and he begetteth a son, and there is nothing in his hand.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The inyan ra ('bad venture, evil occupation') that destroys the wealth may be a failed investment, a lawsuit, or a disaster. The result is that the son — the heir who was supposed to benefit — receives nothing. The phrase ein be-yado me'umah ('there is nothing at all in his hand') is total destitution.
Ecclesiastes 5:14

כַּאֲשֶׁ֤ר יָצָא֙ מִבֶּ֣טֶן אִמּ֔וֹ עָר֛וֹם יָשׁ֥וּב לָלֶ֖כֶת כְּשֶׁבָּ֑א וּמְא֙וּמָה֙ לֹא־יִשָּׂ֣א בַעֲמָל֔וֹ שֶׁיֹּלֵ֖ךְ בְּיָדֽוֹ׃

As he came from his mother's womb, so he will go again — naked as he arrived. He will carry nothing from his toil that he can take in his hand.

KJV 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.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The naked-at-birth/naked-at-death principle. The word arom ('naked, bare') marks both entrance and exit. The parallel with Job 1:21 is exact — whether Qohelet quotes Job or both draw from a common proverb, the point is identical: ownership is temporary. The phrase she-yolekh be-yado ('that he can carry in his hand') is poignantly physical — the hand that grasped and held and accumulated will be empty.
Ecclesiastes 5:15

וְגַם־זֹה֙ רָעָ֣ה חוֹלָ֔ה כׇּל־עֻמַּ֥ת שֶׁבָּ֖א כֵּ֣ן יֵלֵ֑ךְ וּמַה־יִּתְר֣וֹן ל֔וֹ שֶֽׁיַּעֲמֹ֖ל לָרֽוּחַ׃

This too is a sickening evil: exactly as he came, so he will go. What lasting gain is there for one who toils for the wind?

KJV 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?

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The 'sickening evil' verdict returns. The symmetry of coming and going (kol ummat she-ba ken yelekh, 'exactly as he came, so he goes') means no net change. The final question echoes 1:3 and uses the wind image: toiling for the wind is the same as chasing it — you end with nothing in your hands.
Ecclesiastes 5:16

גַּ֥ם כׇּל־יָמָ֖יו בַּחֹ֣שֶׁךְ יֹאכֵ֑ל וְכָעַ֥ס הַרְבֵּ֖ה וְחׇלְי֥וֹ וָקָֽצֶף׃

Moreover, all his days he eats in darkness with much vexation, sickness, and anger.

KJV Also all his days he eateth in darkness, and he hath much sorrow and wrath with his sickness.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. Eating in darkness (ba-choshekh yokhel) may be literal — too miserly to light a lamp — or metaphorical, suggesting a life shrouded in gloom. The three companions of his meals are ka'as ('vexation'), cholyo ('his sickness'), and qatsef ('fury, anger'). Wealth has produced not comfort but bitterness.
Ecclesiastes 5:17

הִנֵּ֞ה אֲשֶׁר־רָאִ֣יתִי אָ֗נִי ט֣וֹב אֲשֶׁר־יָפֶ֣ה לֶאֱכוֹל־וְלִשְׁתּ֣וֹת וְלִרְא֣וֹת טוֹבָ֡ה בְּכׇל־עֲמָל֣וֹ ׀ שֶׁיַּעֲמֹ֣ל תַּֽחַת־הַ֠שֶּׁ֠מֶשׁ מִסְפַּ֨ר יְמֵי־חַיָּ֜ו אֲשֶׁר־נָֽתַן־ל֧וֹ הָאֱלֹהִ֛ים כִּי־ה֖וּא חֶלְקֽוֹ׃

Here is what I have seen to be good and fitting: to eat and drink and experience good in all the toil at which one works under the sun during the few days of life God has given him — for this is his portion.

KJV 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.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The fourth enjoyment passage. The word yafeh ('fitting, beautiful, appropriate') elevates eating and drinking from mere survival to something aesthetically right — this is how life should be lived. The phrase mispar yeme chayyav ('the few days of his life') reminds the reader that the window for enjoyment is small, which makes receiving it all the more urgent.
Ecclesiastes 5:18

גַּ֣ם כׇּֽל־הָאָדָ֡ם אֲשֶׁ֣ר נָֽתַן־ל֣וֹ הָאֱלֹהִים֩ עֹ֨שֶׁר וּנְכָסִ֜ים וְהִשְׁלִיט֗וֹ לֶאֱכֹ֤ל מִמֶּ֙נּוּ֙ וְלָשֵׂ֣את אֶת־חֶלְק֔וֹ וְלִשְׂמֹ֖חַ בַּעֲמָל֑וֹ זֹ֕ה מַתַּ֥ת אֱלֹהִ֖ים הִֽיא׃

Moreover, everyone to whom God has given wealth and possessions and the ability to enjoy them, to accept his portion and find joy in his toil — this is a gift of God.

KJV 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.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The key distinction: God gives both the wealth and the ability to enjoy it. Having wealth without the ability to enjoy it (which will be the subject of 6:1-2) is a curse. The word hishlito ('enabled him, empowered him, gave him dominion') means enjoyment itself requires divine enablement — it is not automatic.
Ecclesiastes 5:19

כִּ֚י לֹ֣א הַרְבֵּ֔ה יִזְכֹּ֖ר אֶת־יְמֵ֣י חַיָּ֑יו כִּ֧י הָאֱלֹהִ֛ים מַעֲנֶ֖ה בְּשִׂמְחַ֥ת לִבּֽוֹ׃

For he will not dwell much on the days of his life, because God keeps him occupied with the joy of his heart.

KJV For he shall not much remember the days of his life; because God answereth him in the joy of his heart.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The remarkable closing image: the person who receives God's gift of enjoyment does not brood over the brevity of life. The verb ma'aneh ('keeps occupied, responds, answers') suggests that God fills the person's heart with simchah ('joy') so that the transience of life does not become a source of despair. Joy is God's answer to the problem of vapor.
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