1. Be careful what you say when you go to God's house. Go there to listen. Don't be like foolish people when you offer your sacrifice. They do what is wrong and don't even know it.
2. Don't be too quick to speak. Don't be in a hurry to say anything to God. He is in heaven. You are on earth. So use only a few words when you speak.
3. Dreams come to people when they worry a lot. When foolish people talk, they use too many words.
4. When you make a promise to God, don't wait too long to carry it out. He isn't pleased with foolish people. So do what you have promised.
5. It is better to make no promise at all than to make a promise and not keep it.
6. Don't let your mouth cause you to sin. Don't object to the temple messenger. Don't say, "My promise was a mistake." Why should God be angry with what you say? Why should he destroy what you have done?
7. Dreaming too much and talking too much are meaningless. So have respect for God.
8. Suppose you see poor people being mistreated somewhere. And what is being done to them isn't right or fair. Don't be surprised by that. One official is watched by a higher one. Others who are even higher are watching both of them.
9. All of them take what the land produces. And the king himself takes his share from the fields.
10. Anyone who loves money never has enough. Anyone who loves wealth is never satisfied with what he gets. That doesn't have any meaning either.
11. As more and more goods are made, more and more people use them up. So how can those goods benefit their owner? All he can do is look at them with longing.
12. The sleep of a worker is sweet. It doesn't matter whether he eats a little or a lot. But the wealth of a rich man keeps him awake at night.
13. I've seen something very evil on earth. It's when wealth is stored up and then brings harm to its owner.
14. It's also when wealth is lost because of an unwise business deal. Then there won't be anything left for the owner's son.
15. A man is born naked. He comes into the world with nothing. And he goes out of it with nothing. He doesn't get anything from his work that he can take with him.
16. Here's something else that is very evil. A man is born, and a man dies. And what does he get for his work? Nothing. It's like working for the wind.
17. All his life he eats in darkness. His life is full of trouble, suffering and anger.
18. I realized that it's good and proper for a man to eat and drink. It's good for him to be satisfied with his hard work on this earth. That's what he should do during the few days of life God has given him. That's what God made him for.
19. Sometimes God gives a man wealth and possessions. He makes it possible for him to enjoy them. He helps him accept the life he has given him. He helps him to be happy in his work. All of those things are gifts from God.