Whoever loves money never has enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with their income. This too is meaningless. | Those who love money will never have enough. How meaningless to think that wealth brings true happiness! |
And I saw that all toil and all achievement spring from one person’s envy of another. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind. | Then I observed that most people are motivated to success because they envy their neighbors. But this, too, is meaningless—like chasing the wind. |
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So then, banish anxiety from your heart and cast off the troubles of your body, for youth and vigor are meaningless. | So refuse to worry, and keep your body healthy. But remember that youth, with a whole life before you, is meaningless. |
Dishonest money dwindles away, but whoever gathers money little by little makes it grow. | Wealth from get-rich-quick schemes quickly disappears; wealth from hard work grows over time. |
Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves. | Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. |
Keep falsehood and lies far from me; give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread. | First, help me never to tell a lie. Second, give me neither poverty nor riches! Give me just enough to satisfy my needs. |
For the practices of the peoples are worthless; they cut a tree out of the forest, and a craftsman shapes it with his chisel. They adorn it with silver and gold; they fasten it with hammer and nails so it will not totter. Like a scarecrow in a cucumber field, their idols cannot speak; they must be carried because they cannot walk. Do not fear them; they can do no harm nor can they do any good. | Their ways are futile and foolish. They cut down a tree, and a craftsman carves an idol. They decorate it with gold and silver and then fasten it securely with hammer and nails so it won’t fall over. Their gods are like helpless scarecrows in a cucumber field! They cannot speak, and they need to be carried because they cannot walk. Do not be afraid of such gods, for they can neither harm you nor do you any good. |