As you enter the house of God, keep your ears open and your mouth shut. It is evil to make mindless offerings to God. (Ecclesiastes 5:1 NLT)
Call me a Redneck, but I like the phrase keep your ears open and your mouth shut. Several other versions on this verse follow:
(CEV) Be careful what you do when you enter the house of God. Some fools go there to offer sacrifices, even though they haven't sinned. But it's best just to listen when you go to worship.
(ESV) Guard your steps when you go to the house of God. To draw near to listen is better than to offer the sacrifice of fools, for they do not know that they are doing evil.
(GNB) Be careful about going to the Temple. It is better to go there to learn than to offer sacrifices like foolish people who don't know right from wrong.
(GW) Watch your step when you go to the house of God. It is better to go there and listen than to bring the sacrifices fools bring. Fools are unaware that they are doing something evil.
(KJV) Keep thy foot when thou goest to the house of God, and be more ready to hear, than to give the sacrifice of fools: for they consider not that they do evil.
(NET) Be careful what you do when you go to the temple of God; draw near to listen rather than to offer a sacrifice like fools, for they do not realize that they are doing wrong.
(NIrV) 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.
(TNIV) Guard your steps when you go to the house of God. Go near to listen rather than to offer the sacrifice of fools, who do not know that they do wrong.
Ecclesiastes 5:10-11 also caught my eye.
Those who love money will never have enough. How meaningless to think that wealth brings true happiness! The more you have, the more people come to help you spend it. So what good is wealth--except perhaps to watch it slip through your fingers!
For comparison, I include the TNIV on these verses.
Those who love money never have enough; those who love wealth are never satisfied with their income. This too is meaningless. As goods increase, so do those who consume them. And what benefit are they to the owners except to feast their eyes on them?
11 comments:
Good comparison, Stan. The NLT is quite readable and truly makes things clear.
But I get the sense that at the end of 5:11 two different impressions in both the NLT and the TNIV. What you think?
TC, While I was reading from the NLT this morning I kept thinking I might have to get the fancy leather version of it. It reads SO well!
I think I know what you mean regarding the end of verse 11.
The NLT has you watching your riches slip away.
The TNIV has you watching your riches perhaps for the sake of watching them. Perhaps there is a hint of hoping they never vanish.
Is that what you had in mind?
Stan, you got it. So there's a bit of a difference.
Biblicaltruth,
well first of all I think comments should be judged by what is said and not who has said them
My blog = My rules.
so I am keeping my identity secret
Why must you torment me?! I identify myself as a redneck yet you provoke me. If you want to post here I have asked in a kind manner for some minimal personal information. No social security numbers or addresses.
Because I want my blog to be fitting and orderly I ask that you abide by my rules if you're going to post. Otherwise, your posts will be deleted.
I still don't see it.
to see my profile click on my display name...
I am curious though what the reason for this is, if you are having an honest discussion that is focused on facts and not on the authority of man why does each person need to disclose who they are and what they do to earn money.
Is the truth different if one person tells it rather then another?
Is a truth valid if a professor speaks it and not it a student does?
Biblicaltruth,
I see it. It's been a rough week and my eyes aren't working too well right now.
I am curious though what the reason for this is
Now you're trying my patience. You see the rules. If a previous comment I made a simple request: abide by my rules if you're going to post. Why must you whine?
Having additional information about people helps keep people honest. I have found a lot of people on the internet who like to go off and attack one thing/person or another and do it anonymously. To me, that's cowardice. I don't want cowards posting here. It's that simple.
Let's take your original comment. You stated I read a good book on ecclesiastes that talks about Solomons background, and the themes of the book, "______ _____". Has anyone else read this book?
I searched for the information on the book and found hardly anything. However, one thing I did find was a blog run by someone with a username of jvand1979 who is the author of the book. Now that you've posted some information on your blogger account I find that your email address is jvand1979@gmail.com.
Hmmm. Coincidence? Highly unlikely.
It sounds like you were trying to peddle your book by acting as though you are not the author but rather someone who had read a "good book" and asked if anyone else had read it.
Shameful.
Consider yourself banned.
As I previously quoted:
But everything should be done in a fitting and orderly way. (TNIV)
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