Ecclesiastes 5:8-20

The Vanity of Wealth and Honor

8 ¹If you see in a province the oppression of the poor and the violation of justice and righteousness, ²do not be amazed at the matter, ³for the high official is watched by a higher, and there are yet higher ones over them.

9 But this is gain for a land in every way: a king committed to cultivated fields.^[a]

10 He who loves money will not be satisfied with money, nor he who loves wealth with his income; this also is vanity.

11 When goods increase, they increase who eat them, and what advantage has their owner but to see them with his eyes?

12 Sweet is the sleep of a laborer, whether he eats little or much, but the full stomach of the rich will not let him sleep.

13 ⁴There is a grievous evil that I have seen under the sun: riches were kept by their owner to his hurt,

14 and those riches were lost in a bad venture. And he is father of a son, but he has nothing in his hand.

15 ⁵As he came from his mother's womb he shall go again, naked as he came, and shall take nothing for his toil that he may carry away in his hand.

16 This also is a grievous evil: just as he came, so shall he go, and what ⁶gain is there to him who ⁷toils for the wind?

17 Moreover, all his days he ⁸eats in darkness in much vexation and sickness and anger.

18 Behold, what I have seen to be ⁹good and fitting is to eat and drink and find enjoyment^[b] in all the toil with which one toils under the sun the few days of his life that God has given him, for this is his ¹⁰lot.

19 Everyone also to whom ¹¹God has given ¹²wealth and possessions ¹³and power to enjoy them, and to accept his lot and rejoice in his toil--this is ¹⁴the gift of God.

20 For he will not much remember the days of his life because God keeps him occupied with joy in his heart.

Ecclesiastes 5:8-20 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO ECCLESIASTES 5

This chapter contains some rules and directions concerning the worship of God; how persons should behave when they go into the house of God; concerning hearing the word, to which there should be a readiness, and which should be preferred to the sacrifices of fools, Ec 5:1. Concerning prayer to God; which should not be uttered rashly and hastily, and should be expressed in few words; which is urged from the consideration of the majesty of God, and vileness of men; and the folly of much speaking is exposed by the simile of a dream, Ec 5:2,3. Concerning vows, which should not be rashly made; when made, should be kept; nor should excuses be afterwards framed for not performing them, since this might bring the anger of God upon men, to the destruction of the works of their hands, Ec 5:4-6; and, as an antidote against those vanities, which appear in the prayers and vows of some, and dreams of others, the fear of God is proposed, Ec 5:7; and, against any surprise at the oppression of the poor, the majesty, power, and providence of God, and his special regard to his people, are observed, Ec 5:8. And then the wise man enters into a discourse concerning riches; and observes, that the fruits of the earth, and the culture of it, are necessary to all men, and even to the king, Ec 5:9; but dissuades from covetousness, or an over love of riches; because they are unsatisfying, are attended with much trouble, often injurious to the owners of them; at length perish, and their possessors; who, at death, are stripped quite naked of all, after they have spent their days in darkness and distress, Ec 5:10-17; and concludes, therefore, that it is best for a man to enjoy, in a free manner, the good things of this life he is possessed of, and consider them as the gifts of God, and be thankful for them; by which means he will pass through the world more comfortably, and escape the troubles that attend others, Ec 5:18-20.

Cross References

• 1. Ecclesiastes 3:16; Ecclesiastes 4:1
• 2. [1 Peter 4:12]
• 3. [Psalms 12:5; Psalms 58:11; Psalms 82:1]
• 4. Ecclesiastes 6:1
• 5. See Job 1:21
• 6. See Ecclesiastes 1:3
• 7. [Proverbs 11:29]
• 8. [Psalms 127:2]
• 9. See Ecclesiastes 2:24
• 10. See Ecclesiastes 2:10
• 11. Ecclesiastes 6:2; [Ecclesiastes 2:24]
• 12. 2 Chronicles 1:11
• 13. [Ecclesiastes 6:2]
• 14. See Ecclesiastes 3:13

Footnotes

• [a]. The meaning of the Hebrew verse is uncertain
• [b]. Or and see good