Ecclesiastes 5:8-6:12
International Standard Version
The Use and Abuse of Wealth
8 Don’t be surprised when you see the poor oppressed and the violent perverting both justice and verdicts[a] in a province, for one high official watches another, and there are ones higher still over them. 9 Also, the increase of the land belongs to everyone; the king himself is served by his[b] field.
10 Whoever loves money will never have enough money.
Whoever loves luxury will not be content with abundance.
This also is pointless.
11 When possessions increase,
so does the number of consumers;
therefore what good are they to their owners,
except to look at them?
12 Sweet is the sleep of a working man,
whether he eats a little or a lot,
but the excess wealth of the rich
will not allow him to rest.
13 I have observed a painful tragedy on earth:
Wealth hoarded by its owner harms him,
14 and that wealth is lost in troubled circumstances.
Then a son is born,
but there is nothing left for him.[c]
15 Just as he came naked from his mother’s womb,
he will leave[d] as naked as he came;
he will receive no profit from his efforts—
he cannot carry away even a handful.
16 This is also a painful tragedy:
However a person comes, he also departs;
so what does he gain as he labors after the wind?
17 Furthermore, all his days he lives[e] in darkness
with great sorrow, anger, and affliction.
The Use and Abuse of Accomplishment
18 Look! I observed that it is good and prudent to eat, drink, and enjoy all that is good of a person’s[f] work that he does on earth during the limited days of his life, which God gives him, for this is his allotment. 19 Furthermore, for every person to whom God has given wealth, riches, and the ability to enjoy them, to accept this allotment, and to rejoice in his work—this is a gift from God. 20 For he will not brood much over the days of his life, since God will keep him occupied with the joys of his heart.
Enjoyment of Life as a Gift from God
6 There exists another misfortune that I have observed on earth, and it is a heavy burden upon human beings: 2 a man to whom God gives wealth, riches, and honor, so that he lacks none of his heart’s desires—but God does not give him the capability to enjoy them. Instead, a stranger consumes them. This is pointless and a grievous affliction.
3 A man might father a hundred children,[g] and live for many years, so that the length of his life[h] is long—but if his life does not overflow with goodness, and he doesn’t receive a proper[i] burial, I maintain that stillborn children[j] are better off than he is, 4 because stillborn children[k] arrive in pointlessness, leave in darkness, and their names are covered in darkness. 5 Furthermore, though they never saw the sun nor learned anything,[l] they are more content than the other. 6 Even if he lives a thousand years twice over without experiencing the best—aren’t all of them going to the same place?
7 Every person works for his own self-interests,[m]
but his desires remain unsatisfied.
8 For what advantage has the wise person over the fool?
What advantage does the poor man have
in knowing how to face life?[n]
9 It is better to focus on what you can see
than to meander after your self-interest;
this also is pointless and a chasing after wind.
10 Whatever exists has been named already;[o]
people know what it means[p] to be human—
and a person cannot defeat one who is more powerful than he.
11 Because many words lead to pointlessness,
how do people benefit from this?
12 Who knows what is best for people in this life, every day of their pointless lives that they pass through[q] like a shadow? Who informs people on earth what will come along after them?
Footnotes
- Ecclesiastes 5:8 Or judgment
- Ecclesiastes 5:9 The Heb. lacks his
- Ecclesiastes 5:14 Lit. nothing in his hand
- Ecclesiastes 5:15 Lit. return
- Ecclesiastes 5:17 Lit. eats
- Ecclesiastes 5:18 Lit. of his
- Ecclesiastes 6:3 The Heb. lacks children
- Ecclesiastes 6:3 Lit. years
- Ecclesiastes 6:3 The Heb. lacks proper
- Ecclesiastes 6:3 Lit. child; and so through v. 5
- Ecclesiastes 6:4 Lit. because he
- Ecclesiastes 6:5 The Heb. lacks anything
- Ecclesiastes 6:7 Lit. for his mouth
- Ecclesiastes 6:8 Lit. knows to walk before the living
- Ecclesiastes 6:10 I.e. its destiny is known
- Ecclesiastes 6:10 Lit. already; it is known
- Ecclesiastes 6:12 Or they spend
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