Ecclesiastes 5:11

Ecclesiastes 5:11 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)When goods increase, they are increased that eat them: and what good is there to the owners thereof, saving the beholding of them with their eyes?
• New International Version (NIV)As goods increase, so do those who consume them. And what benefit are they to the owners except to feast their eyes on them?
• English Standard Version (ESV)When goods increase, they increase who eat them, and what advantage has their owner but to see them with his eyes?
• New King James Version (NKJV)When goods increase, They increase who eat them; So what profit have the owners Except to see them with their eyes?

Context of Ecclesiastes 5:11

9The produce of the earth is taken by all; the king himself profits from the fields. 10He who loves money is never satisfied by money, and he who loves wealth is never satisfied by income. This too is futile. When good things increase, so do those who consume them; what then is the profit to the owner, except to behold them with his eyes? 12The sleep of the worker is sweet, whether he eats little or much, but the abundance of the rich man permits him no sleep. 13There is a grievous evil I have seen under the sun: wealth hoarded to the harm of its owner,

Ecclesiastes 5:11 word by word

בִּרְבוֹת֙ הַטּוֹבָ֔ה רַבּ֖וּ אוֹכְלֶ֑יהָ וּמַה־כִּשְׁרוֹן֙ לִבְעָלֶ֔יהָ כִּ֖י אִם־רְא֥וּת עֵינָֽיו׃Read the interlinear

• When good thingsטוֹבָהţôb · welfareH2896
• increaseרָבָהrâbâh · to multiplyH7235
• so doרָבַבrâbab · to multiplyH7231
• those who consume themאָכַל'âkal · to eatH398
• what thenמָהmâh mah mâ ma meh · what?H4100
• is the profitכִּשְׁרוֹןkishrôn · skillH3788
• to the ownerבַּעַלba‛al · masterH1167
• exceptכִּי [אם]kîy · that if: exceptH3588
• exceptאִם'im · ifH518
• to behold themרַאיָּהra'ăvâh · to beholdH7207
• with his eyesעַ֫יִן‛ayin · eyeH5869

Cross-references for Ecclesiastes 5:11

• Genesis 12:16He treated Abram well on her account, and Abram acquired sheep and cattle, male and female donkeys, menservants and maidservants, and camels.
• Genesis 13:2And Abram had become extremely wealthy in livestock and silver and gold.
• 1 Kings 4:22Solomon’s provisions for a single day were thirty cors of fine flour, sixty cors of meal,
• 1 Kings 5:13Then King Solomon conscripted a labor force of 30,000 men from all Israel.
• Nehemiah 5:17There were 150 Jews and officials at my table, besides the guests from the surrounding nations.
• Psalms 119:36Turn my heart to Your testimonies and not to covetous gain.
• Ecclesiastes 6:9Better what the eye can see than the wandering of desire. This too is futile and a pursuit of the wind.
• Ecclesiastes 11:9Rejoice, O young man, while you are young, and let your heart be glad in the days of your youth. Walk in the ways of your heart and in the sight of your eyes, but know that for all these things God will bring you to judgment.
• Joshua 7:21When I saw among the spoils a beautiful cloak from Shinar, two hundred shekels of silver, and a bar of gold weighing fifty shekels, I coveted them and took them. They are hidden in the ground inside my tent, with the silver underneath.”
• Proverbs 23:5When you glance at wealth, it disappears, for it makes wings for itself and flies like an eagle to the sky.
• Jeremiah 17:11Like a partridge hatching eggs it did not lay is the man who makes a fortune unjustly. In the middle of his days his riches will desert him, and in the end he will be the fool.”
• Habakkuk 2:13Is it not indeed from the LORD of Hosts that the labor of the people only feeds the fire, and the nations weary themselves in vain?
• 1 John 2:16For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh, the desires of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not from the Father but from the world.

Commentaries on Ecclesiastes 5:11

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 11When goods increase - An increase of property always brings an increase of expense, by a multitude of servants; and the owner really possesses no more, and probably enjoys much less, than he did, when every day provided its own bread, and could lay up no store for the next. But if he have more enjoyment, his cares are multiplied; and he has no kind of profit. "This also is vanity."Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 11They … that eat them - i. e., The laborers employed, and the household servants.Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 9-17Verses 9-17 The goodness of Providence is more equally distributed than appears to a careless observer. The king needs the common things of life, and the poor share them; they relish their morsel better than he does his luxuries. There are bodily desires which silver itself will not satisfy, much less will worldly abundance satisfy spiritual desires. The more men have, the better house they must keep, the more servants they must employ, the more guests…Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1111. they ... that eat them--the rich man's dependents (Psa 23:5).Read the comment

Topics related to Ecclesiastes 5:11

• Avarice
• Covetousness
• Riches

In the dictionaries

• Abundance
• Angry
• Defer
• Eat
• Error
• Vow
• Good
• Goods
• Save
• Synagogue, the Great

Commentaries on Ecclesiastes 5

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings