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

9All of them take something for themselves from the land. The king himself receives his share of the crops. 10People who love money never have enough. They may get more and more valuable things, but they are never happy. This also has no purpose. As a person's money becomes more, there are more people who want a share of it. Money does not help the people who have a lot of it. They see it, but it quickly disappears. 12Someone who has worked hard all day will sleep well at night. That is true even if they have not had much food to eat. But the rich man worries about his riches. So he does not sleep well. 13I have seen another terrible thing that happens on the earth. Some people may store their riches, but it does not help them in a time of trouble.

Ecclesiastes 5:11 word by word

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

Words taken from the KJV.

• When goodsטוֹבָהţôb · welfareH2896
• increaseרָבָהrâbâh · to multiplyH7235
• they are increasedרָבַבrâbab · to multiplyH7231
• that eatאָכַל'âkal · to eatH398
• them: and what goodכִּשְׁרוֹןkishrôn · skillH3788
• to the ownersבַּעַלba‛al · masterH1167
• thereof, savingאִם'im · ifH518
• the beholdingרְאוּתre'îyth · sightH7212
• the beholdingרַאיָּהra'ăvâh · to beholdH7207
• with their eyesעַ֫יִן‛ayin · eyeH5869

Cross-references for Ecclesiastes 5:11

• Genesis 12:16Pharaoh did good things to help Abram because of Sarai. He gave Abram sheep, cows, donkeys and camels. He also gave Abram male servants and female servants.
• Genesis 13:2Abram had many valuable things. He had many cows, and much silver and gold.
• 1 Kings 4:22This is the food that Solomon and the people in his palace ate each day: 5,000 litres of flour. 10,000 litres of grain.
• 1 Kings 5:13King Solomon commanded 30,000 men from everywhere in Israel to do the work.
• Nehemiah 5:17150 Jews and their officers ate meals with me. There were also people who came to visit from countries that were near to us.
• Psalms 119:36Help me to love your rules. That is better for me than riches.
• Ecclesiastes 6:9It is good to enjoy the things that we have. That is better than to want more things all the time. If you always try to get more things, that has no purpose. It is like somebody who tries to catch the wind.
• Ecclesiastes 11:9Young people, enjoy your life while you are young. Do the things that you think are good. Enjoy the things that you see. But remember that God will judge you for all the things that you do.
• Joshua 7:21I found a beautiful coat from Babylon, and I found 200 silver coins, and a piece of gold that weighed half a kilogram. I wanted them so much that I took them for myself. I hid them in the ground in my tent. The silver coins are under the other things.’
• Proverbs 23:5Your money can disappear very quickly. It may seem to grow wings and then fly far away like an eagle.
• Jeremiah 17:11Someone may get rich because he cheats other people. He is like a bird that sits on eggs that it has taken from another nest. He will lose his riches before he is old. At the end of his life, he will die as a fool.’
• Habakkuk 2:13Listen! The Lord Almighty has commanded this: All the work that people do to get things for themselves is useless. The things that the nations work so hard to get will become smoke!
• 1 John 2:16What are the wrong things that belong to this world? People want to do bad things to make themselves happy. People want to have things that they see, even bad things. People want to show other people how rich they are. These ideas do not come from God, our Father. They are the thoughts of people who belong to 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