God’s Word Translation
Ecclesiastes 5:10
10Whoever loves money will never be satisfied with money. Whoever loves wealth will never be satisfied with more income. Even this is pointless.
Ecclesiastes 5:10 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)He that loveth silver shall not be satisfied with silver; nor he that loveth abundance with increase: this is also vanity.
- New International Version (NIV)Whoever loves money never has enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with their income. This too is meaningless.
- English Standard Version (ESV)He who loves money will not be satisfied with money, nor he who loves wealth with his income; this also is vanity.
- New King James Version (NKJV)He who loves silver will not be satisfied with silver; Nor he who loves abundance, with increase. This also is vanity.
Context of Ecclesiastes 5:10
8Don’t be surprised if you see poor people being oppressed, denied justice, or denied their rights in any district. One authority is watching over another, and they both have authorities watching over them. 9Yet, a king is an advantage for a country with cultivated fields. Whoever loves money will never be satisfied with money. Whoever loves wealth will never be satisfied with more income. Even this is pointless. 11As the number of goods increase, so do the number of people who consume them. What do owners gain ⌞from all their goods⌟ except ⌞the opportunity⌟ to look at them? 12The sleep of working people is sweet, whether they eat a little or a lot. But the full stomachs that rich people have will not allow them to sleep.
Read all of Ecclesiastes 5Ecclesiastes 5:10 word by word
אֹהֵ֥ב כֶּ֙סֶף֙ לֹא־יִשְׂבַּ֣ע כֶּ֔סֶף וּמִֽי־אֹהֵ֥ב בֶּהָמ֖וֹן לֹ֣א תְבוּאָ֑ה גַּם־זֶ֖ה הָֽבֶל׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Ecclesiastes 5:10
- Ecclesiastes 4:8There are people who are all alone. They have no children or other family members. So there is no end to all the hard work they have to do. Their eyes are never satisfied with riches. But ⌞they never ask themselves⌟ why they are working so hard and depriving themselves of good things. Even this is pointless and a terrible tragedy.
- Ecclesiastes 6:7Everything that people work so hard for goes into their mouths, but their appetite is never satisfied.
- Psalms 52:1Why do you brag about the evil you’ve done, you hero? The mercy of God lasts all day long!
- Psalms 62:10Do not count on extortion ⌞to make you rich⌟. Do not hope to gain anything through robbery. When riches increase, do not depend on them.
- Proverbs 30:15The bloodsucking leech has two daughters—“Give!” and “Give!” Three things are never satisfied. Four never say, “Enough!”:
- Habakkuk 2:5Also because wine is treacherous he is arrogant and never rests. He has a large appetite like the grave. He is like death—never satisfied. He gathers all the nations to himself. He collects all the people to himself.
- Matthew 6:19“Stop storing up treasures for yourselves on earth, where moths and rust destroy and thieves break in and steal.
- Luke 12:15He told the people, “Be careful to guard yourselves from every kind of greed. Life is not about having a lot of material possessions.”
- 1 Timothy 6:10Certainly, the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. Some people who have set their hearts on getting rich have wandered away from the Christian faith and have caused themselves a lot of grief.
- Ecclesiastes 1:17I’ve used my mind to understand wisdom and knowledge as well as madness and stupidity. ⌞Now⌟ I know that this is ⌞like⌟ trying to catch the wind.
- Ecclesiastes 2:11But when I turned to look at all that I had accomplished and all the hard work I had put into it, I saw that it was all pointless. ⌞It was like⌟ trying to catch the wind. I gained nothing ⌞from any of my accomplishments⌟ under the sun.
- Ecclesiastes 3:19Humans and animals have the same destiny. One dies just like the other. All of them have the same breath ⌞of life⌟. Humans have no advantage over animals. All ⌞of life⌟ is pointless.
- Ecclesiastes 4:4Then I saw that all hard work and skillful effort come from rivalry. Even this is pointless. ⌞It’s like⌟ trying to catch the wind.
Commentaries on Ecclesiastes 5:10
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 10He that loveth silver shall not be satisfied with silver - The more he gets, the more he would get; for the saying is true: - Crescit amor nummi, quantum ipsa pecunia crescit. "The love of money increases, in proportion as money itself increases."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
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 10We are spiritual and physical beings, so possessions and wealth cannot fully satisfy us.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1010. Not only will God punish at last, but meanwhile the oppressive gainers of "silver" find no solid "satisfaction" in it. shall not be satisfied--so the oppressor "eateth his own flesh" (see on Ec 4:1 and Ec 4:5). with increase--is not satisfied with the gain that he makes.Read the comment
Topics related to Ecclesiastes 5:10
In the dictionaries
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
God’s Word Translation — © 1995 God’s Word to the Nations Bible Society
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