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

9Yet, a king is an advantage for a country with cultivated fields. 10Whoever loves money will never be satisfied with money. Whoever loves wealth will never be satisfied with more income. Even this is pointless. As 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. 13There is a painful tragedy that I have seen under the sun: Riches lead to the downfall of those who hoard them.

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 12:16Everything went well for Abram because of her, and he was given sheep, cattle, donkeys, male and female slaves, and camels.
• Genesis 13:2Abram was very rich because he had livestock, silver, and gold.
• 1 Kings 4:22Solomon’s food supply for one day was 180 bushels of flour, 360 bushels of coarse flour,
• 1 Kings 5:13King Solomon forced 30,000 men from all over Israel to work for him.
• Nehemiah 5:17I fed 150 Jewish leaders and their people who came to us from the surrounding nations.
• Psalms 119:36Direct my heart toward your written instructions rather than getting rich in underhanded ways.
• Ecclesiastes 6:9It is better to look at what is in front of you than to go looking for what you want. Even this is pointless. ⌞It’s like⌟ trying to catch the wind.
• Ecclesiastes 11:9You young people should enjoy yourselves while you’re young. You should let your hearts make you happy when you’re young. Follow wherever your heart leads you and whatever your eyes see. But realize that God will make you give an account for all these things when he judges everyone.
• Joshua 7:21I saw a fine robe from Babylonia, five pounds of silver, and a bar of gold weighing about one pound among the loot. I wanted them, so I took them. You will find them buried inside my tent with the silver beneath them.”
• Proverbs 23:5Will you catch only a fleeting glimpse of wealth before it is gone? It makes wings for itself like an eagle flying into the sky.
• Jeremiah 17:11A person who gets rich dishonestly is like a partridge that hatches eggs it did not lay. During his lifetime, he will lose his wealth. In the end, he will be a godless fool.”
• Habakkuk 2:13Isn’t it from the Lord of Armies that people grow tired only to feed the flames and nations exhaust themselves for nothing?
• 1 John 2:16Not everything that the world offers—physical gratification, greed, and extravagant lifestyles—comes from the Father. It comes from the world, and

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