New English Translation
Ecclesiastes 5:10
10The one who loves money will never be satisfied with money, he who loves wealth will never be satisfied with his income. This also is futile.
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
8If you see the extortion of the poor, or the perversion of justice and fairness in the government, do not be astonished by the matter. For the high official is watched by a higher official, and there are higher ones over them! 9The produce of the land is seized by all of them, even the king is served by the fields. The one who loves money will never be satisfied with money, he who loves wealth will never be satisfied with his income. This also is futile. 11When someone’s prosperity increases, those who consume it also increase; so what does its owner gain, except that he gets to see it with his eyes? 12The sleep of the laborer is pleasant – whether he eats little or much – but the wealth of the rich will not allow him 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 4:8A man who is all alone with no companion, he has no children nor siblings; yet there is no end to all his toil, and he is never satisfied with riches. He laments, “For whom am I toiling and depriving myself of pleasure?” This also is futile and a burdensome task!
- Ecclesiastes 6:7All of man’s labor is for nothing more than to fill his stomach – yet his appetite is never satisfied!
- Psalms 52:1Why do you boast about your evil plans, O powerful man? God’s loyal love protects me all day long!
- Psalms 62:10Do not trust in what you can gain by oppression! Do not put false confidence in what you can gain by robbery! If wealth increases, do not become attached to it!
- Proverbs 30:15The leech has two daughters: “Give! Give!” There are three things that are never satisfied, four that never say, “Enough” –
- Habakkuk 2:5Indeed, wine will betray the proud, restless man! His appetite is as big as Sheol’s; like death, he is never satisfied. He gathers all the nations; he seizes all peoples.
- Matthew 6:19“Do not accumulate for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal.
- Luke 12:15Then he said to them, “Watch out and guard yourself from all types of greed, because one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.”
- 1 Timothy 6:10For the love of money is the root of all evils. Some people in reaching for it have strayed from the faith and stabbed themselves with many pains.
- Ecclesiastes 1:17So I decided to discern the benefit of wisdom and knowledge over foolish behavior and ideas; however, I concluded that even this endeavor is like trying to chase the wind!
- Ecclesiastes 2:11Yet when I reflected on everything I had accomplished and on all the effort that I had expended to accomplish it, I concluded: “All these achievements and possessions are ultimately profitless – like chasing the wind! There is nothing gained from them on earth.”
- Ecclesiastes 3:19For the fate of humans and the fate of animals are the same: As one dies, so dies the other; both have the same breath. There is no advantage for humans over animals, for both are fleeting.
- Ecclesiastes 4:4Then I considered all the skillful work that is done: Surely it is nothing more than competition between one person and another. This also is profitless – like chasing 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
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