New Living Translation
Ecclesiastes 5:10
10Those who love money will never have enough. How meaningless to think that wealth brings true happiness!
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 a poor person being oppressed by the powerful and if justice is being miscarried throughout the land. For every official is under orders from higher up, and matters of justice get lost in red tape and bureaucracy. 9Even the king milks the land for his own profit! Those who love money will never have enough. How meaningless to think that wealth brings true happiness! 11The more you have, the more people come to help you spend it. So what good is wealth—except perhaps to watch it slip through your fingers! 12People who work hard sleep well, whether they eat little or much. But the rich seldom get a good night’s 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 4:8This is the case of a man who is all alone, without a child or a brother, yet who works hard to gain as much wealth as he can. But then he asks himself, “Who am I working for? Why am I giving up so much pleasure now?” It is all so meaningless and depressing.
- Ecclesiastes 6:7All people spend their lives scratching for food, but they never seem to have enough.
- Psalms 52:1Why do you boast about your crimes, great warrior? Don’t you realize God’s justice continues forever?
- Psalms 62:10Don’t make your living by extortion or put your hope in stealing. And if your wealth increases, don’t make it the center of your life.
- Proverbs 30:15The leech has two suckers that cry out, “More, more!” There are three things that are never satisfied— no, four that never say, “Enough!”:
- Habakkuk 2:5Wealth is treacherous, and the arrogant are never at rest. They open their mouths as wide as the grave, and like death, they are never satisfied. In their greed they have gathered up many nations and swallowed many peoples.
- Matthew 6:19“Don’t store up treasures here on earth, where moths eat them and rust destroys them, and where thieves break in and steal.
- Luke 12:15Then he said, “Beware! Guard against every kind of greed. Life is not measured by how much you own.”
- 1 Timothy 6:10For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. And some people, craving money, have wandered from the true faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows.
- Ecclesiastes 1:17So I set out to learn everything from wisdom to madness and folly. But I learned firsthand that pursuing all this is like chasing the wind.
- Ecclesiastes 2:11But as I looked at everything I had worked so hard to accomplish, it was all so meaningless—like chasing the wind. There was nothing really worthwhile anywhere.
- Ecclesiastes 3:19For people and animals share the same fate—both breathe and both must die. So people have no real advantage over the animals. How meaningless!
- Ecclesiastes 4:4Then I observed that most people are motivated to success because they envy their neighbors. But this, too, is meaningless—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
New Living Translation — © 1996, 2004, 2015 Tyndale House Foundation
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