New Living Translation
Ecclesiastes 5:14
14Money is put into risky investments that turn sour, and everything is lost. In the end, there is nothing left to pass on to one’s children.
Ecclesiastes 5:14 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)But those riches perish by evil travail: and he begetteth a son, and there is nothing in his hand.
- New International Version (NIV)or wealth lost through some misfortune, so that when they have children there is nothing left for them to inherit.
- English Standard Version (ESV)and those riches were lost in a bad venture. And he is father of a son, but he has nothing in his hand.
- New King James Version (NKJV)But those riches perish through misfortune; When he begets a son, there is nothing in his hand.
Context of Ecclesiastes 5:14
12People who work hard sleep well, whether they eat little or much. But the rich seldom get a good night’s sleep. 13There is another serious problem I have seen under the sun. Hoarding riches harms the saver. Money is put into risky investments that turn sour, and everything is lost. In the end, there is nothing left to pass on to one’s children. 15We all come to the end of our lives as naked and empty-handed as on the day we were born. We can’t take our riches with us. 16And this, too, is a very serious problem. People leave this world no better off than when they came. All their hard work is for nothing—like working for the wind.
Read all of Ecclesiastes 5Ecclesiastes 5:14 word by word
וְאָבַ֛ד הָעֹ֥שֶׁר הַה֖וּא בְּעִנְיַ֣ן רָ֑ע וְהוֹלִ֣יד בֵּ֔ן וְאֵ֥ין בְּיָד֖וֹ מְאֽוּמָה׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Ecclesiastes 5:14
- Ecclesiastes 2:26God gives wisdom, knowledge, and joy to those who please him. But if a sinner becomes wealthy, God takes the wealth away and gives it to those who please him. This, too, is meaningless—like chasing the wind.
- Job 5:5The hungry devour their harvest, even when it is guarded by brambles. The thirsty pant after their wealth.
- Job 20:15They will vomit the wealth they swallowed. God won’t let them keep it down.
- Job 27:16“Evil people may have piles of money and may store away mounds of clothing.
- Psalms 39:6We are merely moving shadows, and all our busy rushing ends in nothing. We heap up wealth, not knowing who will spend it.
- Proverbs 23:5In the blink of an eye wealth disappears, for it will sprout wings and fly away like an eagle.
- Haggai 1:9You hoped for rich harvests, but they were poor. And when you brought your harvest home, I blew it away. Why? Because my house lies in ruins, says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, while all of you are busy building your own fine houses.
- Haggai 2:16When you hoped for a twenty-bushel crop, you harvested only ten. When you expected to draw fifty gallons from the winepress, you found only twenty.
- 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.
- 1 Samuel 2:6The Lord gives both death and life; he brings some down to the grave but raises others up.
- 1 Kings 14:26He ransacked the treasuries of the Lord’s Temple and the royal palace; he stole everything, including all the gold shields Solomon had made.
- Psalms 109:9May his children become fatherless, and his wife a widow.
Commentaries on Ecclesiastes 5:14
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 14And he begetteth a son, and there is nothing in his hand - He has been stripped of his property by unfortunate trade or by plunderers; and he has nothing to leave to his children.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 14Evil travail - Adverse accident, or unsuccessful employment (compare Ecclesiastes 1:13; Ecclesiastes 4:8).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. 13-14wealth hoarded...wealth lost: Possessions are temporary and can disappear for many reasons.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 13-1413-14. Proofs of God's judgments even in this world (Pr 11:31). The rich oppressor's wealth provokes enemies, robbers, &c. Then, after having kept it for an expected son, he loses it beforehand by misfortune ("by evil travail"), and the son is born to be heir of poverty. Ec 2:19, 23 gives another aspect of the same subject.Read the comment
Topics related to Ecclesiastes 5:14
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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