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

9Moreover the profit of the earth is for all: the king himself is served by the field. 10He that loveth silver shall not be satisfied with silver; nor he that loveth abundance with increase: this is also vanity. When goods increase, they are increased that eat them: and what good is there to the owners of them, except the beholding of them with their eyes? 12The sleep of a labouring man is sweet, whether he eateth little or much: but the abundance of the rich will not allow him to sleep. 13There is a grievous evil which I have seen under the sun, namely, riches kept for the owners of them to their hurt.

Ecclesiastes 5:11 word by word

בִּרְבוֹת֙ הַטּוֹבָ֔ה רַבּ֖וּ אוֹכְלֶ֑יהָ וּמַה־כִּשְׁרוֹן֙ לִבְעָלֶ֔יהָ כִּ֖י אִם־רְא֥וּת עֵינָֽיו׃Read the interlinear

• goodsטוֹבָהţôb · welfareH2896
• increaseרָבָהrâbâh · to multiplyH7235
• increasedרָבַבrâbab · to multiplyH7231
• eatאָכַל'âkal · to eatH398
• goodכִּשְׁרוֹןkishrôn · skillH3788
• ownersבַּעַלba‛al · masterH1167
• exceptאִם'im · ifH518
• beholdingרַאיָּהra'ăvâh · to beholdH7207
• beholdingרְאוּתre'îyth · sightH7212
• eyesעַ֫יִן‛ayin · eyeH5869

Cross-references for Ecclesiastes 5:11

• Genesis 12:16And he treated Abram well for her sake: and he had sheep, and oxen, and male donkeys, and male and female servants, and female donkeys, and camels.
• Genesis 13:2And Abram was very rich in cattle, in silver, and in gold.
• 1 Kings 4:22And Solomon’s provision for one day was thirty measures of fine flour, and sixty measures of meal,
• 1 Kings 5:13And king Solomon raised forced labour out of all Israel; and the levy was thirty thousand men.
• Nehemiah 5:17Moreover there were at my table an hundred and fifty of the Jews and rulers, besides those that came to us from among the heathen that were about us.
• Psalms 119:36Incline my heart to thy testimonies, and not to covetousness.
• Ecclesiastes 6:9Better is the sight of the eyes than the wandering of the desire: this is also vanity and vexation of spirit.
• Ecclesiastes 11:9Rejoice, O young man, in thy youth; and let thy heart cheer thee in the days of thy youth, and walk in the ways of thy heart, and in the sight of thy eyes: but know thou, that for all these things God will bring thee into judgment.
• Joshua 7:21When I saw among the spoils a beautiful Babylonish garment, and two hundred shekels of silver, and a wedge of gold of fifty shekels weight, then I coveted them, and took them; and, behold, they are hid in the earth in the midst of my tent, and the silver under it.
• Proverbs 23:5Wilt thou set thy eyes upon that which is not? for riches certainly make to themselves wings; they fly away as an eagle toward heaven.
• Jeremiah 17:11As the partridge sitteth on eggs, and hatcheth them not; so he that getteth riches, and not by right, shall leave them in the midst of his days, and at his end shall be a fool.
• Habakkuk 2:13Behold, is it not from the LORD of hosts that the people shall labour only for fire, and the people shall weary themselves for nothing?
• 1 John 2:16For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world.

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