Ecclesiastes 5:11

9 Moreover the profit of the land is for all; even the king is served from the field.

10 He who loves silver will not be satisfied with silver;
Nor he who loves abundance, with increase.
This also is vanity.

11 When goods increase,
They increase who eat them;
So what profit have the owners
Except to see them with their eyes?

12 The sleep of a laboring man is sweet,
Whether he eats little or much;
But the abundance of the rich will not permit him to sleep.

13 ^aThere is a severe evil which I have seen under the sun:
Riches kept for their owner to his hurt.

14 But those riches perish through¹ misfortune;
When he begets a son, there is nothing in his hand.

15 ^aAs he came from his mother’s womb, naked shall he return,
To go as he came;
And he shall take nothing from his labor
Which he may carry away in his hand.

16 And this also is a severe evil—
Just exactly as he came, so shall he go.
And ^awhat profit has he ^bwho has labored for the wind?

17 All his days ^ahe also eats in darkness,
And he has much sorrow and sickness and anger.

18 Here is what I have seen: ^aIt is good and fitting for one to eat and drink, and to enjoy the good of all his labor in which he toils under the sun all the days of his life which God gives him; ^bfor it is his heritage.

Verse Comparison: Ecclesiastes 5:11

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Ecclesiastes 5:12 >>

American Standard Version
When goods increase, they are increased that eat them; and what advantage is there to the owner thereof, save the beholding `of them' with his eyes?

Amplified® Bible
When goods increase, they who eat them increase also. And what gain is there to their owner except to see them with his eyes?

Contemporary English Version
The more you have, the more everyone expects from you. Your money won't do you any good--others will just spend it for you.

Darby English Version
When goods increase, they are increased that eat them; and what profit is there to the owner thereof, except the beholding [of them] with his eyes?

Good News Bible
The richer you are, the more mouths you have to feed. All you gain is the knowledge that you are rich.

King James Version
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 American Standard Bible
When good things increase, those who consume them increase. So what is the advantage to their owners except to look on?

New International Version
As goods increase,
so do those who consume them.
And what benefit are they to the owner
except to feast his eyes on them?

New King James Version
When goods increase,
They increase who eat them;
So what profit have the owners
Except to see them with their eyes?

N.A.S.B. in E-Prime
When good things increase, those who consume them increase. So what advantage do their owners have except to look on?

Revised Standard Version
When goods increase, they increase who eat them; and what gain has their owner but to see them with his eyes?

Young's Literal Translation
In the multiplying of good have its consumers been multiplied, and what benefit `is' to its possessor except the sight of his eyes?

New English Translation
When someone’s¹ prosperity² increases, those who consume it also increase; so what does its owner³ gain, except that he gets to see it with his eyes?⁴

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Ecclesiastes 5:12 >>

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