Ecclesiastes · 20 verses
Ecclesiastes 5
Every verse links to the people and places named in it, and to the passages readers connect it with.
The chapter
What happens here
Atlas's own reading, written from this chapter and nothing else, and published only once a person has approved it. Each scene names the verses it covers; the names inside it link to the people and places they name.
The worker sleeps sweetly, while the rich man lies awake in the abundance he has gathered—a small rebellion in the household of wealth.
Few words before Godvv. 1–7
At the house of God, the sensible arrival is the one who comes to listen. The fool arrives with sacrifices, many words, and apparently no idea that anything is wrong. A vow then enters the scene, along with the unexplained messenger to whom someone might try to say that the vow was a mistake; the warning is brisker than the explanation. Dreams and words alike multiply into futility, while the proper response remains wonderfully short: fear God.
The wealth that will not sit stillvv. 8–17
Oppression in a province is not presented as a solitary accident: an official is watched by a superior, and others higher still are over them, while the king profits from the fields. Money behaves no better. Its lover is never satisfied, its increase brings more consumers, and the owner’s grand profit contracts to looking at the goods. The worker sleeps; the rich man does not. Wealth may be hoarded to injure its owner, lost in a failed venture, or left with nothing to pass to a son. At the end, the man departs as naked as he arrived, carrying none of his labour in his hands, and spends his days in darkness, sorrow, sickness, and anger.
A gift that can be enjoyedvv. 18–20
After the grim arithmetic of hoarded and vanished wealth, the speaker finds something good and fitting: eating, drinking, and satisfaction in the labour of a short life. Riches and wealth are not merely counted but enjoyed; a man accepts his lot and rejoices in his work. The days pass almost unnoticed when God keeps the heart occupied with joy, which is a far more agreeable occupation than counting the contents of a failed venture.
The text
Read it
Berean Standard Bible, public domain. Names the Hebrew and Greek put in the verse link to the person, place or people they name; the address beside each verse is a link to that verse, which is what a reader copies and shares.
Eccl 5:1Guard your steps when you go to the house of God. Draw near to listen rather than to offer the sacrifice of fools, who do not know that they do wrong.
Eccl 5:2Do not be quick to speak, and do not be hasty in your heart to utter a word before God. For God is in heaven and you are on earth. So let your words be few.
Eccl 5:3As a dream comes through many cares, so the speech of a fool comes with many words.
Eccl 5:4When you make a vow to God, do not delay in fulfilling it, because He takes no pleasure in fools. Fulfill your vow.
Eccl 5:5It is better not to vow than to make a vow and not fulfill it.
Eccl 5:6Do not let your mouth cause your flesh to sin, and do not tell the messenger that your vow was a mistake. Why should God be angry with your words and destroy the work of your hands?
Eccl 5:7For as many dreams bring futility, so do many words. Therefore, fear God.
Eccl 5:8If you see the oppression of the poor and the denial of justice and righteousness in the province, do not be astonished at the matter; for one official is watched by a superior, and others higher still are over them.
Eccl 5:9The produce of the earth is taken by all; the king himself profits from the fields.
Eccl 5:10He who loves money is never satisfied by money, and he who loves wealth is never satisfied by income. This too is futile.
Eccl 5:11When good things increase, so do those who consume them; what then is the profit to the owner, except to behold them with his eyes?
Eccl 5:12The sleep of the worker is sweet, whether he eats little or much, but the abundance of the rich man permits him no sleep.
Eccl 5:13There is a grievous evil I have seen under the sun: wealth hoarded to the harm of its owner,
Eccl 5:14or wealth lost in a failed venture, so when that man has a son there is nothing to pass on.
Eccl 5:15As a man came from his mother’s womb, so he will depart again, naked as he arrived. He takes nothing for his labor to carry in his hands.
Eccl 5:16This too is a grievous affliction: Exactly as a man is born, so he will depart. What does he gain as he toils for the wind?
Eccl 5:17Moreover, all his days he eats in darkness, with much sorrow, sickness, and anger.
Eccl 5:18Here is what I have seen to be good and fitting: to eat and drink, and to find satisfaction in all the labor one does under the sun during the few days of life that God has given him—for this is his lot.
Eccl 5:19Furthermore, God has given riches and wealth to every man, and He has enabled him to enjoy them, to accept his lot, and to rejoice in his labor. This is a gift from God.
Eccl 5:20For a man seldom considers the days of his life, because God keeps him occupied with the joy of his heart.
02 — Read alongside
Where this is echoed
Readers' own connections, from OpenBible's crowd-voted cross-references — agreement about relevance, and not scholarly confidence. 274 passages were voted onto 20 verses of this chapter; the 16 shown lead on votes, and each is listed at the verse it was voted onto most strongly.
- 2Matthew 6:7And when you pray, do not babble on like pagans, for they think that by their many words they will be heard.
- 1James 1:19My beloved brothers, understand this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to anger,
- 2Proverbs 10:19When words are many, sin is unavoidable, but he who restrains his lips is wise.
- 101 Timothy 6:10For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. By craving it, some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows.
- 2Isaiah 55:9“For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so My ways are higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts.
- 4Numbers 30:2If a man makes a vow to the LORD or swears an oath to obligate himself by a pledge, he must not break his word; he must do everything he has promised.
- 10Matthew 6:24No one can serve two masters: Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.
- 19Deuteronomy 8:18But remember that it is the LORD your God who gives you the power to gain wealth, in order to confirm His covenant that He swore to your fathers even to this day.
- 19Ecclesiastes 3:13and also that every man should eat and drink and find satisfaction in all his labor—this is the gift of God.
- 1Hebrews 12:28–29Therefore, since we are receiving an unshakable kingdom, let us be filled with gratitude, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe.
- 10Luke 12:15And He said to them, “Watch out! Guard yourselves against every form of greed, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.”
- 1Proverbs 15:8The sacrifice of the wicked is detestable to the LORD, but the prayer of the upright is His delight.
- 18Ecclesiastes 2:24Nothing is better for a man than to eat and drink and enjoy his work. I have also seen that this is from the hand of God.
- 4Deuteronomy 23:21–23If you make a vow to the LORD your God, do not be slow to keep it, because He will surely require it of you, and you will be guilty of sin.
- 4Psalms 76:11Make and fulfill your vows to the LORD your God; let all the neighboring lands bring tribute to Him who is to be feared.
- 7Matthew 12:36But I tell you that men will give an account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken.
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