Ecclesiastes 5:8-6:12

New International Reader's Version

Riches Are Meaningless

⁸Suppose you see poor people being mistreated somewhere. And what is being done to them isn’t right or fair. Don’t be surprised by that. One official is watched by a higher one. Officials who are even higher are watching both of them. ⁹All of them take what the land produces. And the king himself takes his share from the fields.

¹⁰Anyone who loves money never has enough.
Anyone who loves wealth is never satisfied with what they get.
That doesn’t have any meaning either.

¹¹As more and more goods are made,
more and more people use them up.
So how can those goods benefit their owners?
All they can do is look at them with desire.

¹²The sleep of a worker is sweet.
It doesn’t matter whether they eat a little or a lot.
But the wealth of rich people
keeps them awake at night.

¹³I’ve seen something very evil on earth.

It’s when wealth is stored up
    and then brings harm to its owners.
¹⁴It’s also when wealth is lost
    because of an unwise business deal.
Then there won’t be anything left
    for the owners’ children.
¹⁵Everyone is born naked.
    They come into the world with nothing.
    And they go out of it with nothing.
They don’t get anything from their work
    that they can take with them.

¹⁶Here’s something else that is very evil.

Everyone is born, and everyone dies.
    And what do they get for their work?
    Nothing. It’s like working for the wind.
¹⁷All their lives they eat in darkness.
    Their lives are full of trouble, suffering and anger.

¹⁸I have seen what is good. It is good for a person to eat and drink. It’s good for them to be satisfied with their hard work on this earth. That’s what they should do during the short life God has given them. That’s what God made them for. ¹⁹Sometimes God gives a person wealth and possessions. God makes it possible for that person to enjoy them. God helps them accept the life he has given them. God helps them to be happy in their work. All these things are gifts from God. ²⁰A person like that doesn’t have to think about how their life is going. That’s because God fills their heart with joy.

6 I’ve seen another evil thing on this earth. And it’s a heavy load on human beings. ²God gives some people wealth, possessions and honor. They have everything their hearts desire. But God doesn’t let them enjoy those things. Instead, strangers enjoy them. This doesn’t have any meaning. It’s a very evil thing.

³A man might have a hundred children. He might live a long time. But suppose he can’t enjoy his wealth. And suppose he isn’t buried in the proper way. Then it doesn’t matter how long he lives. I’m telling you that a baby that is born dead is better off than that man is. ⁴That kind of birth doesn’t have any meaning. The baby dies in darkness and leaves this world. And in darkness it is forgotten. ⁵It didn’t even see the sun. It didn’t know anything at all. But it has more rest than that man does. ⁶And that’s true even if he lives for 2,000 years but doesn’t get to enjoy his wealth. All people die and go to the grave, don’t they?

⁷People eat up everything they work to get.
    But they are never satisfied.
⁸What advantage do wise people have
    over those who are foolish?
What do poor people gain
    by knowing how to act toward others?
⁹Being satisfied with what you have
    is better than always wanting more.
That doesn’t have any meaning either.
    It’s like chasing the wind.

¹⁰God has already planned what now exists.
    He has already decided what a human being is.
No one can argue with someone
    who is stronger.
¹¹The more words people use,
    the less meaning there is.
    And that doesn’t help anyone.

¹²Who knows what’s good for a person? They live for only a few meaningless days. They pass through life like a shadow. Who can tell them what will happen on earth after they are gone?