Ecclesiastes 5:8-12

English Standard Version

The Vanity of Wealth and Honor

^8 (A)If you see in a province the oppression of the poor and the violation of justice and righteousness, ^(B)do not be amazed at the matter, ^(C)for the high official is watched by a higher, and there are yet higher ones over them. ⁹ But this is gain for a land in every way: a king committed to cultivated fields.^[a]

¹⁰ He who loves money will not be satisfied with money, nor he who loves wealth with his income; this also is vanity. ¹¹ When goods increase, they increase who eat them, and what advantage has their owner but to see them with his eyes? ¹² Sweet is the sleep of a laborer, whether he eats little or much, but the full stomach of the rich will not let him sleep.