Ecclesiastes 5:13

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Ecclesiastes 5:9-17

Solomon had shown the vanity of pleasure, gaiety, and fine works, of honour, power, and royal dignity; and there is many a covetous worldling that will agree with him, and speak as slightly as he does of these things; but money, he thinks, is a substantial thing, and if he can but have enough of that he is happy. This is the mistake which Solomon attacks, and attempts to rectify, in these verses; he shows that there is as much vanity in great riches, and the lust of the eye about them, as... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Ecclesiastes 5:13

There is a sore evil which I have seen under the sun ,.... Or "an evil sickness" F13 רעה חולה "morbus malus", Tigurine version, Vatablus. . A sinful disease in the person with whom it is found, and very disagreeable to others to behold; it is enough to make one sick to see it; and what he is about to relate he himself was an eyewitness of: namely , riches kept for the owners thereof to their hurt ; laid up in barns and granaries, as the fruits of the earth; or in chests and... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Ecclesiastes 5:13

Riches kept for the owners thereof to their hurt - This may be the case through various causes: He may make an improper use of them, and lose his health by them. He may join in an unfortunate partnership and lose all. His riches may excite the desire of the robber; and he may spoil him of his goods, and even take away his life. 4. Or, he may leave them to his son, who turns profligate; spends the whole, and ruins both his body and soul. I have seen this again and again. read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Ecclesiastes 5:8-17

Section 7. Perils to which one is exposed in a despotic state, and the unprofitableness of riches. read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Ecclesiastes 5:10-17

The thought of the acts of injustice and oppression noticed above, all of which spring from the craving for money, leads the bard to dwell upon the evils that accompany this pursuit and possession of wealth, which is thus seen to give no real satisfaction. Avarice has already been noticed ( Ecclesiastes 4:7-12 ); the covetous man now reprobated is one who desires wealth only for the enjoyment he can get from it, or the display which it enables him to make, not, like the miser, who gloats... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Ecclesiastes 5:13

There is also a sore evil which I have seen under the sun (so Ecclesiastes 5:16 ). The fact that follows is, of course, not universally true, but occasionally seen, and is a very bitter evil. The Septuagint calls it ἀῤῥωστία ; the Vulgate, infirmitas . Riches kept for the owners thereof to their hurt ; rather, preserved by the possessor , hoarded and guarded, only to bring their lord added grief when by some reverse of fortune he loses them, as explained in what follows. read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Ecclesiastes 5:13-17

Another view of the evils attendant upon riches is here presented: the owner may lose them at a stroke, and leave nothing for his children. This thought is presented in different lights. read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Ecclesiastes 5:13-14

Ecclesiastes 5:13-14. There is a sore evil, &c. “There is another thing, which is very calamitous, and may rather be called a grievous plague than a mere affliction; that these very treasures, which men have heaped up with a great deal of care, from thence expecting their felicity, prove, in the issue, their utter undoing;” being incentives to pride, luxury, and other hurtful lusts, which waste their bodies, shorten their lives, and destroy their souls; and being also great temptations... read more

Donald C. Fleming

Bridgeway Bible Commentary - Ecclesiastes 5:8-20

Advice about money (5:8-6:12)Greed for money is a common social evil and the cause of much suffering. Because of such greed, government officials exploit poor farmers. Each official makes sure he takes as much money as he can, so that after he has passed some of it on to those above him who protect him, he has enough left for himself. As for the farmers, besides losing their profits to corrupt officials, they must also give some of their harvest as a tax to the king (8-9).Prosperity does not... read more

E.W. Bullinger

E.W. Bullinger's Companion Bible Notes - Ecclesiastes 5:13

under the sun. See note on Ecclesiastes 1:3 . read more

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