Ecclesiastes 5:10-11 NIV

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 5:10

He that loveth silver shall not be satisfied with silver ,.... The tillage of the earth is necessary, a very laudable and useful employment, and men do well to busy themselves in it; without this, neither the common people nor the greatest personages can be supplied with the necessaries of life; but then an immoderate love of money is criminal, which is here meant by loving silver, one kind of money, which when loved beyond measure is the root of all evil; and besides, when a man has got... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Ecclesiastes 5:11

When goods increase, they are increased that eat them ,.... When a man's substance increases by trade, or otherwise, very often so it is that his family increases, and he has more mouths to feed, and backs to clothe; or his estate growing larger, if he lives suitably to it, he must keep more servants; and these, as they have but little work to do, are described by their eating, rather than by their working; and besides, such a growing man in the world has more friends and visitors that come... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Ecclesiastes 5:10

He that loveth silver shall not be satisfied with silver - The more he gets, the more he would get; for the saying is true: - Crescit amor nummi, quantum ipsa pecunia crescit . "The love of money increases, in proportion as money itself increases." read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Ecclesiastes 5:11

When goods increase - An increase of property always brings an increase of expense, by a multitude of servants; and the owner really possesses no more, and probably enjoys much less, than he did, when every day provided its own bread, and could lay up no store for the next. But if he have more enjoyment, his cares are multiplied; and he has no kind of profit. "This also is vanity." 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

He that loveth silver shall not be satisfied with silver . "Silver," the generic name for money, as Greek ἀργύριον and French argent . The insatiableness of the passion for money is a common theme of poets, moralists, and satirists, and is found in the proverbs of all nations. Thus Horace ('Ep.,' Ephesians 1:2 . 56): "Semper avarus eget;" to which St Jerome alludes ('Epist.,' 53), "Antiquum dictum est, Avaro tam deest, quod habet, quam quod non habet." Comp. Juvenal, 'Sat.,'... 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 5:11

Koheleth proceeds to notice some of the inconveniences which accompany wealth, which go far to prove that God is over all. When goods increase, they are increased that eat them. The more riches a man possesses, the greater are the claims upon him. He increases his household, retainers, and dependents, and is really none the better off for all his wealth. So Job in his prosperous days is said to have had "a very great household" ( Job 1:3 ), and the servants and laborers employed by Solomon... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Ecclesiastes 5:11

They ... that eat them - i. e., The laborers employed, and the household servants. read more

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

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Ecclesiastes 5:10

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Ecclesiastes 5:11

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Ecclesiastes 5:10

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Ecclesiastes 5:11

The Pulpit Commentary - Ecclesiastes 5:8-17

The Pulpit Commentary - Ecclesiastes 5:10

The Pulpit Commentary - Ecclesiastes 5:10-17

The Pulpit Commentary - Ecclesiastes 5:11

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Ecclesiastes 5:11

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