Ecclesiastes 5:17

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 5:17

All his days also he eateth in darkness ,.... To all that has been said is added another evil, that attends such whose hearts are inordinately set on riches; that all their days, throughout the whole of their lives, they live a most uncomfortable life; for eating is here put for their whole manner of living: such not only eat coarse bread, and very mean food of any sort, but wear sordid apparel, and live in a poor cottage, in a very obscure and miserable manner. Aben Ezra understands it... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Ecclesiastes 5:17

All his days also he eateth in darkness - Even his enjoyments are embittered by uncertainty. He fears for his goods; the possibility of being deprived of them fills his heart with anguish. But instead of יאכל yochel , "he shall eat," ילך yelech , "he shall walk," is the reading of several MSS. He walks in darkness - he has no evidence of salvation. There is no ray of light from God to penetrate the gloom; and all beyond life is darkness impenetrable! And wrath with his sickness - ... 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 5:13-17

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

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Ecclesiastes 5:17

The misery that accompanies the rich man's whole life is summed up here, where one has to think chiefly of his distress after his loss of fortune. All his days also he eateth in darkness ; i . e . passes his life in gloom and cheerlessness. כָּל־יָמָיו , "all his days," is the accusative of time, not the object of the verb. To eat in darkness is not a common metaphor for spending a gloomy life, but it is a very natural one, and has analogies in this book ( e . g . Ecclesiastes... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Ecclesiastes 5:17

Hath much sorrow ... - Rather, is very sad and hath pain and vexation. read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Ecclesiastes 5:15-17

Ecclesiastes 5:15-17. As he came forth, &c., naked shall he return Into the womb, or belly of the earth, the common mother of all mankind. And shall take nothing of his labour This is another vanity. If his estate be neither lost nor kept to his hurt, yet when he dies he must leave it behind him, and cannot carry one handful of it into another world. And what profit hath he that hath laboured for the wind For riches, which are empty and unsatisfying, uncertain and transitory; which... 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

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