Ecclesiastes 5:11
BSB · Public Domain (CC0)“When good things increase, so do those who consume them; what then is the profit to the owner, except to behold them with his eyes?”
A short, plain-language explanation of Ecclesiastes 5:11 goes here — the kind of answer a reader (or an AI assistant) can quote in one breath. Original meaning coming soon.
“When good things increase, so do those who consume them; what then is the profit to the owner, except to behold them with his eyes?”
Berean Standard Bible · Public Domain (CC0)“When goods increase, they are increased that eat them: and what good is there to the owners thereof, saving the beholding of them with their eyes?”
King James Version · Public Domain“When goods increase, they are increased that eat them; and what advantage is there to the owner thereof, save the beholding of them with his eyes?”
American Standard Version · Public Domain“In the multiplying of good have its consumers been multiplied, and what benefit <FI>is<Fi> to its possessor except the sight of his eyes?”
Young's Literal Translation · Public DomainOther passages that echo Ecclesiastes 5:11 — 14 related verses from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge.
- Genesis 12:16He treated Abram well on her account, and Abram acquired sheep and cattle, male and female donkeys, menservants and maidservants, and camels.
- Genesis 13:2And Abram had become extremely wealthy in livestock and silver and gold.
- Genesis 13:5Now Lot, who was traveling with Abram, also had flocks and herds and tents.
- Joshua 7:21When I saw among the spoils a beautiful cloak from Shinar, two hundred shekels of silver, and a bar of gold weighing fifty shekels, I coveted them and took them. They are hidden in the ground inside my tent, with the silver underneath.”
- 1 Kings 4:22Solomon’s provisions for a single day were thirty cors of fine flour, sixty cors of meal,
- 1 Kings 5:13Then King Solomon conscripted a labor force of 30,000 men from all Israel.
- Nehemiah 5:17There were 150 Jews and officials at my table, besides the guests from the surrounding nations.
- Psalms 119:36Turn my heart to Your testimonies and not to covetous gain.
- Proverbs 23:5When you glance at wealth, it disappears, for it makes wings for itself and flies like an eagle to the sky.
- Ecclesiastes 6:9Better what the eye can see than the wandering of desire. This too is futile and a pursuit of the wind.
- Ecclesiastes 11:9Rejoice, O young man, while you are young, and let your heart be glad in the days of your youth. Walk in the ways of your heart and in the sight of your eyes, but know that for all these things God will bring you to judgment.
- Jeremiah 17:11Like a partridge hatching eggs it did not lay is the man who makes a fortune unjustly. In the middle of his days his riches will desert him, and in the end he will be the fool.”
- Habakkuk 2:13Is it not indeed from the LORD of Hosts that the labor of the people only feeds the fire, and the nations weary themselves in vain?
- 1 John 2:16For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh, the desires of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not from the Father but from the world.
Cross-reference data: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain) via OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0).