Ecclesiastes 5:13

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Ecclesiastes 5:11–15 · Berean Standard Bible

11 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?

12 The sleep of the worker is sweet, whether he eats little or much, but the abundance of the rich man permits him no sleep.

13 There is a grievous evil I have seen under the sun: wealth hoarded to the harm of its owner,

14 or wealth lost in a failed venture, so when that man has a son there is nothing to pass on.

15 As a man came from his mother’s womb, so he will depart again, naked as he arrived. He takes nothing for his labor to carry in his hands.

Hebrew words

Data created by STEPBible.org based on work at Tyndale House Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

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Cross-references

The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge lists these related verses. Scripture text comes from the Berean Standard Bible.

Ecclesiastes 4:8

There is a man all alone, without even a son or brother. And though there is no end to his labor, his eyes are still not content with his wealth: “For whom do I toil and bereave my soul of enjoyment?” This too is futile—a miserable task.

Ecclesiastes 6:1

There is another evil I have seen under the sun, and it weighs heavily upon mankind:

Ecclesiastes 6:2

God gives a man riches, wealth, and honor, so that he lacks nothing his heart desires; but God does not allow him to enjoy them. Instead, a stranger will enjoy them. This is futile and a grievous affliction.

Ecclesiastes 8:9

All this I have seen, applying my mind to every deed that is done under the sun; there is a time when one man lords it over another to his own detriment.

Genesis 13:5

Now Lot, who was traveling with Abram, also had flocks and herds and tents.

Genesis 13:6

But the land was unable to support both of them while they stayed together, for they had so many possessions that they were unable to coexist.

Genesis 13:7

And there was discord between the herdsmen of Abram and the herdsmen of Lot. At that time the Canaanites and the Perizzites were also living in the land.

Genesis 13:8

So Abram said to Lot, “Please let there be no contention between you and me, or between your herdsmen and my herdsmen. After all, we are brothers.

Genesis 13:9

Is not the whole land before you? Now separate yourself from me. If you go to the left, I will go to the right; if you go to the right, I will go to the left.”

Genesis 13:10

And Lot looked out and saw that the whole plain of the Jordan, all the way to Zoar, was well watered like the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt. (This was before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.)

Genesis 13:11

So Lot chose the whole plain of the Jordan for himself and set out toward the east. And Abram and Lot parted company.

Genesis 14:16

He retrieved all the goods, as well as his relative Lot and his possessions, together with the women and the rest of the people.

Genesis 19:14

So Lot went out and spoke to the sons-in-law who were pledged in marriage to his daughters. “Get up,” he said. “Get out of this place, for the LORD is about to destroy the city!” But his sons-in-law thought he was joking.

Genesis 19:26

But Lot’s wife looked back, and she became a pillar of salt.

Genesis 19:31

One day the older daughter said to the younger, “Our father is old, and there is no man in the land to sleep with us, as is the custom over all the earth.

Genesis 19:32

Come, let us get our father drunk with wine so we can sleep with him and preserve his line.”

Genesis 19:33

So that night they got their father drunk with wine, and the firstborn went in and slept with her father; he was not aware when she lay down or when she got up.

Genesis 19:34

The next day the older daughter said to the younger, “Look, I slept with my father last night. Let us get him drunk with wine again tonight so you can go in and sleep with him and we can preserve our father’s line.”

Genesis 19:35

So again that night they got their father drunk with wine, and the younger daughter went in and slept with him; he was not aware when she lay down or when she got up.

Genesis 19:36

Thus both of Lot’s daughters became pregnant by their father.

Genesis 19:37

The older daughter gave birth to a son and named him Moab. He is the father of the Moabites of today.

Genesis 19:38

The younger daughter also gave birth to a son, and she named him Ben-ammi. He is the father of the Ammonites of today.

Proverbs 1:11

If they say, “Come along, let us lie in wait for blood, let us ambush the innocent without cause,

Proverbs 1:12

let us swallow them alive like Sheol, and whole like those descending into the Pit.

Proverbs 1:13

We will find all manner of precious goods; we will fill our houses with plunder.

Proverbs 1:19

Such is the fate of all who are greedy, whose unjust gain takes the lives of its possessors.

Proverbs 1:32

For the waywardness of the simple will slay them, and the complacency of fools will destroy them.

Proverbs 11:4

Riches are worthless in the day of wrath, but righteousness brings deliverance from death.

Proverbs 11:24

One gives freely, yet gains even more; another withholds what is right, only to become poor.

Proverbs 11:25

A generous soul will prosper, and he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed.

Isaiah 2:20

In that day men will cast away to the moles and bats their idols of silver and gold— the idols they made to worship.

Isaiah 32:6

For a fool speaks foolishness; his mind plots iniquity. He practices ungodliness and speaks falsely about the LORD; he leaves the hungry empty and deprives the thirsty of drink.

Isaiah 32:7

The weapons of the scoundrel are destructive; he hatches plots to destroy the poor with lies, even when the plea of the needy is just.

Isaiah 32:8

But a noble man makes honorable plans; he stands up for worthy causes.

Zephaniah 1:18

Neither their silver nor their gold will be able to deliver them on the Day of the LORD’s wrath. The whole earth will be consumed by the fire of His jealousy.” For indeed, He will make a sudden end of all who dwell on the earth.

Luke 12:16

Then He told them a parable: “The ground of a certain rich man produced an abundance.

Luke 12:17

So he thought to himself, ‘What shall I do, since I have nowhere to store my crops?’

Luke 12:18

Then he said, ‘This is what I will do: I will tear down my barns and will build bigger ones, and there I will store up all my grain and my goods.

Luke 12:19

Then I will say to myself, “You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take it easy. Eat, drink, and be merry!”’

Luke 12:20

But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be required of you. Then who will own what you have accumulated?’

Luke 12:21

This is how it will be for anyone who stores up treasure for himself but is not rich toward God.”

Luke 16:1

Jesus also said to His disciples, “There was a rich man whose manager was accused of wasting his possessions.

Luke 16:2

So he called him in to ask, ‘What is this I hear about you? Turn in an account of your management, for you cannot be manager any longer.’

Luke 16:3

The manager said to himself, ‘What shall I do, now that my master is taking away my position? I am too weak to dig and too ashamed to beg.

Luke 16:4

I know what I will do, so that after my removal from management, people will welcome me into their homes.’

Luke 16:5

And he called in each one of his master’s debtors. ‘How much do you owe my master?’ he asked the first.

Luke 16:6

‘A hundred measures of olive oil,’ he answered. ‘Take your bill,’ said the manager. ‘Sit down quickly, and write fifty.’

Luke 16:7

Then he asked another, ‘And how much do you owe?’ ‘A hundred measures of wheat,’ he replied. ‘Take your bill and write eighty,’ he told him.

Luke 16:8

The master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly. For the sons of this age are more shrewd in dealing with their own kind than are the sons of light.

Luke 16:9

I tell you, use worldly wealth to make friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, they will welcome you into eternal dwellings.

Luke 16:10

Whoever is faithful with very little will also be faithful with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much.

Luke 16:11

So if you have not been faithful with worldly wealth, who will entrust you with true riches?

Luke 16:12

And if you have not been faithful with the belongings of another, who will give you belongings of your own?

Luke 16:13

No servant can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.”

Luke 16:19

Now there was a rich man dressed in purple and fine linen, who lived each day in joyous splendor.

Luke 16:22

One day the beggar died and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s side. And the rich man also died and was buried.

Luke 16:23

In Hades, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham from afar, with Lazarus by his side.

Luke 18:22

On hearing this, Jesus told him, “You still lack one thing: Sell everything you own and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow Me.”

Luke 18:23

But when the ruler heard this, he became very sad, because he was extremely wealthy.

Luke 19:8

But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord, half of my possessions I give to the poor, and if I have cheated anyone, I will repay it fourfold.”

1 Timothy 6:9

Those who want to be rich, however, fall into temptation and become ensnared by many foolish and harmful desires that plunge them into ruin and destruction.

1 Timothy 6:10

For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. By craving it, some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows.

James 2:5

Listen, my beloved brothers: Has not God chosen the poor of this world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom He promised those who love Him?

James 2:6

But you have dishonored the poor. Is it not the rich who oppress you and drag you into court?

James 2:7

Are they not the ones who blaspheme the noble name by which you have been called?

James 5:1

Come now, you who are rich, weep and wail over the misery to come upon you.

James 5:2

Your riches have rotted and moths have eaten your clothes.

James 5:3

Your gold and silver are corroded. Their corrosion will testify against you and consume your flesh like fire. You have hoarded treasure in the last days.

James 5:4

Look, the wages you withheld from the workmen who mowed your fields are crying out against you. The cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of Hosts.