Text -- Ecclesiastes 5:11-20 (NET)

5:11 When someone’s prosperity increases, those who consume it also increase; so what does its owner gain, except that he gets to see it with his eyes? 5:12 The sleep of the laborer is pleasant– whether he eats little or much– but the wealth of the rich will not allow him to sleep.

Materialism Thwarts Enjoyment of Life

5:13 Here is a misfortune on earth that I have seen: Wealth hoarded by its owner to his own misery. 5:14 Then that wealth was lost through bad luck; although he fathered a son, he has nothing left to give him. 5:15 Just as he came forth from his mother's womb, naked will he return as he came, and he will take nothing in his hand that he may carry away from his toil. 5:16 This is another misfortune: Just as he came, so will he go. What did he gain from toiling for the wind? 5:17 Surely, he ate in darkness every day of his life, and he suffered greatly with sickness and anger.

Enjoy the Fruit of Your Labor

5:18 I have seen personally what is the only beneficial and appropriate course of action for people: to eat and drink, and find enjoyment in all their hard work on earth during the few days of their life which God has given them, for this is their reward. 5:19 To every man whom God has given wealth, and possessions, he has also given him the ability to eat from them, to receive his reward and to find enjoyment in his toil; these things are the gift of God. 5:20 For he does not think much about the fleeting days of his life because God keeps him preoccupied with the joy he derives from his activity.

Commentary -- Word/Phrase Notes (per phrase)

Wesley: Ecc 5:13

Because they frequently are the occasions both of their present and eternal destruction.

Wesley: Ecc 5:14

By some wicked practices, either his own, or of other men.

Wesley: Ecc 5:14

In the son's possession after his father's death.

Wesley: Ecc 5:15

Into the womb of the earth, the common mother of all mankind.

Wesley: Ecc 5:15

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.

Wesley: Ecc 5:16

For riches, which are empty and unsatisfying, uncertain and transitory, which no man can hold or stay in its course, all which are the properties of the wind.

Wesley: Ecc 5:17

He hath no comfort in his estate, but even when he eats, he doth it with anxiety and discontent.

Wesley: Ecc 5:17

When he falls sick, and presages his death, he is filled with rage, because he is cut off before he hath accomplished his designs, and because he must leave that wealth and world in which all his hopes and happiness lie.

Wesley: Ecc 5:18

Good or comfortable to a man's self, and comely or amiable in the eye of other men.

Wesley: Ecc 5:18

Of worldly goods; he hath a better portion in heaven. This liberty is given him by God, and this is the best advantage, as to this life, which he can make of them.

Wesley: Ecc 5:19

To use what God hath given him.

Wesley: Ecc 5:20

So as to disquiet himself.

Wesley: Ecc 5:20

The troubles; days being put here for evil, or, sad days.

Wesley: Ecc 5:20

His desires, in giving him solid joy and comfort.

JFB: Ecc 5:11

The rich man's dependents (Psa 23:5).

JFB: Ecc 5:12

Another argument against anxiety to gain riches. "Sleep . . . sweet" answers to "quietness" (Ecc 4:6); "not suffer . . . sleep," to "vexation of spirit." Fears for his wealth, and an overloaded stomach without "laboring" (compare Ecc 4:5), will not suffer the rich oppressor to sleep.

JFB: Ecc 5:13-14

Proofs of God's judgments even in this world (Pro 11:31). The rich oppressor's wealth provokes enemies, robbers, &c. Then, after having kept it for an expected son, he loses it beforehand by misfortune ("by evil travail"), and the son is born to be heir of poverty. Ecc 2:19, Ecc 2:23 gives another aspect of the same subject.

JFB: Ecc 5:16

Even supposing that he loses not his wealth before death, then at least he must go stripped of it all (Psa 49:17).

JFB: Ecc 5:16

(Hos 12:1; 1Co 9:26).

JFB: Ecc 5:17

Appropriately put for "liveth" in general, as connected with Ecc 5:11-12, Ecc 5:18.

JFB: Ecc 5:17

Opposed to "light (joy) of countenance" (Ecc 8:1; Pro 16:15).

JFB: Ecc 5:17

Fretfulness, literally, "His sorrow is much, and his infirmity (of body) and wrath."

JFB: Ecc 5:18

Returns to the sentiment (Ecc 3:12-13, Ecc 3:22); translate: "Behold the good which I have seen, and which is becoming" (in a man).

JFB: Ecc 5:18

Namely, both the good of his labor and his life.

JFB: Ecc 5:18

Legitimately. It is God's gift that makes it so when regarded as such. Such a one will use, not abuse, earthly things (1Co 7:31). Opposed to the anxious life of the covetous (Ecc 5:10, Ecc 5:17).

JFB: Ecc 5:19

As Ecc 5:18 refers to the "laboring" man (Ecc 5:12), so Ecc 5:19 to the "rich" man, who gets wealth not by "oppression" (Ecc 5:8), but by "God's gift." He is distinguished also from the "rich" man (Ecc 6:2) in having received by God's gift not only "wealth," but also "power to eat thereof," which that one has not.

JFB: Ecc 5:19

Limits him to the lawful use of wealth, not keeping back from God His portion while enjoying his own.

JFB: Ecc 5:20

He will not remember much, looking back with disappointment, as the ungodly do (Ecc 2:11), on the days of his life.

JFB: Ecc 5:20

God answers his prayers in giving him "power" to enjoy his blessings. GESENIUS and Vulgate translate, "For God (so) occupies him with joy," &c., that he thinks not much of the shortness and sorrows of life. HOLDEN, "Though God gives not much (as to real enjoyment), yet he remembers (with thankfulness) the days; for (he knows) God exercises him by the joy," &c. (tries him by prosperity), so Margin, but English Version is simplest.

Clarke: Ecc 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."

Clarke: Ecc 5:12

The sleep of a laboring man is sweet - His labor is healthy exercise. He is without possessions, and without cares; his sleep, being undisturbed, is sound and refreshing.

Clarke: Ecc 5:13

Riches kept for the owners thereof to their hurt - This may be the case through various causes

1.    He may make an improper use of them, and lose his health by them

2.    He may join in an unfortunate partnership and lose all

3.    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.

Clarke: Ecc 5:14

And he begetteth a son, and there is nothing in his hand - He has been stripped of his property by unfortunate trade or by plunderers; and he has nothing to leave to his children.

Clarke: Ecc 5:15

As he came forth - However it may be, he himself shall carry nothing with him into the eternal world. If he die worth millions, those millions are dead to him for ever; so he has had no real profit from all his labors, cares, anxieties, and vast property!

Clarke: Ecc 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

Clarke: Ecc 5:17

And wrath with his sickness - His last hours are awful; for

"Counting on long years of pleasure here

He’ s quite unfurnish’ d for the world to come.

Blair

He is full of anguish at the thought of death; but the fear of it is horrible. But if he have a sense of God’ s wrath in his guilty conscience, what horror can be compared with his horror!

Clarke: Ecc 5:18

Behold that which I have seen - This is the result of my observations and experience. God gives every man, in the course of his providence, the necessaries of life; and it is his will that he should thankfully use them

Clarke: Ecc 5:18

For it is his portion - What is requisite for him in the lower world; without them his life cannot subsist, and earthly blessings are as truly the portion of his body and animal life, as the salvation of God is the portion of his soul.

Clarke: Ecc 5:20

For he shall not much remember - The person who acts in this way, extracts all the good requisite from life. He passes through things temporal so as not to lose those that are eternal: -

"Calm and serene, the road of life to him

Or long or short, rugged or smooth, with thorn

O’ erspread, or gay with flowers, is but a road

Such fare as offers grateful he accepts

And smiling to his native home proceeds.

C.

||&&$

Defender: Ecc 5:19

This phrase, "the gift of God," occurs only twice in the Old Testament, here and in Ecc 3:13. In both instances, the "gift" has to do with material blessings. Its six occurrences in the New Testament, on the other hand, all refer to spiritual blessings - especially "eternal life" (Rom 6:23; Act 8:20; 1Co 7:7; Eph 2:8; 2Ti 1:6)."

TSK: Ecc 5:11

they : Gen 12:16, Gen 13:2, Gen 13:5-7; 1Ki 4:22, 1Ki 4:23, 1Ki 5:13-16; Neh 5:17, Neh 5:18; Psa 119:36, Psa 119:37

what : Ecc 6:9, Ecc 11:9; Jos 7:21-25; Pro 23:5; Jer 17:11; Hab 2:13; 1Jo 2:16

TSK: Ecc 5:12

Psa 4:8, Psa 127:2; Pro 3:24; Jer 31:26

TSK: Ecc 5:13

a sore : Ecc 4:8, Ecc 6:1, Ecc 6:2

riches : Ecc 8:9; Gen 13:5-11, Gen 14:16, Gen 19:14, Gen 19:26, Gen 19:31-38; Pro 1:11-13, Pro 1:19, Pro 1:32; Pro 11:4, Pro 11:24, Pro 11:25; Isa 2:20, Isa 32:6-8; Zep 1:18; Luk 12:16-21; Luk 16:1-13, Luk 16:19, Luk 16:22, Luk 16:23, Luk 18:22, Luk 18:23, Luk 19:8; 1Ti 6:9, 1Ti 6:10; Jam 2:5-7, Jam 5:1-4

TSK: Ecc 5:14

those : Ecc 2:26; Job 5:5, Job 20:15-29, Job 27:16, Job 27:17; Psa 39:6; Pro 23:5; Hag 1:9; Hag 2:16, Hag 2:17; Mat 6:19, Mat 6:20

and he : 1Sa 2:6-8, 1Sa 2:36; 1Ki 14:26; Psa 109:9-12

TSK: Ecc 5:15

Job 1:21; Psa 49:17; Luk 12:20; 1Ti 6:7

TSK: Ecc 5:16

a sore : Ecc 5:13, Ecc 2:22, Ecc 2:23

what : 1Sa 12:21; Jer 2:8; Mar 8:36

for : Ecc 1:3; Pro 11:29; Isa 26:18; Hos 8:7; Joh 6:27

TSK: Ecc 5:17

he eateth : Gen 3:17; 1Ki 17:12; Job 21:25; Psa 78:33, Psa 102:9, Psa 127:2; Eze 4:16, Eze 4:17

much : 2Ki 1:2, 2Ki 1:6, 2Ki 5:27; 2Ch 16:10-12, 2Ch 24:24, 2Ch 24:25; Psa 90:7-11; Pro 1:27-29; Act 12:23; 1Co 11:30-32

TSK: Ecc 5:18

it is good and comely : Heb. there is a good which is comely, etc. Ecc 2:24, Ecc 3:12, Ecc 3:13, Ecc 3:22, Ecc 8:15, Ecc 9:7, Ecc 11:9; 1Ti 6:17

the days : Heb. the number of the days

it is his : Ecc 2:10, Ecc 3:22; Jer 52:34

TSK: Ecc 5:19

to whom : Ecc 2:24, Ecc 3:13, Ecc 6:2; Deu 8:18; 1Ki 3:13

this is : Ecc 2:24-26

TSK: Ecc 5:20

For he shall not much remember : or, Though he give not much, yet he rembemereth, etc. Psa 37:16

because : Deu 28:8-12, Deu 28:47; Psa 4:6, Psa 4:7; Isa 64:5, Isa 65:13, Isa 65:14, Isa 65:21-24; Rom 5:1, Rom 5:5-11

Commentary -- Word/Phrase Notes (per Verse)

Barnes: Ecc 5:11

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

Barnes: Ecc 5:12

Labouring man - Not a slave (Septuagint), but everyone who, according to the divine direction, earns his bread in the sweat of his brow.

Barnes: Ecc 5:14

Evil travail - Adverse accident, or unsuccessful employment (compare Ecc 1:13; Ecc 4:8).

Barnes: Ecc 5:17

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

Barnes: Ecc 5:18

Rather, Behold what I have seen to be good, it is pleasant for a man to eat. Such thankful enjoyment is inculcated by the Law Deu 12:7, Deu 12:18.

Barnes: Ecc 5:20

The days will pass smoothly and pleasantly, while he lives in the consciousness of God’ s favor.

Answereth him - i. e., grants his prayers.

Poole: Ecc 5:11

They are increased that eat them they require and are more commonly attended with a numerous company of servants, and friends, and retinues to consume them; which is a great torment to a covetous man, of whom he here speaks.

What good is there to the owners thereof? what benefit hath he above others, who feed upon his provisions, and enjoy the same comforts which he doth, without his fears, and cares, and troubles about them?

The beholding of them with their eyes either,

1. With a reflection upon his propriety.in them. Or,

2. With unlimited freedom. He can go and look upon his bags or chests of silver as long and as oft as he pleaseth, whereas other men are seldom admitted to that prospect, and see only some few of the fruits or purchases of it.

Poole: Ecc 5:12

Is sweet because he is free from those cares and fears, wherewith the minds of rich men are oft distracted, and their sleep disturbed.

Whether he eat little then his weariness disposeth him to sleep, or much, in which case his healthful constitution and laborious course of life prevents those crudities and indigestions which ofttimes break the sleep of rich men.

The abundance Heb. the fulness , either,

1. Of his diet, which commonly discomposeth their stomachs, and hinders their rest; or,

2. Of wealth, which is commonly attended with many perplexing cares, which disquiet men both by day and by night. The Hebrew word is used in Scripture both ways, and possibly it is thus generally expressed to include both significations.

Poole: Ecc 5:13

Because they frequently are the instruments and occasions both of their present and eternal destruction, as they feed their pride or luxury, or other hurtful lusts, which waste the body, and shorten the life, and damn the soul; and as they are great temptations to tyrants or thieves, yea, sometimes to relations, or servants, or others, to take away their lives, that they may get their riches.

Poole: Ecc 5:14

But or for , or or , or moreover ; for this particle is so rendered by divers others, both here and in other places of Scripture.

Those riches perish: if they be kept, it is to the owner’ s hurt; and if not, they are lost to his grief.

By evil travail by some wicked practices, either his own, or of other men; or by some secret hand of God cursing all his enterprises.

There is nothing in his hand either,

1. In the father’ s power to leave to his son, for whose sake he underwent all those hard labours; which is a great aggravation of his grief and misery. Or,

2. In the son’ s possession after his father’ s death.

Poole: Ecc 5:15

Return to go into the womb or belly of the earth, the common mother of all mankind. See Poole "Job 1:21" , See Poole "Ecc 12:7 ". And return to go , is put for return and go ; and going is here put for dying , as Job 16:22 Psa 39:13 . This is another vanity: if his estate be neither lost, nor kept to his hurt, but enjoyed by him with safety and comfort all his days, yet when he dies he must leave it behind him, and cannot carry one handful of it with him into another world.

Poole: Ecc 5:16

This also which I have last mentioned and shall now repeat. For the wind ; for riches, which are empty and unsatisfying, uncertain and transitory, fleeing away swiftly and strongly, Pro 23:5 , which no man can hold or stay in its course, all which are the properties of the wind. Compare Pro 11:29 Hos 12:1 .

Poole: Ecc 5:17

All his days to wit, of his life,

also he eateth in darkness he hath no comfort in his estate, but even when he eats, when other men relax their minds, and use freedom and cheerfulness, he doth it with anxiety and discontent, as grudging even at his own necessary expenses, and tormenting himself with cares about getting, and disposing, and keeping his estate.

He hath much sorrow and wrath with his sickness when he falls sick, and presageth or feareth his death, he is filled with rage, because he is cut off before he hath accomplished his designs, and because he must leave that wealth and world in which all his hopes and happiness lie, and must go to give up a doleful account to his Judge of all his actions and acquisitions.

Poole: Ecc 5:18

That which I have seen i.e. learned by study and experience.

Good and comely good or comfortable to man’ s self, and comely or amiable in the eyes of other men, as penuriousness is base and dishonourable.

His portion to wit, of worldly goods; for he hath another and a better portion in heaven. This liberty is given to him by God, and this is the best advantage, as to this life, which he can make of them.

Poole: Ecc 5:19

Hath given him power Heb. hath given him the dominion ; who is the lord and master of his estate, not a slave to it. Of this and the former verse, See Poole "Ecc 2:24" ; See Poole "Ecc 3:12" , See Poole "Ecc 3:13" . To take his portion to his own use , to use what God hath given him.

Poole: Ecc 5:20

He shall not much remember so as to disquiet or vex himself therewith.

The days either,

1. The troubles; days being here put for evil or sad days, by a usual synecdoche, as Job 18:20 Psa 137:7 Ob 12 Mic 7:4 . Or,

2. The time in general; which is irksome and tedious to men oppressed with discontent or misery, who usually reckon every hour or minute that passeth, and have their minds and thoughts constantly fixed upon the vanity and uncertainty of this life, upon the afflictions which they have already endured and may further expect; whereas to men of contented and cheerful minds the time is short and sweet, and passeth over them before they are aware of it, and they enjoy their present comforts without perplexing themselves about former or future events.

Answereth him answereth, either,

1. His labours with success, as money is said to answer all things , Ecc 10:19 , because it is equivalent to all, and able to purchase all things. Or,

2. His desires. In the joy of his heart; in giving him that solid joy and comfort of his labours which his heart expected and desired.

Haydock: Ecc 5:11

Sleep. Is not the health and content of the poor to be preferred?

Haydock: Ecc 5:12

Owner. When they are taken away, they bring greater sorrow, (Calmet) and even when present, they fill the mind with anxiety. (Haydock)

Haydock: Ecc 5:13

Affliction. Hebrew, "by an evil affair," or accident. (Calmet) ---

Who. Hebrew, "and there is nothing in his hand." (Haydock) ---

As temporal riches prove detrimental to their owners, so do false philosophy and heresy to those who follow them. (St. Jerome) (Worthington)

Haydock: Ecc 5:14

Labour. All must die in this manner. But it is most afflicting that he was formerly rich, and must leave his son indigent. (Calmet)

Haydock: Ecc 5:16

Sorrow. The person whose riches have been taken away, had made a bad use of them, (Calmet) living like a miser. It would be more rational to indulge in the pleasures which they afford, though this is also vain, chap. iii. 14.

Haydock: Ecc 5:19

Delight, while he observes due moderation. His life passes away sweetly. (Calmet)

Gill: Ecc 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 about him, and eat with him, as well as the poor, which wait upon him to receive his alms: and if his farms, and his fields, and his flocks, are enlarged, he must have more husbandmen, and labourers, and shepherds to look after them, who all must be maintained. So Pheraulas in Xenophon ^h observes,

"that now he was possessed of much, that he neither ate, nor drank, nor slept the sweeter for it; what he got by his plenty was, that he had more committed to his keeping, and more to distribute to others; he had more care and more business, with trouble; for now, says he, many servants require food of me, many drink, many clothing, some need physicians, &c. it must needs be, adds he, that they that possess much must spend much on the gods, on friends, and on guests;''

and what good is there to the owners thereof, saving the beholding of them with their eyes? he can go into his grounds, his fields, and his meadows to behold his flocks and his herds, and can say, all these are mine; he can go into his chambers and open his treasures, and feed his eyes with looking upon his bags of gold and silver, his jewels, and other riches; he can behold a multitude of people at his table, eating at his expense, and more maintained at his cost: and, if a liberal man, it may be a pleasure to him; if otherwise, it will give him pain: and, excepting these, he enjoys no more than food and raiment; and often so it is, that even his very servants have in some things the advantage of him, as follows. The Targum is,

"what profit is there to the owner thereof who gathers it, unless he does good with it, that he may see the gift of the reward with his eyes in the world to come?''

Jarchi interprets it after this manner,

"when men bring many freewill offerings, the priests are increased that eat them; and what good is to the owner of them, the Lord, but the sight of his eyes, who says, and his will is done?''

Gill: Ecc 5:12

The sleep of a labouring man is sweet, whether he eat little or much,.... Or "of a servant" ⁱ, who enjoys sleep equally as a king; a tiller of the ground, as Jarchi; who also interprets it of one that serves the Lord, as likewise the Targum; a beloved one of his, to whom he gives sleep, Psa 127:2. A refreshing sleep is always reckoned a great mercy and blessing, and which labouring men enjoy with sweetness ^k; for if they have but little to eat at supper, yet coming weary from their work, sleep is easily brought on when they lie down, and sound sleep they have, and rise in the morning lively and active, and fit for business; or, if they eat more plentifully, yet through their labour they have a good digestion, and their sleep is not hindered: so that should it be answered to the above question, what has the master more than the servant, though he eats and drinks more freely, and of the best, and lives voluptuously? yet it may be replied, that, in the business of sleep, the labouring man has the preference to him; which must be owned to be a great blessing of life, and is often interrupted by excessive eating and drinking;

but the abundance of the rich will not suffer him to sleep; either the abundance of food which he eats, which loads his stomach, and fills his head with vapours, and makes him restless, so that he can get no sleep, or what he does get is very uncomfortable: or the abundance of his riches fills him with cares, what he shall do with them, and how to keep and increase them; and with fears, lest thieves should break in and take them away from him, so that he cannot sleep quietly ^l. The Targum is,

"sweet is the sleep of a man that serves the Lord of the world with a perfect heart; and he shall have rest in the house of his grave, whether he lives a few years or more, &c;''

and much to the same purpose Jarchi; and who says, it is thus interpreted in an ancient book of theirs, called Tanchuma.

Gill: Ecc 5:13

There is a sore evil which I have seen under the sun,.... Or "an evil sickness" ^m. 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 coffers, as gold and silver, for the use and service of the owners of them; and which yet have been to their real injury; being either used by them in a luxurious and intemperate way, so have brought diseases on their bodies, and damnation to their souls; or not used at all for their own good, or the good of others, which brings the curse of God upon them, to their ruin and destruction, both here and hereafter: and oftentimes so it is, and which no doubt had fallen under the observation of Solomon, that some who have been great misers, and have hoarded up their substance, without using them themselves, or sharing them with others, have not only been plundered of them, but, for the sake of them, their lives have been taken away in a most barbarous manner, by cutthroats and villains; sometimes by their own servants, nay, even by their own children. Riches ill gotten and ill used are very prejudicial to the owners; and if they are well got, but ill used, or not used at all, greatly hurt the spiritual and eternal state of men; it is a difficult thing for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of heaven, and a covetous man cannot; if a professor, the word he hears is choked and made unprofitable; he errs from the faith, and pierces himself through with many sorrows now, and is liable to eternal damnation hereafter. The Targum interprets it of a man that gathers riches, and does no good with them; but keeps them to himself, to do himself evil in the world to come.

Gill: Ecc 5:14

But those riches perish by evil travail,.... Or, "by an evil business or affair" ⁿ. That is, such riches as are not well got, or are not used as they should be, these waste away and come to nothing; either by the owner's bad management, and misconduct in trade and business; or by fire, tempest, thieves, and robbers, and many other ways and means: these are very certain things; and there are various ways by which they make themselves wings and flee away, under the direction of a divine providence;

and he begetteth a son, and there is nothing in his hand; the riches he had hoarded up, he designed for his son; but being stripped of them by one means or another, when he comes to die, has nothing to leave his son: or if his riches do not perish in his own lifetime, yet they are quickly consumed by his son, who, in a short time, has nothing to live upon; and so being brought up a gentleman, and in no business, is in a worse condition than such who have been brought up to work for their living, and in no expectation of an estate after the decease of their friends. The Targum understands it in this latter sense, paraphrasing the words thus,

"and those riches, which he shall leave his son after his death, shall perish, because he hath gotten them in an evil way; and they shall not remain in the hand of the son whom he hath begotten; neither shall anything remain in his hand.''

Gill: Ecc 5:15

As he came forth of his mother's womb, naked shall he return to go as he came,.... This may be understood either of the covetous rich man, or of his son; and that supposing what is before said should not be the case of either of them, but they should possess their substance as long as they live; yet, when they come to die, they will be stripped of them all; of their gold and silver, their plate and jewels, and rich household furniture; of their cattle and possessions, farms and estates, which are no longer theirs; and even of their very clothes, and be as naked as they were when they came into the world; and which is indeed the case of every man, Job 1:21; and is used as an argument, and a very forcible one, against covetousness;

and shall take nothing of his labour, which he may carry away in his hand; nothing of his substance, which he has got by his labour, and hoarded up with great care; not the least portion of it can he carry away with him when he dies; not any of his jewels, nor bags of gold and silver; and if any of these should be put into his grave, which has been sometimes done at the interment of great personages, these are of no manner of use and service to him, either to comfort and refresh his body, or to save his soul from hell, and procure it an entrance into the heavenly glory; see 1Ti 6:7. The Targum allegorizes this in a very orthodox way, not very usual, in favour of original sin, and against the doctrine of merit;

"as he goes out of his mother's womb naked, without a covering, and without any good; so he shall return to go to the house of his grave, indigent of merit, as he came into this world; and no good reward shall he receive by his labour, to take with him into the world to which he goes, that it may be for merit in his hand.''

Gill: Ecc 5:16

And this also is a sore evil, that in all points as he came,

so shall he go,.... This seems not to be an evil or vanity, distinct from the former; but the same repeated and confirmed, and expressed, if possible, in stronger terms, that a man is in all respects alike, when he goes out of the world, as when he came in. A man's birth is signified by "coming", that is, out of his mother's womb, and into the world; and which is a description of every man born into it, Joh 1:9; he is of the earth, earthly; comes forth like a flower, and springs up as grass; he comes not of himself, nor casually, but by means of his parents; and according to the determinate will of God, and to answer some end or other: and his death is signified by "going": a going the way of all flesh; a going out of the world; a going to the grave, the house of all living, a man's long home; it is like going from one house to another; for death is not an annihilation of man, but a remove of him from hence elsewhere; and a man's birth and death are in all points alike. This is to be understood of natural and civil things; of riches and honours, which men cannot carry with them; and with respect to them, they are as they were born, naked and stripped of them; and with respect to the body, the parts of it then are the same, though more grown; it is as naked as it was born; and a man is as much beholden to his friends for his grave as for his swaddling clothes; it becomes what it was at first, earth and dust; and as a man comes not into the world at his own will and pleasure, so neither does he go out of it at his will, but the Lord's. The Midrash interprets it thus,

"as a man comes into the world, with crying, weeping, and sighing, and without knowledge, so he goes out.''

Likewise this is only true of natural and unregenerate men as to moral things; as they are born in sin, they die in sin; with only this difference, an addition of more sin; as they come into the world without the image of God, without a righteousness, without holiness, and without the grace of God, so they go out of it without these things: but this is not true of saints and truly gracious persons; they come into the world with sin, but go out of it without it; being washed in the blood of Christ, justified by his righteousness, and all their sins expiated and pardoned through his sacrifice: they are born without a righteousness, but do not die without one; Christ has wrought out an everlasting righteousness for them; this is imputed to them; is received by faith; given them; they are found in it, living and dying; and this introduces them into heaven and happiness: they are born without holiness, but do not live and die without it; they are regenerated and sanctified by the Spirit of God, and at the moment of death made perfectly holy. This only therefore is true of men, as natural, and with respect to natural and civil things: the Targum interprets it,

"as he comes into this world void of merit, so he shall go into that;''

and what profit hath he that hath laboured for the wind? for riches, which are as unsatisfying as the wind; which are as shifting, and as swift to flee away, as that; and can no more be held, when it is the will of God they should go, and especially at death, than the wind is to be held in the fist of men; and which are as unprofitable as that in the hour of death. Particularly, what profit has a man of all his riches, which he has got by labour, when he neither makes use of them in life for his own good, nor the good of others; and when he comes to die, they leave him and stand him in no stead; and especially having been unconcerned about his immortal soul; and having been wholly taken up in the pursuit of such vain and transitory things? see Mat 16:26.

Gill: Ecc 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 literally of the night, to which time such a man defers eating, that he might lose no time in his labour; and that it might not be seen what sort of food he eats, and how sparingly, and that others might not eat with him; and what he does eat is not eaten freely, but grudgingly, and with anguish and distress of mind, without any real pleasure and joy; and much less with the light of God's countenance, the discoveries of his love, and communion with him: the Targum is,

"all his days he dwelleth in darkness, that he may taste his bread alone;''

and he hath, much sorrow and wrath with his sickness; either the sickness of his mind, his covetousness; or the sickness of his body, emaciated by withholding from himself the necessaries of life: or when he comes upon a sick bed, he is filled with sorrow and indignation, that he must live no longer, to accumulate more wealth, and accomplish his projects and designs; and that he must leave his wealth, he has been at so much pains to gather together. Or, "and he is much angry" ^o; when things do not answer in trade according to his wishes; when his substance diminishes, or, however, does not increase as he desires; when he is cheated by fraudulent men, or robbed by thieves: "and he hath sickness" ^p; either of body or mind, or both, because matters do not succeed as he would have them; and through fretfulness at losses and crosses, and disappointments; and through cares in getting and keeping what he has: "and wrath"; at all about him, whom he is ready to charge with slothfulness or unfaithfulness to him; and even at the providence of God, that does not give him the desired success; so that he has no manner of pleasure and comfort in life.

Gill: Ecc 5:18

Behold that which I have seen,.... Observed, considered and approved of, and which he recommended and excited attention to, and is as follows;

it is good and comely for one to eat and to drink; to make use of the creatures God has given for service in a free and liberal manner, without excess, and with moderation; and not deprive a man's self of those things he may lawfully partake of, and are necessary for him: to do this is good for himself, and for the health of his body; and is right in the sight of God, and is comely before men; it is not only lawful, but laudable. There is another version and sense of the words, "it is good to eat and drink him that is fair" ^q, or comely; Christ, who is fairer than the children of men; to live by faith on him, to eat his flesh, and drink his blood; but this, however true, spiritual, and evangelical, it seems foreign to the text. It follows,

and to enjoy the good of all his labour that he taketh under the sun all the days of his life, which God giveth him; this last clause, "which God giveth him", is not to be connected with "the good of all his labour"; though it is true, that whatever good is got by labour is the gift of God; but with "all the days of his life"; for the life of man, and all the days of it, be they more or fewer, are the gift of God, and according to his determinate will and pleasure; and throughout this time a man should enjoy, in a comfortable way, with thankfulness to God, the good things he has gotten by his labour and industry, through the blessing of God along with them. This Solomon frequently inculcates; Aben Ezra says, this is the third time, but it seems to be the fourth; see Ecc 2:24;

for it is his portion; that is, in this life; for otherwise, if a good man, he has a better portion in another: this is the part which God has allotted to him here; and it is his duty, and for his good and comfort, to make use of it.

Gill: Ecc 5:19

Every man also to whom God hath given riches and wealth,.... Which include the whole of a man's substance; all his estate, personal and real; and all his goods and possessions, movable and immovable, as gold, silver, cattle, fields, and farms; which are all the gift of God, by whatsoever means they may be acquired or possessed;

and hath given him power; or, "caused him to have dominion" ^r, over his wealth and riches, and not be a slave to them, as many are: but to have so much command of them and of himself, as

to eat thereof; comfortably enjoy them; and dispose of them to his own good, the good of others, and the glory of God. It follows,

and to take his portion; which God hath allotted him; to take it thankfully, and use it freely and comfortably;

and to rejoice in his labour; in the things he has been labouring for, in a cheerful use of them; blessing God for them, and taking the comfort of them;

this is the gift of God; to have such power over his substance, and not be a slave to it, and to enjoy the fruits of his labour, in a cheerful and comfortable manner; this is as much the gift of God as riches themselves ^s.

Gill: Ecc 5:20

For he shall not much remember the days of his life,.... Be they more or fewer, as Jarchi: he will not think life long and tedious; nor dwell upon, and distress himself with, the troubles he has met with, or is likely to meet with; but, being content with the good things God has given him, and freely and cheerfully enjoying them, he passes away his time delightfully and pleasantly. Some, as Aben Ezra observes, and which he approves of, and is agreeably to the accents, render the words, "if he has not much, he remembers the days of his life" ^t; if he has but little of the good things of this life, he remembers how few his days are he has to live; and doubts not he shall have enough to carry him to the end of his days, and therefore is quite easy and content; he calls to mind how he has been supplied all his days hitherto, and is persuaded that that God, who has provided for him, will continue his goodness to him, and that he shall not want any good thing; and therefore does not distress himself with what is to come;

because God answereth him in the joy of his heart; he calls upon God for a blessing on his labours, asks of him his daily food, and desires what may be proper and sufficient for him, or what he judges is necessary and convenient; and God answers his prayers and petitions, and good wishes, by filling his heart with food and gladness; and giving him that cheerfulness of spirit, and thankfulness of heart, in the enjoyment of every blessing; and especially if along with it he lifts up the light of his countenance, and grants him joy in the Holy Ghost; he will go on so pleasantly and comfortably as to forget all his former troubles; and it will dissipate his doubts and fears about how he shall live for the future.

Commentary -- Verse Notes / Footnotes

NET Notes: Ecc 5:11

¹ tn The word “someone’s” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity.

² tn The term טוֹבָה (tovah, “good”) connotes “prosperity” (Deut 23:7; Job 9:25; 21:25; Ps 106:5; Lam 3:17; Eccl 4:8; 5:10, 17; 6:3, 6; 7:14; 9:18; Neh 2:10; Sir 6:11; 41:13); cf. HALOT 372 s.v. טוֹבָה 2. The related term טוֹב (tov, “good”) connotes “prosperity” as well (Prov 11:10; Job 20:21; 21:16); cf. HALOT 372 s.v. טוֹבָה 1.b. Here, it refers to the possessions and wealth a person acquires as the fruit of his labors. This nuance is well reflected in several English versions: “The more a man gains, the more there are to spend it” (Moffatt); “When riches multiply, so do those who live off them” (NEB); “As his substance increase, so do those who consume it” (NJPS); and “Where there are great riches, there are also many to devour them” (NAB). The line does not describe the economic law of “supply and demand,” as some versions seem to imply, e.g., “As goods increase, so do those who consume them” (NIV); “When goods increase, those who eat them increase” (NRSV); cf. also KJV, ASV, RSV, MLB, NASB.

³ tn The form is plural in the Hebrew text, but the plural is one of intensification; it is used here to emphasize the owner’s authority over his wealth. See GKC 399 §124.i. See v 13 as well.

⁴ tn The rhetorical question is an example of negative affirmation, expecting a negative answer: “There is no ultimate advantage!” (see E. W. Bullinger, Figures of Speech, 947-48).

NET Notes: Ecc 5:13

¹ tn Heb “there is.” The term יֵשׁ (yesh, “there is”) is often used in aphorisms to assert the existence of a particular situation that occurs sometimes. It may indicate that the situation is not the rule but that it does occur on occasion, and may be nuanced “sometimes” (e.g., Prov 11:24; 13:7, 23; 14:12; 16:25; 18:24; 20:15; Eccl 2:21; 4:8; 5:12; 6:1; 7:15 [2x]; 8:14 [3x]).

² tn The noun רָעָה (ra’ah, “evil”) probably means “misfortune” (HALOT 1263 s.v. רָעָה 4) or “injustice, wrong” (HALOT 1262 s.v. רָעָה 2.b). The phrase רָעָה רַבָּה (ra’ah rabbah) connotes “grave injustice” or “great misfortune” (Eccl 2:17; 5:12, 15; 6:1; 10:5).

³ tn Heb “under the sun.”

NET Notes: Ecc 5:14

¹ tn Or “through a bad business deal.” The basic meaning of עִנְיַן (’inyan) is “business; affair” (HALOT 857 s.v. עִנְיָן) or “occupation; task” (BDB 775 s.v. עִנְיָן). The term is used in a specific sense in reference to business activity (Eccl 8:16), as well as in a more general sense in reference to events that occur on earth (Eccl 1:13; 4:8). BDB suggests that the phrase עִנְיַן רָע (’inyan ra’) in 5:13 refers to a bad business deal (BDB 775 s.v. עִנְיָן); however, HALOT suggests that it means “bad luck” (HALOT 857 s.v. עִנְיָן). The English versions reflect the same two approaches: (1) bad luck: “some misfortune” (NAB, NIV) and (2) a bad business deal: “a bad investment” (NASB), “a bad venture” (RSV, NRSV, MLB), “some unlucky venture” (Moffatt, NJPS), “an unlucky venture” (NEB), “an evil adventure” (ASV).

² tn Heb “there is nothing in his hand.”

NET Notes: Ecc 5:16

¹ tn See the note on the phrase “depressing misfortune” in v. 13.

NET Notes: Ecc 5:17

¹ tn Heb “all his days.” The phrase “of his life” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity.

NET Notes: Ecc 5:18

¹ tn Heb “Behold, that which I have seen, I, good which is beautiful.” The phrase “for people” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity.

² sn The phrase “to eat and to drink” is a common idiom in Ecclesiastes for a person enjoying the fruit of his labor (e.g., 2:24; 3:13).

³ tn Heb “his,” and three times later in the verse.

⁴ tn Heb “the toil which one toils.”

⁵ tn Heb “under the sun.”

⁶ tn The term חֵלֶק (kheleq, “lot”) has a wide range of meanings: (1) “share of spoils” (Gen 14:24; Num 31:36; 1 Sam 30:24), (2) “portion of food” (Lev 6:10; Deut 18:8; Hab 1:16), (3) “portion [or tract] of land” (Deut 10:9; 12:12; Josh 19:9), (4) “portion” or “possession” (Num 18:20; Deut 32:9), (5) “inheritance” (2 Kgs 9:10; Amos 7:4), (6) “portion” or “award” (Job 20:29; 27:13; 31:2; Isa 17:14) or “profit; reward” (Eccl 2:10, 21; 3:22; 5:17-18; 9:6, 9); see HALOT 323 s.v. II חֵלֶק; BDB 324 s.v. חֵלֶק. Throughout Ecclesiastes, the term is used in reference to man’s temporal profit from his labor and his reward from God (e.g., Eccl 3:22; 9:9).

NET Notes: Ecc 5:19

¹ tn The syntax of this verse is difficult. The best approach is to view הִשְׁלִיטוֹ (hishlito, “he has given him the ability”) as governing the three following infinitives: לֶאֱכֹל (le’ekhol, “to eat”), וְלָשֵׂאת (vÿlase’t, “and to lift” = “to accept [or receive]”), and וְלִשְׂמֹחַ (vÿlismoakh, “and to rejoice”). This statement parallels 2:24-26 which states that no one can find enjoyment in life unless God gives him the ability to do so.

² tn Heb “this.” The feminine singular demonstrative pronoun זֹה (zoh, “this”) refers back to all that preceded it in the verse (e.g., GKC 440-41 §135.p), that is, the ability to enjoy the fruit of one’s labor is the gift of God (e.g., Eccl 2:24-26). The phrase “these things” is used in the translation for clarity.

NET Notes: Ecc 5:20

¹ tn The verb זָכַר (zakhar, “to remember”) may be nuanced “to call to mind; to think about,” that is, “to reflect upon” (e.g., Isa 47:7; Lam 1:9; Job 21:6; 36:24; 40:32; Eccl 11:8); cf. BDB 270 s.v. זָכַר 5; HALOT 270 s.v. I זכר 2.

² tn The word “fleeting” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity.

³ tn The term מַעֲנֵה (ma’aneh, Hiphil participle ms from II עָנָה, ’anah, “to be occupied”) refers to activity that keeps a person physically busy and mentally preoccupied, e.g., Eccl 1:13; 3:10; 5:19 (HALOT 854; BDB 775 s.v. עָנָה II). The related noun עִנְיַן (’inyan,“business; occupation; task”) refers to activity that keeps man busy and occupies his time, e.g., Eccl 1:13; 2:26; 3:10 (HALOT 857; BDB 775 s.v. עִנְיָן). The participle form is used to emphasize durative, uninterrupted, continual action.

⁴ tn Heb “with the joy of his heart.” The words “he derives from his activity” do not appear in the Hebrew, but they are added to clarify the Teacher’s point in light of what he says right before this.

Geneva Bible: Ecc 5:12

The sleep of a labouring man [is] sweet, whether he eateth little or much: but the ^{( i )} abundance of the rich will not allow him to sleep.

^{( i )} That is, his great abundance of riches, or the surfeiting, which comes by his great feeding.

Geneva Bible: Ecc 5:13

There is a grievous evil [which] I have seen under the sun, [namely], riches ^{( k )} kept for the owners of them to their hurt.

^{( k )} When covetous men heap up riches, which turn to their destruction.

Geneva Bible: Ecc 5:14

But those riches perish by evil labour: and he begetteth a son, and [there is] nothing in his ^{( l )} hand.

^{( l )} He does not enjoy his father's riches.

Geneva Bible: Ecc 5:16

And this also [is] a grievous evil, [that] in all points as he came, so shall he go: and what profit hath he that hath laboured for the ^{( m )} wind?

^{( m )} Meaning, in vain and without profit.

Geneva Bible: Ecc 5:17

All his days also he eateth in ^{( n )} darkness, and [he hath] much sorrow and wrath with his sickness.

^{( n )} In affliction and grief of mind.

Geneva Bible: Ecc 5:18

Behold [that] which I have seen: [it is] good and proper [for one] to ^{( o )} eat and to drink, and to enjoy the good of all his labour that he taketh under the sun all the days of his life, which God giveth him: for it [is] his portion.

^{( o )} See Ecc 3:22

Geneva Bible: Ecc 5:20

For he shall not much remember the days of his ^{( p )} life; because God answereth [him] in the joy of his heart.

^{( p )} He will take no great thought for the pains that he has endured in times past.

Commentary -- Verse Range Notes

TSK Synopsis: Ecc 5:1-20

1 Vanities in divine service;

8 in murmuring against oppression;

9 and in riches.

18 Joy in riches is the gift of God.

Maclaren: Ecc 5:2-13

Lessons For Worship And For Work

Keep thy foot when thou goest to the house of God, and be more ready to hear, than to give the sacrifice of fools : for they consider not that they do evil. 2. Be not rash with thy mouth, and let not thine heart be hasty to utter any thing before God : for God is in heaven, and thou upon earth; therefore let thy words be few. 3. For a dream cometh through the multitude of business; and a fool's voice is known by multitude of words. 4. When thou vowest a vow unto God, defer not to pay it; for He hath no pleasure in fools: pay that which thou hast vowed. 5. Better is it that thou shouldest not vow, than that thou shouldest vow and not pay. 6. Suffer not thy mouth to cause thy flesh to sin; neither say thou before the angel, that it was an error: wherefore should God be angry at thy voice, and destroy the work of thine hands? 7. For in the multitude of dreams and many words there are also divers vanities : but fear thou God. 8. If thou seest the oppression of the poor, and violent perverting of judgment and justice in a province, marvel not at the matter : for he that is higher than the highest regardeth; and there be higher than they. 9. Moreover, the profit of the earth is for all: the king himself is served by the field. 10. He that loveth silver shall not be satisfied with silver; nor he that loveth abundance with increase. This is also vanity. 11. 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? 12. The sleep of a labouring man is sweet, whether he eat little or much : but the abundance of the rich will not suffer him to sleep.'--Eccles. 5:1-12.

THIS passage is composed of two or perhaps three apparently disconnected sections. The faults in worship referred to in Eccles. 5:1-7 have nothing to do with the legalised robbery of Eccles. 5:8, nor has the demonstration of the folly of covetousness in Eccles. 5:10-12 any connection with either of the preceding subjects. But they are brought into unity, if they are taken as applications in different directions of the bitter truth which the writer sets himself to prove runs through all life. All is vanity.' That principle may even be exemplified in worship, and the obscure Eccles. 5:7 which closes the section about the faults of worship seems to be equivalent to the more familiar close which rings the knell of so many of men's pursuits in this book, This also is vanity.' It stands in the usual form in Eccles. 5:10.

We have in Eccles. 5:1-7 a warning against the faults in worship which make even it to be vanity,' unreal and empty and fruitless. These are of three sorts, arranged, as it were, chronologically. The worshipper is first regarded as going to the house of God, then as presenting his prayers in it, and then as having left it and returned to his ordinary life. The writer has cautions to give concerning conduct before, during, and after public .worship.

Note that, in all three parts of his warnings, his favourite word of condemnation appears as describing the vain worship to which he opposes the right manner. They who fall into the faults condemned are fools.' If that class includes all who mar their worship by such errors, the church which holds them had need to be of huge dimensions; for the faults held up in these ancient words flourish in full luxuriance to-day, and seem to haunt long-established Christianity quite as mischievously as they did long-established Judaism. If we could banish them from our religious assemblies, there would be fewer complaints of the poor results of so much apparently Christian prayer and preaching.

Fruitful and acceptable worship begins before it begins. So our passage commences with the demeanour of the worshipper on his way to the house of God. He is to keep his foot; that is, to go deliberately, thoughtfully, with realisation of what he is about to do. He is to draw near to hear' and to bethink himself, while drawing near, of what his purpose should be.

Our forefathers' Sunday began on Saturday night, and partly for that reason the hallowing influence of it ran over into Monday, at all events. What likelihood is there that much good will come of worship to people who talk politics or scandal right up to the church door? Is reading newspapers in the pews, which they tell us in England is not unknown in America, a good preparation for worshipping God? The heaviest rain runs off parched ground, unless it has been first softened by a gentle fall of moisture. Hearts that have no dew of previous meditation to make them receptive are not likely to drink in much of the showers of blessing which may be falling round them. The formal worshipper who goes to the house of God because it is the hour when he has always gone; the curious worshipper (?) who draws near to hear indeed, but to hear a man, not God; and all the other sorts of mere outward worshippers who make so large a proportion of every Christian congregation--get the lesson they need, to begin with, in this precept.

Note, that right preparation for worship is better than worship itself, if it is that of fools.' Drawing near with the true purpose is better than being near with the wrong one. Note, too, the reason for the vanity of the' sacrifice of fools' is that' they know not'; and why do they not know, but because they did not draw near with the purpose of hearing? Therefore, as the last clause of the verse says, rightly rendered,' they do evil.' All hangs together. No matter how much we frequent the house of God, if we go with unprepared minds and hearts we shall remain ignorant, and because we are so, our sacrifices will be evil.' If the winnowing fan of this principle were applied to our decorous congregations, who dress their bodies for church much more carefully than they do their souls, what a cloud of chaff would fly off!

Then comes the direction for conduct in the act of worship. The same thoughtfulness which kept the foot in coming to, should keep the heart when in, the house of God. His exaltation and our lowliness should check hasty words, blurting out uppermost wishes, or in any way outrunning the sentiments and emotions of prepared hearts. Not that the lesson would .check the fervid flow of real desire. There is a type of calm worship which keeps itself calm because it is cold. Propriety and sobriety are its watchwords--both admirable things, and both dear to tepid Christians. Other people besides the crowds on Pentecost think that men whose lips are fired by the Spirit of God are drunken,' if not with wine, at all events with unwholesome enthusiasm. But the outpourings of a soul filled, not only with the sense that God is in heaven and we on earth, but also with the assurance that He is near to it, and it to Him, are not rash and hasty, however fervid. What is condemned is words which travel faster than thoughts or feelings, or which proceed from hearts that have not been brought into patient submission, or from such as lack reverent realisation of God's majesty; and such faults may attach to the most calm worship, and need not infect the most fervent. Those prayers are not hasty which keep step with the suppliant's desires, when these take the time from God's promises. That mouth is not rash which waits to speak until the ear has heard.

Let thy words be few.' The heathen think that they shall be heard for much speaking.' It needs not to tell our wants in many words to One who knows them altogether, any more than a child needs many when speaking to a father or mother. But few' must be measured by the number of needs and desires. The shortest prayer, which is not animated by a consciousness of need and a throb of desire, is too long; the longest, which is vitalised by these, is short enough. What becomes of the enormous percentage of public and private prayers, which are mere repetitions, said because they are the right thing to say, because everybody always has said them, and not because the man praying really wants the things he asks for, or expects to get them any the more for asking?

Eccles. 5:3 gives a reason for the exhortation, A dream comes through a multitude of business'--when a man is much occupied with any matter, it is apt to haunt his sleeping as well as his waking thoughts. A fool's voice comes through a multitude of words.' The dream is the consequence of the pressure of business, but the fool's voice is the cause, not the consequence, of the gush of words. What, then, is the meaning? Probably that such a gush of words turns, as it were, the voice of the utterer, for the time being, into that of a fool. Voluble prayers, more abundant than devout sentiments or emotions, make the offerer as a fool' and his prayer unacceptable.

The third direction refers to conduct after worship. It lays down the general principle that vows should be paid, and that swiftly. A keen insight into human nature suggests the importance of prompt fulfilment of the vows; for in carrying out resolutions formed under the impulse of the sanctuary, even more than in other departments, delays are dangerous. Many a young heart touched by the truth has resolved to live a Christian life, and has gone out from the house of God and put off and put off till days have thickened into months and years, and the intention has remained unfulfilled for ever. Nothing hardens hearts, stiffens wills, and sears consciences so much as to be brought to the point of melting, and then to cool down into the old shape. All good resolutions and spiritual convictions may be included under the name of vows; and of all it is true that it is better not to have formed them, than to have formed and not performed them,

Eccles. 5:6-7 are obscure. The former seems to refer to the case of a man who vows and then asks that he may be absolved from his vow by the priest or other ecclesiastical authority. His mouth--that is, his spoken promise--leads him into sin, if he does not fulfil it (comp. Deut. 23:21-22). He asks release from his promise on the ground that it is a sin of weakness. The' angel' is best understood as the priest (messenger), as in Malachi 2:7. Such a wriggling out of a vow will bring God's anger; for the voice' which promised what the hand will not perform, sins.

Eccles. 5:7 is variously rendered. The Revised Version supplies at the beginning, This comes to pass,' and goes on through the multitude of dreams and vanities and many words.' But this scarcely bears upon the context, which requires here a reason against rash speech and vows. The meaning seems better given, either by the rearranged text which Delitzsch suggests, In many dreams and many words there are also many vanities' (so, substantially, the Auth. Ver.), or as Wright, following Hitzig, etc., has it, In the multitude of dreams are also vanities, and [in] many words [as well].' The simile of Eccles. 5:3 is recurred to, and the whirling visions of unsubstantial dreams are likened to the rash words of voluble prayers in that both are vanity. Thus the writer reaches his favourite thought, and shows how vanity infects even devotion. The closing injunction to fear God' sets in sharp contrast with faulty outward worship the inner surrender and devotion, which will protect against such empty hypocrisy. If the heart is right, the lips will not be far wrong.

Eccles. 5:8-9 have no direct connection with the preceding, and their connection with the following (Eccles. 5:10-12) is slight. Their meaning is dubious. According to the prevailing view now, the abuses of government in Eccles. 5:8 are those of the period of the writer; and the last clauses do not, as might appear at first reading, console sufferers by the thought that God is above rapacious dignitaries, but bids the readers not be surprised if small officials plunder, since the same corruption goes upwards through all grades of functionaries. With such rotten condition of things is contrasted, in Eccles. 5:9, the happy state of a people living under a patriarchal government, where the king draws his revenues, not from oppression, but from agriculture. The Revised Version gives in its margin this rendering. The connection of these verses with the following may be that they teach the vanity of riches under such a state of society as they describe. What is the use of scraping wealth together when hungry officials are watching' to pounce on it? How much better to be contented with the modest prosperity of a quiet country life! If the translation of Eccles. 5:9 in the Authorised Version and the Revised Version is retained, there is a striking contrast between the rapine of the city, where men live by preying on each other (as they do still to a large extent, for commerce' is often nothing better), and the wholesome natural life of the country, where the kindly earth yields fruit, and one man's gain is not another's loss.

Thus the verses may be connected with the wise depreciation of money which follows. That low estimate is based on three grounds, which great trading nations like England and the United States need to have dinned into their ears. First, no man ever gets enough of worldly wealth. The appetite grows faster than the balance at the banker's. That is so because the desire that is turned to outward wealth really needs something else, and has mistaken its object. God, not money or money's worth, is the satisfying possession. It is so because all appetites, fed on earthly things, increase by gratification, and demand ever larger draughts. The jaded palate needs stronger stimulants. The seasoned opium-eater has to increase his doses to produce the same effects. Second, the race after riches is a race after a phantom, because the more one has of them the more people there spring up to share them. The poor man does with one servant; the rich man has fifty; and his own portion of his wealth is a very small item. His own meal is but a small slice off the immense provisions for which he has the trouble of paying. It is so, thirdly, because in the chase he deranges his physical nature; and when he has got his wealth, it only keeps him awake at night thinking how he shall guard it and keep it safe.

That which costs so much to get, which has so little power to satisfy, which must always be less than the wish of the covetous man, which costs so much to keep, which stuffs pillows with thorns, is surely vanity. Honest work is rewarded by sweet sleep. The old legend told of unslumbering guards who kept the treasure of the golden fruit. The millionaire has to live in a barred house, and to be always on the lookout lest some combination of speculators should pull down his stocks, or some change in the current of population should make his city lots worthless. Black care rides behind the successful man of business. Better to have done a day's work which has earned a night's repose than to be the slave of one's wealth, as all men are who make it their aim and their supreme good. Would that these lessons were printed deep on the hearts of young Englishmen and Americans!

Maclaren: Ecc 5:16

Naked Or Clothed?

As he came forth of his mother's womb, naked shall he return to go as he came, and shall take nothing of his labour, which he may carry away in his hand.'--Eccles. 5:15.

Their works do follow them.'--Rev. 14:13.

IT is to be observed that these two sharply contrasted texts do not refer to the same persons. The former is spoken of a rich worldling, the latter of the dead who die in the Lord.' The unrelieved gloom of the one is as a dark background against which the triumphant assurance of the other shines out the more brightly, and deepens the gloom which heightens it. The end of the man who has to go away from earth naked and empty-handed acquires new tragic force when set against the lot of those whose works do follow them.' Well-worn and commonplace as both sets of thought may be, they may perhaps be flashed up into new vividness by juxtaposition; and if in this sermon we have nothing new to say, old truth is not out of place till it has been wrought into and influenced our daily practice. We shall best gather the lessons of our text if we consider what we must leave, what we must take, and what we may take.

I. What We Must Leave.

The Preacher in the context presses home a formidable array of the limitations and insufficiencies of wealth. Possessed, it cannot satisfy, for the appetite grows with indulgence. Its increase barely keeps pace with the increase of its consumers. It contributes nothing to the advantage of its so-called owner except the beholding of it with his eyes,' and the need of watching it keeps them open when he would fain sleep. It is often kept to the owner's hurt, it often disappears in unfortunate speculation, and the possessor's heirs are paupers. But, even if all these possibilities are safely weathered, the man has to die and leave it all behind. He shall take nothing of his labour which he can carry away in his hand'; that is to say, death separates from all with whom the life of the body brings us into connection. The things which are no parts of our true selves are ours in a very modified sense even whilst we seem to possess them, and the term of possession has a definite close. Shrouds have no pockets,' as the stern old proverb says. How many men have lived in the houses which we call ours, sat on our seats, walked over our lands, carried in their purses the money that is in ours i Is the game worth the candle' when we give our labour for so imperfect and brief a possession as at the fullest and the longest we enjoy of all earthly good? Surely a wise man will set little store by possessions of all which a cold, irresistible hand will come to strip him. Surely the life is wasted which spends its energy in robing itself in garments which will all be stripped from it when the naked self returns to go as he came.'

But there are other things than these earthly possessions from which death separates us. It carries us far away from the sound of human voices and isolates us from living men. Honour and reputation cease to be audible. When a prominent man dies, what a clatter of conflicting judgments contends over his grave! and how utterly he is beyond them all! Praise or blame, blessing or banning are equally powerless to reach the unhearing ear or to agitate the unbeating heart. And when one of our small selves passes out of life, we hear no more the voice of censure or of praise, of love or of hate. Is it worth while to toil for the hollow wraith of dying fame,' or even for the clasp of loving hands which have to be loosened so surely and so soon?

Then again, there are other things which must be left behind as belonging only to the present order, and connected with bodily life. There will be no scope for material work, and much of all our knowledge will be antiquated when the light beyond shines in.. As we shall have occasion to see presently, there is a permanent element in the most material work, and if in handling the transient we have been living for the eternal, such work will abide; but if we think of the spirit in which a sad majority do their daily tasks, whether of a more material or of a more intellectual sort, we must recognise that a very large proportion of all the business of life must come to an end here. There is nothing in it that will stand the voyage across the great deep, or that can survive in the order of things to which we go. What is a man to do in another world, supposing there is another world, where ledgers and mills are out of. date? Or what has a scholar or scientist to do in a state of things where there is no place for dictionaries and grammars, for acute criticism, or for a careful scientific research Physical science, linguistic knowledge, political wisdom, will be antiquated. The poetry which glorifies afresh and interprets the present will have lost its meaning. Half the problems that torture us here will cease to have existence, and most of the other half will have been solved by simple change of position. Whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away'; and it becomes us all to bethink ourselves whether there is anything in our lives that we can carry away when all that is of the earth earthy' has sunk into nothingness.

II. What We Must Take.

We must take ourselves. It is the same he' who goes naked as he came'; it is the same he' who came from his mother's womb,' and is born again' as it were into a new life, only he' has by his earthly life been developed and revealed. The plant has flowered and fruited. What was mere potentiality has become fact. There is now fixed character. The transient possessions, relationships, and occupations of the earthly life are gone, but the man that they have made is there. And in the character there are pro-dominant habits which insist upon having their sway, and a memory of which, as we may believe, there is written indelibly all the past. Whatever death may strip from us, there is no reason to suppose that it touches the consciousness and personal identity, or the prevailing set and inclination of our characters. And if we do indeed pass into another life not in entire forgetfulness, and not in utter nakedness,' but carrying a perfected memory and clothed in a garment woven of all our past actions, there needs no more to bring about a solemn and continuous act of judgment.

III. What We May Take.

Their works do follow them.' These are the words of the Spirit concerning the dead who die in the Lord.' We need not fear marring the great truth that not by works of righteousness but by His mercy He saved us,' if we firmly grasp the large assurance which this text blessedly contains. A Christian man's works are perpetual in the measure in which they harmonise with the divine will, in the measure they have eternal consequences in himself whatever they may have on others. If we live opening our minds and hearts to the influx of the divine power that worketh in us both to will and to do of His good pleasure,' then we may be humbly sure that these works' are eternal; and though they will never constitute the ground of our acceptance, they will never fail to secure a great recompence of reward.' To many a humble saint there will be a moment of wondering thankfulness when he sees these his children whom God hath given him' clustered round him, and has to say, Lord, when saw I Thee naked, or in prison, and visited Thee?' There will be many an apocalypse of grateful surprise in the revelations of the heavens. We remember Milton's noble explanation of these great words which may well silence our feeble attempts to enforce them--

Thy works and alms and all thy good endeavourStood not behind, nor in the grave were trod,But as faith pointed with her golden rod,Followed them up to joy and bliss for ever.'

So then, life here and yonder will for the Christian soul be one continuous whole, only that there, while their works do follow them,' they rest from their labours.'

MHCC: Ecc 5:9-17

The goodness of Providence is more equally distributed than appears to a careless observer. The king needs the common things of life, and the poor share them; they relish their morsel better than he does his luxuries. There are bodily desires which silver itself will not satisfy, much less will worldly abundance satisfy spiritual desires. The more men have, the better house they must keep, the more servants they must employ, the more guests they must entertain, and the more they will have hanging on them. The sleep of the labourer is sweet, not only because he is tired, but because he has little care to break his sleep. The sleep of the diligent Christian, and his long sleep, are sweet; having spent himself and his time in the service of God, he can cheerfully repose in God as his Rest. But those who have every thing else, often fail to secure a good night's sleep; their abundance breaks their rest. Riches do hurt, and draw away the heart from God and duty. Men do hurt with their riches, not only gratifying their own lusts, but oppressing others, and dealing hardly with them. They will see that they have laboured for the wind, when, at death, they find the profit of their labour is all gone like the wind, they know not whither. How ill the covetous worldling bears the calamities of human life! He does not sorrow to repentance, but is angry at the providence of God, angry at all about him; which doubles his affliction.

MHCC: Ecc 5:18-20

Life is God's gift. We must not view our calling as a drudgery, but take pleasure in the calling where God puts us. A cheerful spirit is a great blessing; it makes employments easy, and afflictions light. Having made a proper use of riches, a man will remember the days of his past life with pleasure. The manner in which Solomon refers to God as the Giver, both of life and its enjoyments, shows they ought to be received and to be used, consistently with his will, and to his glory. Let this passage recommend to all the kind words of the merciful Redeemer, " Labour not for the meat that perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life." Christ is the Bread of life, the only food of the soul. All are invited to partake of this heavenly provision.

Matthew Henry: Ecc 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 there is in the lusts of the flesh and the pride of life, and a man can make himself no more happy by hoarding an estate than by spending it.

I. He grants that the products of the earth, for the support and comfort of human life, are valuable things (Ecc 5:9): The profit of the earth is for all. Man's body, being made of the earth, thence has its maintenance (Job 28:5); and that it has so, and that a barren land is not made his dwelling (as he has deserved for being rebellious, Psa 68:6), is an instance of God's great bounty to him. There is profit to be got out of the earth, and it is for all; all need it; it is appointed for all; there is enough for all. It is not only for all men, but for all the inferior creatures; the same ground brings grass for the cattle that brings herbs for the service of men. Israel had bread from heaven, angels' food, but (which is a humbling consideration) the earth is our storehouse and the beasts are fellow-commoners with us. The king himself is served of the field, and would be ill served, would be quite starved, without its products. This puts a great honour upon the husbandman's calling, that it is the most necessary of all to the support of man's life. The many have the benefit of it; the mighty cannot live without it; it is for all; it is for the king himself. Those that have an abundance of the fruits of the earth must remember they are for all, and therefore must look upon themselves but as stewards of their abundance, out of which they must give to those that need. Dainty meats and soft clothing are only for some, but the fruit of the earth is for all. And even those that suck the abundance of the seas (Deu 33:19) cannot be without the fruit of the earth, while those that have a competency of the fruit of the earth may despise the abundance of the seas.

II. He maintains that the riches that are more than these, that are for hoarding, not for use, are vain things, and will not make a man easy or happy. That which our Saviour has said (Luk 12:15), that a man's life consists not in the abundance of the things which he possesses, is what Solomon here undertakes to prove by various arguments.

1. The more men have the more they would have, Ecc 5:10. A man may have but a little silver and be satisfied with it, may know when he has enough and covet no more. Godliness, with contentment, is great gain. I have enough, says Jacob; I have all, and abound, says St. Paul: but, (1.) He that loves silver, and sets his heart upon it, will never think he has enough, but enlarges his desire as hell (Hab 2:5), lays house to house and field to field (Isa 5:8), and, like the daughters of the horse-leech, still cries, Give, give. Natural desires are at rest when that which is desired is obtained, but corrupt desires are insatiable. Nature is content with little, grace with less, but lust with nothing. (2.) He that has silver in abundance, and has it increasing ever so fast upon him, yet does not find that it yields any solid satisfaction to his soul. There are bodily desires which silver itself will not satisfy; if a man be hungry, ingots of silver will do no more to satisfy his hunger than clods of clay. Much less will worldly abundance satisfy spiritual desires; he that has ever so much silver covets more, not only of that, but of something else, something of another nature. Those that make themselves drudges to the world are spending their labour for that which satisfies not (Isa 55:2), which fills the belly, but will never fill the soul, Eze 7:19.

2. The more men have the more occasion they have for it, and the more they have to do with it, so that it is as broad as it is long: When goods increase, they are increased that eat them, Ecc 5:11. The more meat the more mouths. Does the estate thrive? And does not the family at the same time grow more numerous and the children grow up to need more? The more men have the better house they must keep, the more servants they must employ, the more guests they must entertain, the more they must give to the poor, and the more they will have hanging on them, for where the carcase is the eagles will be. What we have more than food and raiment we have for others; and then what good is there to the owners themselves, but the pleasure of beholding it with their eyes? And a poor pleasure it is. An empty speculation is all the difference between the owners and the sharers; the owner sees that as his own which those about him enjoy as much of the real benefit of as he; only he has the satisfaction of doing good to others, which indeed is a satisfaction to one who believes what Christ said, that it is more blessed to give than to receive; but to a covetous man, who thinks all lost that goes beside himself, it is a constant vexation to see others eat of his increase.

3. The more men have the more care they have about it, which perplexes them and disturbs their repose, Ecc 5:12. Refreshing sleep is as much the support and comfort of this life as food is. Now, (1.) Those commonly sleep best that work hard and have but what they work for: The sleep of the labouring man is sweet, not only because he has tired himself with his labour, which makes his sleep the more welcome to him and makes him sleep soundly, but because he has little to fill his head with care about and so break his sleep. His sleep is sweet, though he eat but little and have but little to eat, for his weariness rocks him asleep; and, though he eat much, yet he can sleep well, for his labour gets him a good digestion. The sleep of the diligent Christian, and his long sleep, is sweet; for, having spent himself and his time in the service of God, he can cheerfully return to God and repose in him as his rest. (2.) Those that have every thing else often fail to secure a good night's sleep. Either their eyes are held waking or their sleeps are unquiet and do not refresh them; and it is their abundance that breaks their sleep and disturbs it, both the abundance of their care (as the rich man's who, when his ground brought forth plentifully, thought within himself, What shall I do? Luk 12:17) and the abundance of what they eat and drink which overcharges the heart, makes them sick, and so hinders their repose. Ahasuerus, after a banquet of wine, could not sleep; and perhaps consciousness of guilt, both in getting and using what they have, breaks their sleep as much as any thing. But God gives his beloved sleep.

4. The more men have the more danger they are in both of doing mischief and of having mischief done them (Ecc 5:13): There is an evil, a sore evil, which Solomon himself had seen under the sun, in this lower world, this theatre of sin and woe - riches left for the owners thereof (who have been industrious to hoard them and keep them safely) to their hurt; they would have been better without them. (1.) Their riches do them hurt, make them proud, secure, and in love with the world, draw away their hearts from God and duty, and make it very difficult for them to enter into the kingdom of heaven, nay, help to shut them out of it. (2.) They do hurt with their riches, which not only put them into a capacity of gratifying their own lusts and living luxuriously, but give them an opportunity of oppressing others and dealing hardly with them. (3.) Often they sustain hurt by their riches. They would not be envied, would not be robbed, if they were not rich. It is the fat beast that is led first to the slaughter. A very rich man (as one observes) has sometimes been excepted out of a general pardon, both as to life and estate, merely on account of his vast and overgrown estate; so riches often take away the life of the owners thereof, Pro 1:19.

5. The more men have the more they have to lose, and perhaps they may lose it all, Ecc 5:14. Those riches that have been laid up with a great deal of pains, and kept with a great deal of care, perish by evil travail, by the very pains and care which they take to secure and increase them. Many a one has ruined his estate by being over-solicitous to advance it and make it more, and has lost all by catching at all. Riches are perishing things, and all our care about them cannot make them otherwise; they make themselves wings and fly away. He that thought he should have made his son a gentleman leaves him a beggar; he begets a son, and brings him up in the prospect of an estate, but, when he dies, leaves it under a charge of debt as much as it is worth, so that there is nothing in his hand. This is a common case; estates that made a great show do not prove what they seemed, but cheat the heir.

6. How much soever men have when they die, they must leave it all behind them (Ecc 5:15, Ecc 5:16): As he came forth of his mother's womb naked, so shall he return; only as his friends, when he came naked into the world, in pity to him, helped him with swaddling-clothes, so, when he goes out, they help him with grave-clothes, and that is all. See Job 1:21; Psa 49:17. This is urged as a reason why we should be content with such things as we have, 1Ti 6:7. In respect of the body we must go as we came; the dust shall return to the earth as it was. But sad is our case if the soul return as it came, for we were born in sin, and if we die in sin, unsanctified, we had better never have been born; and that seems to be the case of the worldling here spoken of, for he is said to return in all points as he came, as sinful, as miserable, and much more so. This is a sore evil; he thinks it so whose heart is glued to the world, that he shall take nothing of his labour which he may carry away in his hand; his riches will not go with him into another world nor stand him in any stead there. If we labour in religion, the grace and comfort we get by that labour we may carry away in our hearts, and shall be the better for it to eternity; that is meat that endures. But if we labour only for the world, to fill our hands with that, we cannot take that away with us; we are born with our hands griping, but we die with them extended, letting go what we held fast. So that, upon the whole matter, he may well ask, What profit has he that has laboured for the wind? Note, Those that labour for the world labour for the wind, for that which has more sound than substance, which is uncertain, and always shifting its point, unsatisfying, and often hurtful, which we cannot hold fast, and which, if we take up with it as our portion, will no more feed us than the wind, Hos 12:1. Men will see that they have laboured for the wind when at death they find the profit of their labour is all gone, gone like the wind, they know not whither.

7. Those that have much, if they set their hearts upon it, have not only uncomfortable deaths, but uncomfortable lives too, Ecc 5:17. This covetous worldling, that is so bent upon raising an estate, all his days eats in darkness and much sorrow, and it is his sickness and wrath; he has not only no pleasure of his estate, nor any enjoyment of it himself, for he eats the bread of sorrow (Psa 127:2), but a great deal of vexation to see others eat of it. His necessary expenses make him sick, make him fret, and he seems as if he were angry that himself and those about him cannot live without meat. As we read the last clause, it intimates how ill this covetous worldling can bear the common and unavoidable calamities of human life. When he is in health he eats in darkness, always dull with care and fear about what he has; but, if he be sick, he has much sorrow and wrath with his sickness; he is vexed that his sickness takes him off from his business and hinders him in his pursuits of the world, vexed that all his wealth will not give him any ease or relief, but especially terrified with the apprehensions of death (which his diseases are the harbingers of), of leaving this world and the things of it behind him, which he has set his affections upon, and removing to a world he has made no preparation for. He has not any sorrow after a godly sort, does not sorrow to repentance, but he has sorrow and wrath, is angry at the providence of God, angry at his sickness, angry at all about him, fretful and peevish, which doubles his affliction, which a good man lessens and lightens by patience and joy in his sickness.

Matthew Henry: Ecc 5:18-20

Solomon, from the vanity of riches hoarded up, here infers that the best course we can take is to use well what we have, to serve God with it, to do good with it, and take the comfort of it to ourselves and our families; this he had pressed before, Ecc 2:24; Ecc 3:22. Observe, 1. What it is that is here recommended to us, not to indulge the appetites of the flesh, or to take up with present pleasures or profits for our portion, but soberly and moderately to make use of what Providence has allotted for our comfortable passage through this world. We must not starve ourselves through covetousness, because we cannot afford ourselves food convenient, nor through eagerness in our worldly pursuits, nor through excessive care and grief, but eat and drink what is fit for us to keep our bodies in good plight for the serving of our souls in God's service. We must not kill ourselves with labour, and then leave others to enjoy the good of it, but take the comfort of that which our hands have laboured for, and that not now and then, but all the days of our life which God gives us. Life is God's gift, and he has appointed us the number of the days of our life (Job 14:5); let us therefore spend those days in serving the Lord our God with joyfulness and gladness of heart. We must not do the business of our calling as a drudgery, and make ourselves slaves to it, but we must rejoice in our labour, not grasp at more business than we can go through without perplexity and disquiet, but take a pleasure in the calling wherein God has put us, and go on in the business of it with cheerfulness. This it to rejoice in our labour, whatever it is, as Zebulun in his going out and Issachar in his tents. 2. What is urged to recommend it to us. (1.) That it is good and comely to do this. It is well, and it looks well. Those that cheerfully use what God has given them thereby honour the giver, answer the intention of the gift, act rationally and generously, do good in the world, and make what they have turn to the best account, and this is both their credit and their comfort; it is good and comely; there is duty and decency in it. (2.) That it is all the good we can have out of the things of this world: It is our portion, and in doing thus we take our portion, and make the best of bad. This is our part of our worldly possession. God must have his part, the poor theirs, and our families theirs, but this is ours; it is all that falls to our lot out of them. (3.) That a heart to do thus is such a gift of God's grace as crowns all the gifts of his providence. If God has given a man riches and wealth, he completes the favour, and makes that a blessing indeed, if withal he gives him power to eat thereof, wisdom and grace to take the good of it and to do good with it. If this is God's gift, we must covet it earnestly as the best gift relating to our enjoyments in this world. (4.) That this is the way to make our own lives easy and to relieve ourselves against the many toils and troubles which our lives on earth are incident to (Ecc 5:20): He shall not much remember the days of his life, the days of his sorrow and sore travail, his working days, his weeping days. He shall either forget them or remember them as waters that pass away; he shall not much lay to heart his crosses, nor long retain the bitter relish of them, because God answers him in the joy of his heart, balances all the grievances of his labour with the joy of it and recompenses him for it by giving him to eat the labour of his hands. If he does not answer all his desires and expectations, in the letter of them, yet he answers them with that which is more than equivalent, in the joy of his heart. A cheerful spirit is a great blessing; it makes the yoke of our employments easy and the burden of our afflictions light.

Keil-Delitzsch: Ecc 5:11

"When property and goods increase, they become many who consume them; and what advantage hath the owner thereof but the sight of them with his eyes?"The verb רבה signifies to increase, the רבב , to be many; but also (which Böttch. denies) inchoatively: to become many, Gen 6:1; rightly, the lxx, ἐπληθύνθησαν . The author has not a miser in view, who shuts up his money in chests, and only feeds himself in looking at it with closed doors; but a covetous man, of the sort spoken of in Psa 49:12; Isa 5:8. If the hattovah , the possession of such an one, increases, in like manner the number of people whom he must maintain increases also, and thus the number of those who eat of it along with him, and at the same time also his disquiet and care, increase; and what advantage, what useful result ( vid ., regarding Kishron , above, p. 638, and under Ecc 2:21) has the owner of these good things from them but the beholding of them (reith ; Kerı̂ , reuth ; cf. the reverse case, Psa 126:4)? - the possession does not in itself bring happiness, for it is never great enough to satisfy him, but is yet great enough to fill him with great care as to whether he may be able to support the demands of so great a household: the fortune which it brings to him consists finally only in this, that he can look on all he has accumulated with proud self-complacency.

Keil-Delitzsch: Ecc 5:12

He can also eat that which is good, and can eat much; but he does not on that account sleep more quietly than the labourer who lives from hand to mouth: "Sweet is the sleep of the labourer, whether he eats little or much; but, on the contrary, the abundance of the rich does not permit him to sleep."The lxx, instead of "labourer,"uses the word "slave"( δούλου ), as if the original were העבד . But, as a rule, sound sleep is the reward of earnest labour; and since there are idle servants as well as active masters, there is no privilege to servants. The Venet. renders rightly by "of the husbandman"( ἐργάτου ), the האדמה עבד ; the "labourer"in general is called עמל , Ecc 4:8 and Jdg 5:26, post-bibl. פּעל . The labourer enjoys sweet, i.e. , refreshing, sound sleep, whether his fare be abundant of scanty - the labour rewards him by sweet sleep, notwithstanding his poverty; while, on the contrary, the sleep of the rich is hindered and disturbed by his abundance, not: by his satiety, viz., repletion, as Jerome remarks: incocto cibo in stomachi angustiis aestuante ; for the labourer also, if he eats much, eats his fill; and why should sufficiency have a different result in the one from what is has in the other? As שׂבע means satiety, not over-satiety; so, on the other hand, it means, objectively, sufficient and plentifully existing fulness to meet the wants of man, Pro 3:10, and the word is meant thus objectively here: the fulness of possession which the rich has at his disposal does not permit him to sleep, for all kinds of projects, cares, anxieties regarding it rise within him, which follow him into the night, and do not suffer his mind to be at rest, which is a condition of sleep. The expression השּׂ לע is the circumlocutio of the genit. relation, like לב ... חל , Rth 2:3; נע ... אם (lxx Αμνὼν τῆσ ̓Αχινόαμ ), 2Sa 3:2. Heiligstedt remarks that it stands for שׂבע העשׁיר ; but the nouns צמא , רעב ,צמא snuon , שׂבע form no const ., for which reason the circumloc . was necessary; שׂבע is the constr . of שׂבע . Falsely, Ginsburg: "steplang7 aber der Ueberfluss den Reichen - er lässt ihn nicht schlafen "but superabundance the rich - it doth not suffer him to sleep; but this construction is neither in accordance with the genius of the German nor of the Heb. language. Only the subject is resumed in איננּוּ (as in Ecc 1:7); the construction of הניח is as at 1Ch 16:21; cf. Psa 105:14. Of the two Hiphil forms, the properly Heb. הניח and the Aramaizing הנּיח , the latter is used in the weakened meaning of ἐᾶν , sinere .

After showing that riches bring to their possessor no real gain, but, instead of that, dispeace, care, and unrest, the author records as a great evil the loss, sometimes suddenly, of wealth carefully amassed.

Keil-Delitzsch: Ecc 5:13-14

"There is a sore evil which I have seen under the sun, riches kept by their possessor to his hurt: the same riches perish by an evil event; and he hath begotten a son, thus this one hath nothing in his hand."There is a gradation of evils. חולה רעה (cf. רע חלי ר , Ecc 6:2) is not an ordinary, but a morbid evil, i.e. , a deep hurtful evil; as a wound, not a common one, but one particularly severe and scarcely curable, is called נחלה , e.g. , Nah 3:19. השׁ ... רא is, as at Ecc 10:5, an ellipt. relat. clause; cf. on the other hand, Ecc 6:1; the author elsewhere uses the scheme of the relat. clause without relat. pron. ( vid ., under Ecc 1:13; Ecc 3:16); the old language would use ראיתיה , instead of ראיתי , with the reflex. pron. The great evil consists in this, that riches are not seldom kept by their owner to his own hurt. Certainly שׁמוּר ל can also mean that which is kept for another, 1Sa 9:24; but how involved and constrained is Ginsburg's explanation: "hoarded up (by the rich man) for their (future) owner,"viz., the heir to whom he intends to leave them! That ל can be used with the passive as a designation of the subj., vid ., Ewald, §295 c ; certainly it corresponds as little as מן , with the Greek ὑπό , but in Greek we say also πλοῦτος φυλαχθεὶς τῷ κεκτημένῳ , vid ., Rost's Syntax , §112. 4. The suff. of lera'atho refers to be'alav , the plur. form of which can so far remain out of view, that we even say adonim qosheh , Isa 19:4, etc. "To his hurt," i.e. , at the last suddenly to lose that which has been carefully guarded. The narrative explanation of this, "to his hurt,"begins with vav explic . Regarding 'inyan ra' . It is a casus adversus that is meant, such a stroke upon stroke as destroyed Job's possessions. The perf. והו supposes the case that the man thus suddenly made poor is the father of a son; the clause is logically related to that which follows as hypothet. antecedent, after the scheme. Gen 33:13 . The loss of riches would of itself make one who is alone unhappy, for the misfortune to be poor is less than the misfortunes to be rich and then to become poor; but still more unfortunate is the father who thought that by well-guarded wealth he had secured the future of his son, and who now leaves him with an empty hand.

What now follows is true of this rich man, but is generalized into a reference to every rich man, and then is recorded as a second great evil. As a man comes naked into the world, so also he departs from it again without being able to take with him any of the earthly wealth he has acquired.

Keil-Delitzsch: Ecc 5:15

"As he came forth from his mother's womb, naked shall he again depart as he came, and not the least will he carry away for his labour, which he could take with him in his hand."In 13 a the author has the case of Job in his mind; this verse before us is a reminiscence from Job 1:21, with the setting aside of the difficult word שׁמּה found there, which Sirach 40:1 exhibits. With "naked"begins emphatically the main subject; כּשׁבּא = בא כּאשׁר is the intensifying resumption of the comparison; the contrast of לכת f , going away, excedere vitâ , is בּיא of the entrance on life, coming into the world. מאוּמה (according to the root meaning and use, corresponding to the French point , Olsh. §205 a ) emphatically precedes the negation, as at Jdg 14:6 (cf. the emphasis reached in a different way, Psa 49:18). נשׂא signifies here, as at Ecc 5:18, Psa 24:5, to take hence, to take forth, to carry away. The ב of בּע is not partitive (Aben Ezra compares Lev 8:32), according to which Jerome and Luther translate de labore suo , but is the Beth pretii , as e.g. , at 1Ki 16:34, as the Chald. understands it; Nolde cites for this Beth pretii passages such as Ecc 2:24, but incorrectly. Regarding the subjunctive שׁיּלך , quod auferat . We might also with the lxx and Symm. punctuate שׁיּלך : which might accompany him in his hand, but which could by no means denote, as Hitzig thinks: (for his trouble), which goes through his hand. Such an expression is not used; and Hitzig's supposition, that here the rich man who has lost his wealth is the subject, does not approve itself.

Keil-Delitzsch: Ecc 5:16

A transition is now made to rich men as such, and the registering formula which should go before Ecc 5:14 here follows: "And this also is a sore evil: altogether exactly as he came, thus shall he depart: and what gain hath he that laboureth in the wind?"Regarding זה ; and regarding כּל־ע שׁ ,

(Note: I n H. written as one word: כּלעמת . Parchon ( Lex . under עמת ) had this form before him. In his Lex . Kimchi bears evidence in favour of the correct writing as two words.)

The writing of these first two as one word [ vid . note below] accords with Ibn-Giat's view, accidentally quoted by Kimchi, that the word is compounded of כ of comparison, and the frequently occurring לעמּת always retaining its ל , and ought properly to be pointed כּלע (cf. מלּ , 1Ki 7:20). עמּה signifies combination, society, one thing along with or parallel to another; and thus לעמת bears no כ , since it is itself a word of comparison, כּל־עמּת "altogether parallel,""altogether the same."The question: what kind of advantage ( vid ., Ecc 1:3) is to him (has he) of this that ... , carries its answer in itself. Labouring for the wind or in the wind, his labour is רוּח ( רעיון ) רעוּת , and thus fruitless. And, moreover, how miserable an existence is this life of labour leading to nothing!

Keil-Delitzsch: Ecc 5:17

"Also all his life long he eateth in darkness and grieveth himself much, and oh for his sorrow and hatred!"We might place Ecc 5:16 under the regimen of the שׁ of שׁיע of Ecc 5:15; but the Heb. style prefers the self-dependent form of sentences to that which is governed. The expression Ecc 5:16 has something strange. This strangeness disappears if, with Ewald and Heiligst., after the lxx and Jerome, for יאכל we read ואכל : καὶ ἐν πένθει ; Böttch. prefers ואפל , "and in darkness."Or also, if we read ילך for יאכל ; thus the Midrash here, and several codd. by Kennicott; but the Targ., Syr., and Masora read יאכל . Hitzig gets rid of that which is strange in this passage by taking כּל־ימיו as accus. of the obj., not of the time: all his days, his whole life he consumes in darkness; but in Heb. as in Lat. we say: consumere dies vitae , Job 21:13; Job 36:11, but not comedere ; and why should the expression, "to eat in darkness,"not be a figurative expression for a faithless, gloomy life, as elsewhere "to sit in darkness"(Mic 7:8), and "to walk in darkness"? It is meant that all his life long he ate אונים לחם , the bread of sorrow, or לחץ לחם , prison fare; he did not allow himself pleasant table comforts in a room comfortably or splendidly lighted, for it is unnecessary to understand חשׁך subjectively and figuratively (Hitz., Zöck.).

In 16 b the traditional punctuation is וכעס .

(Note: Thus in correct texts, in H. with the note: כ מלרע , viz., here and at Psa 112:10, only there ע has, according to tradition, the Kametz . Cf. Mas. fin . 52 b , and Baer's Ed. of Psalter, under Psa 112:10.)

The perf . ruled by the preceding fut . is syntactically correct, and the verb כּעס is common with the author, Ecc 7:9. Hitzig regards the text as corrupt, and reads כּחליו and כּעס , and explains: and (he consumes or swallows) much grief in his, etc.; the phrase, "to eat sorrow,"may be allowed (cf. Pro 26:6, cf. Job 15:16); but יאכל , as the representative of two so bold and essentially different metaphors, would be in point of style in bad taste. If the text is corrupt, it may be more easily rectified by reading וק לו וחלי הרבה וכּעס : and grief in abundance, and sorrow has he, and wrath. We merely suggest this. Ewald, Burger, and Böttch. read only וכעס הרבה וחלי ; but לו is not to be dispensed with, and can easily be reduced to a mere vav . Elster retains וכעס , and reads, like Hitzig, בחליו : he grieves himself much in his sorrow and wrath; but in that case the word וקצפו was to be expected; also in this way the ideas do not psychologically accord with each other. However the text is taken, we must interpret וחליו וקצף as an exclamation, like הף , Isa 29:16; תּף , Jer 49:16; Ewald, §328 a , as we have done above. That וח of itself is a subst. clause = וחלי לו is untenable; the rendering of the noun as forming a clause, spoken of under Ecc 2:21, is of a different character.

(Note: Rashi regards וחליו as a form like חיתו . This o everywhere appears only in a gen. connection.)

He who by his labour and care aims at becoming rich, will not only lay upon himself unnecessary privations, but also have many sorrows; for many of his plans fail, and the greater success of others awakens his envy, and neither he himself nor others satisfy him; he is morbidly disposed, and as he is diseased in mind, so also in body, and his constantly increasing dissatisfaction becomes at last קצף , he grumbles at himself, at God, and all the world. From observing such persons, Paul says of them (1Ti 6:6.): "They have pierced themselves through ( transfoderunt ) with many sorrows."

In view of these great evils, with which the possession of riches also is connected: of their deceitful instability, and their merely belonging to this present life, Koheleth returns to his ceterum censeo .

Keil-Delitzsch: Ecc 5:18

"Behold then what I have seen as good, what as beautiful (is this): that one eat and drink and see good in all his labour with which he wearieth himself, under the sun, throughout the number of the days of his life which God hath given him; for that is his portion."Toward this seeing, i.e. , knowing from his own experience, his effort went forth, according to Ecc 2:3; and what he here, Ecc 5:17, Ecc 5:18, expresses as his resultat, he has already acknowledged at Ecc 2:24 and Ecc 3:12. With "behold"he here returns to it; for he says, that from the observations just spoken of, as from others, no other resultat befell him. Instead of ר טובה (here and at Ecc 6:6), he as often uses the words טוב ראה , Ecc 3:13; Ecc 2:24, or בּטוב , Ecc 2:1. In רא , the seeing is meant of that of mental apperception; in לרא , of immediate perception, experience. Our translation above does not correspond with the accentuation of the verse, which belongs to the class of disproportionably long verses without Athnach ; cf. Gen 21:9; Num 9:1; Isa 36:1; Jer 13:13; Jer 51:37; Eze 42:10; Amo 5:1; 1Ch 26:26; 1Ch 28:1; 2Ch 23:1. The sentence אני ... הנה (with pausal āni with Rebîa ) constitutes the beginning of the verse, in the form, as it were, of a superscription; and then its second part, the main proposition, is divided by the disjunctives following each other: Telisha Gedhola , Geresh , Legarmeh , Rebîa , Tebir , Tifcha , Silluk (cf. Jer 8:1, where Pazer instead of Telisha Bedhola ; but as for the rest, the sequence of the accents is the same). Among the moderns, Hengst. holds to the accents, for he translates in strict accordance therewith, as Tremmelius does: "Behold what I have seen: that it is fine and good (Trem. bonum pulchrum ) to eat ... ."The asher in the phrase, tov asher -yapheh , then connects it together: good which is at the same time beautiful; Grätz sees here the Greek καλὸν κάγαθόν . But the only passage to which, since Kimchi, reference is made for this use of asher , viz., Hos 12:8, does not prove it; for we are not, with Drusius, to translate there by: iniquitas quae sit peccatum , but by quae poenam mereat . The accentuation here is not correct. The second asher is without doubt the resumption of the first; and the translation - as already Dachselt in his Biblia Accentuata indicated: ecce itaque quod vidi bonum, quod pulchrum ( hoc est ut quis edat ) - presents the true relation of the component parts of the sentence. The suffix of עמלו refers to the general subj. contained in the inf .; cf. Ecc 8:15. The period of time denoted by מספּר is as at Ecc 2:3; Ecc 6:12. Also we read חל ... כּי־ , Ecc 3:22, in the same connection.

Keil-Delitzsch: Ecc 5:19

This verse, expressing the same, is constructed anakolouthistically, altogether like Ecc 3:13 : "Also for every man to whom God hath given riches and treasures, and hath given him power to eat thereof, and to take his portion, and to rejoice in his labour; just this is a gift of God."The anakolouthon can be rendered into English here as little as it can at Ecc 3:13; for if we allow the phrase, "also every man,"the "also"remains fixed to the nearest conception, while in the Heb it governs the whole long sentence, and, at the nearest, belongs to זה . Cheerful enjoyment is in this life that which is most advisable; but also it is not made possible in itself by the possession of earthly treasures, - it is yet a special gift of God added thereto. Nechasim , besides here, occurs also in Jos 22:8; 2Ch 1:11.; and in the Chald. of the Book of Ezra; Ezr 6:8; Ezr 7:26. Also hishlit , to empower, to make possible, is Aram., Dan 2:38, Dan 2:48, as well as Heb., Psa 119:133; the prevalence of the verbal stem שלט is characteristic of the Book of Koheleth. Helqo , "his portion,"is just the cheerful enjoyment as that which man has here below of life, if he has any of it at all.

Keil-Delitzsch: Ecc 5:20

Over this enjoyment he forgets the frailty and the darkened side of this life. It proves itself to be a gift of God, a gift from above: "For he doth not (then) think much of the days of his life; because God answereth the joy of his heart."Such an one, permitted by God to enjoy this happiness of life, is thereby prevented from tormenting himself by reflections regarding its transitoriness. Incorrectly, Hengst.: Remembrance and enjoyment of this life do not indeed last long, according to Ewald, who now, however, rightly explains: He will not, by constant reflection on the brevity of his life, too much embitter this enjoyment; because God, indeed, grants to him true heart-joy as the fairest gift. The meaning of Ecc 5:19 is also, in general, hit upon. The lxx translates: "because God occupies him with the joy of his heart;"but for that we ought to have had the word מענהוּ ; Jerome helps it, for he reads בשמהה instead of בשמחת : eo quod Deus occupet deliciis cor ejus . But also, in this form, this explanation of מענה is untenable; for ב ענה , the causat. of which would be מענה , signifies, in the style of Koheleth, not in general to busy oneself with something, but to weary oneself with something; hence ענה בשׂ cannot mean: to be occupied with joy, and thereby to be drawn away from some other thing. And since the explanation: "he makes him sing,"needs to argument to dispose of it, מענה thus remains only as the Hiph . of אנה , to meet, to respond to, grant a request. Accordingly, Hitz., like Aben Ezra and Kimchi, comparing Hos 2:23.: God makes to answer, i.e. , so works that all things which have in or of themselves that which can make him glad, must respond to his wish. But the omission of the obj. - of which Hitz. remarks, that because indefinite it is left indefinite - is insufferably hard, and the explanation thus ambiguous. Most interpreters translate: for God answers (Gesen. He. Wört. B ., incorrectly: answered) him with joy of his heart, i.e. , grants this to him in the way of answer. Ewald compares Psa 65:6; but that affords no voucher for the expression: to answer one with something = to grant it to him; for ענה is there connected with a double accus., and בּצדק is the adv. statement of the way and manner. But above all, against this interpretation is the fact of the want of the personal obj. The author behoved to have written מענהוּ or אתו מענה . We take the Hiph . as in the sense of the Kal , but give it its nearest signification: to answer, and explain, as in a similar manner Seb. Schmid, Rambam, and others have already done: God answers to the joy of his heart, i.e. , He assents to it, or (using an expression which is an exact equivalent), He corresponds to it. This makes the joy a heart-joy, i.e. , a joy which a man feels not merely externally, but in the deepest recess of his heart, for the joy penetrates his heart and satisfies it (Son 3:11; Isa 30:29; Jer 15:16). A similar expression, elsewhere not found, we had at Ecc 5:9 in אהב בּ . Why should not ענה ב ( הענה ) be possible with ענהוּ , just as ἀμείβεσθαι πρός τι is with ἀμείβεσθαί τινα ? For the rest, בש לב is not needed as obj.; we can take it also as an expression of the state or condition: God gives answer in the heart-joy of such an one. In ענה , to answer, to hear the answer, is thought of as granting a request; here, as giving assent to. Job 35:9 affords a twofold suitable example, that the Hiph . can have an enlarged Kal signification.

After the author has taken the opportunity of once more expressing his ultimatum , he continues to register the sad evils that cling to wealth.

Constable: Ecc 2:18--6:10

B. General Observations 2:18-6:9

Thus far Solomon had reflected on the futility of all human endeavor generally (1:3-11) and the futility of human achievement (1:12-15) and his own achievements in particular (2:1-17). Next he turned to an evaluation of labor, his own (2:18-20) as well as that of all other people (2:21-6:9).

Constable: Ecc 5:1--6:10

4. The perishable fruits of labor 5:1-6:9

This section emphasizes the folly of trying to find ultimate satisfaction in one's work. Solomon focused on a variety of situations that involve the fruits of labor: money and what it can buy, fame, and pleasure.

Constable: Ecc 5:11-13

The effect of personal covetousness 5:10-12

If a rich man is covetous, all that his increasing wealth will bring him will be the necessity of greater vigilance and more anxiety (cf. 1 Tim. 6:9-10). For example, more wealth in the home may lead to burglar alarm systems and the hassle they bring. "To look on" (v. 11) means having to keep an eye on them.

"How often have we read of an athlete--say, a boxer--whose golden moments found him surrounded by an entourage that gladly shared his wealth, but whose twilight days saw him both broke and abandoned. Wealth can carry its own frustration--that was the Preacher's apt observation."⁵¹

Constable: Ecc 5:14-18

The effect of misfortune 5:13-17

The Hebrew expression translated "bad investment" (v. 14) refers to any misfortune that results in the loss of wealth. Striving to hoard the fruits of labor is futile because any misfortune can overtake one and reduce him or her to poverty if God permits. Death itself is such a misfortune that overtakes everyone eventually and robs him of his wealth. No one can take the fruits of his labor with him when he dies. Therefore Solomon concluded that we really gain nothing of lasting value from our labor. Verse 17 pictures the miserly workaholic.

Constable: Ecc 5:18--6:10

The way to enjoy the fruits of one's labor 5:18-6:9

Again Solomon urged the enjoyment of life (v. 18; cf. 2:24-26; 3:12-13, 22), but he warned of some obstacles to that enjoyment. Solomon was not advocating hedonism but the simple enjoyment of life day by day (v. 18). In other words, he recommended that we take some time to enjoy the beautiful experiences of life as we travel down its path.

However not everyone can enjoy life for one reason or another even though one may be wealthy (6:1-2). This problem "weighs heavily on men" (NIV, v. 1; better than NASB "is prevalent among men"). Only in heaven will we find the solution to why this has been the earthly portion of various individuals. A miscarried baby (v. 3) is better off in that it has not experienced as much sorrow as the rich man who could not enjoy his wealth. The "one place" (v. 6) is the grave.

Solomon's final word of counsel was to be content with what you have (vv. 8-9; cf. Heb. 13:5). This is the last of nine times the phrase "striving after wind" occurs (cf. 1:14, 17; 2:11, 17, 26; 4:4, 6, 16). It opened and closes the section of the book dealing with the futility of human achievement (1:12-6:9).

Introduction / Outline

JFB: Ecclesiastes (Book Introduction)

The Hebrew title is Koheleth, which the speaker in it applies to himself (Ecc 1:12), "I, Koheleth, was king over Israel." It means an Assembler or Convener of a meeting and a Preacher to such a meeting. The feminine form of the Hebrew noun, and its construction once (Ecc 7:27) with a feminine verb, show that it not only signifies Solomon, the Preacher to assemblies (in which case it is construed with the verb or noun masculine), but also Divine Wisdom (feminine in Hebrew) speaking by the mouth of the inspired king. In six cases out of seven it is construed with the masculine. Solomon was endowed with inspired wisdom (1Ki 3:5-14; 1Ki 6:11-12; 1Ki 9:1-9; 1Ki 11:9-11), specially fitting him for the task. The Orientals delight in such meetings for grave discourse. Thus the Arabs formerly had an assembly yearly, at Ocadh, for hearing and reciting poems. Compare "Masters of assemblies" (see on Ecc 12:11, also Ecc 12:9). "The Preacher taught the people knowledge," probably viva voce ("orally"); 1Ki 4:34; 1Ki 10:2, 1Ki 10:8, 1Ki 10:24; 2Ch 9:1, 2Ch 9:7, 2Ch 9:23, plainly refer to a somewhat public divan met for literary discussion. So "spake," thrice repeated (1Ki 4:32-33), refers not to written compositions, but to addresses spoken in assemblies convened for the purpose. The Holy Ghost, no doubt, signifies also by the term that Solomon's doctrine is intended for the "great congregation," the Church of all places and ages (Psa 22:25; Psa 49:2-4).

Solomon was plainly the author (Ecc 1:12, Ecc 1:16; Ecc 2:15; Ecc 12:9). That the Rabbins attribute it to Isaiah or Hezekiah is explicable by supposing that one or the other inserted it in the canon. The difference of its style, as compared with Proverbs and Song of Solomon, is due to the difference of subjects, and the different period of his life in which each was written; the Song, in the fervor of his first love to God; Proverbs, about the same time, or somewhat later; but Ecclesiastes in late old age, as the seal and testimony of repentance of his apostasy in the intervening period: Psa 89:30, Psa 89:33 proves his penitence. The substitution of the title Koheleth for Solomon (that is, peace), may imply that, having troubled Israel, meantime he forfeited his name of peace (1Ki 11:14, 1Ki 11:23); but now, having repented, he wishes to be henceforth a Preacher of righteousness. The alleged foreign expressions in the Hebrew may have been easily imported, through the great intercourse there was with other nations during his long reign. Moreover, supposed Chaldaisms may be fragments preserved from the common tongue of which Hebrew, Syriac, Chaldee, and Arabic were offshoots.

THE SCOPE of Ecclesiastes is to show the vanity of all mere human pursuits, when made the chief end, as contrasted with the real blessedness of true wisdom, that is, religion. The immortality of the soul is dwelt on incidentally, as subsidiary to the main scope. Moses' law took this truth for granted but drew its sanctions of rewards and punishments in accordance with the theocracy, which was under a special providence of God as the temporal King of Israel, from the present life, rather than the future. But after Israel chose an earthly king, God withdrew, in part, His extraordinary providence, so that under Solomon, temporal rewards did not invariably follow virtue, and punishments vice (compare Ecc 2:16; Ecc 3:19; Ecc 4:1; Ecc 5:8; Ecc 7:15; Ecc 8:14; Ecc 9:2, Ecc 9:11). Hence the need arises to show that these anomalies will be rectified hereafter, and this is the grand "conclusion," therefore, of the "whole" book, that, seeing there is a coming judgment, and seeing that present goods do not satisfy the soul, "man's whole duty is to fear God and keep his commandments" (Ecc 12:13-14), and meanwhile, to use, in joyful and serene sobriety, and not abuse, the present life (Ecc 3:12-13).

It is objected that sensual epicurism seems to be inculcated (Ecc 3:12-13, Ecc 3:22, &c.); but it is a contented, thankful enjoyment of God's present gifts that is taught, as opposed to a murmuring, anxious, avaricious spirit, as is proved by Ecc 5:18, compare with Ecc 5:11-15, not making them the chief end of life; not the joy of levity and folly; a misunderstanding which he guards against in Ecc 7:2-6; Ecc 11:9; Ecc 12:1. Again, Ecc 7:16; Ecc 9:2-10, might seem to teach fatalism and skepticism. But these are words put in the mouth of an objector; or rather, they were the language of Solomon himself during his apostasy, finding an echo in the heart of every sensualist, who wishes to be an unbeliever, and, who, therefore, sees difficulties enough in the world around wherewith to prop up his wilful unbelief. The answer is given (Ecc 7:17-18; Ecc 9:11-12; Ecc 11:1, Ecc 11:6; Ecc 12:13). Even if these passages be taken as words of Solomon, they are to be understood as forbidding a self-made "righteousness," which tries to constrain God to grant salvation to imaginary good works and external strictness with which it wearies itself; also, that speculation which tries to fathom all God's inscrutable counsels (Ecc 8:17), and that carefulness about the future forbidden in Mat 6:25.

THE CHIEF GOOD is that the possession of that which makes us happy, is to be sought as the end, for its own sake; whereas, all other things are but means towards it. Philosophers, who made it the great subject of inquiry, restricted it to the present life, treating the eternal as unreal, and only useful to awe the multitude with. But Solomon shows the vanity of all human things (so-called philosophy included) to satisfy the soul, and that heavenly wisdom alone is the chief good. He had taught so when young (Pro 1:20; Pro 8:1); so also; in Song of Solomon, he had spiritualized the subject in an allegory; and now, after having long personally tried the manifold ways in which the worldly seek to reach happiness, he gives the fruit of his experience in old age.

It is divided into two parts-- Ecc. 1:1-6:10 showing the vanity of earthly things; Ecc. 6:10-12:14, the excellence of heavenly wisdom. Deviations from strict logical methods occur in these divisions, but in the main they are observed. The deviations make it the less stiff and artificial, and the more suited to all capacities. It is in poetry; the hemistichal division is mostly observed, but occasionally not so. The choice of epithets, imagery, inverted order of words, ellipses, parallelism, or, in its absence, similarity of diction, mark versification.

JFB: Ecclesiastes (Outline)

• INTRODUCTION. (Ecc. 1:1-18)

TSK: Ecclesiastes 5 (Chapter Introduction)

Overview

Ecc 5:1, Vanities in divine service; Ecc 5:8, in murmuring against oppression; Ecc 5:9, and in riches; Ecc 5:18, Joy in riches is the gift of God.

Poole: Ecclesiastes 5 (Chapter Introduction)

CHAPTER 5

Vanities in divine matters, Ecc 5:1-7 . In murmuring and repining, Ecc 5:8 . In riches and covetousness. Ecc 5:9,10 ; for riches rob men of ease, Ecc 5:11,12 , procure their death, Ecc 5:13 , fly away, Ecc 5:14 , cannot be carried with them into the grave, Ecc 5:15-17 . A contented life best: this is the gift of God, Ecc 5:18-20 .

The seven first verses of this chapter are inserted partly as the only effectual remedy against all the foregoing vanities, and partly as a caution to take heed of bringing vanity into the service of God, or of worshipping God vainly and foolishly.

MHCC: Ecclesiastes (Book Introduction)

The name of this book signifies " The Preacher." The wisdom of God here preaches to us, speaking by Solomon, who it is evident was the author. At the close of his life, being made sensible of his sin and folly, he recorded here his experience for the benefit of others, as the book of his repentance; and he pronounced all earthly good to be " vanity and vexation of spirit." It convinces us of the vanity of the world, and that it cannot make us happy; of the vileness of sin, and its certain tendency to make us miserable. It shows that no created good can satisfy the soul, and that happiness is to be found in God alone; and this doctrine must, under the blessed Spirit's teaching, lead the heart to Christ Jesus.

MHCC: Ecclesiastes 5 (Chapter Introduction)

(Ecc 5:1-3) What renders devotion vain.

(Ecc 5:4-8) Of vows, and oppression.

(Ecc 5:9-17) The vanity of riches shown.

(Ecc 5:18-20) The right use of riches.

Matthew Henry: Ecclesiastes (Book Introduction)

An Exposition, with Practical Observations, of The Book of Ecclesiastes

We are still among Solomon's happy men, his happy servants, that stood continually before him to hear his wisdom; and they are the choicest of all the dictates of his wisdom, such as were more immediately given by divine inspiration, that are here transmitted to us, not to be heard, as by them, but once, and then liable to be mistaken or forgotten, and by repetition to lose their beauty, but to be read, reviewed, revolved, and had in everlasting remembrance. The account we have of Solomon's apostasy from God, in the latter end of his reign (1Ki 11:1), is the tragical part of his story; we may suppose that he spoke his Proverbs in the prime of his time, while he kept his integrity, but delivered his Ecclesiastes when he had grown old (for of the burdens and decays of age he speaks feelingly Ecc 12:1-14), and was, by the grace of God, recovered from his backslidings. There he dictated his observations; here he wrote his own experiences; this is what days speak, and wisdom which the multitude of years teaches. The title of the book and the penman we shall meet with in the first verse, and therefore shall here only observe,

I. That it is a sermon, a sermon in print; the text is (Ecc 1:2), Vanity of vanities, all is vanity; that is the doctrine too; it is proved at large by many arguments and an induction of particulars, and divers objections are answered, and in the close we have the use and application of all, by way of exhortation, to remember our Creator, to fear him, and to keep his commandments. There are indeed many things in this book which are dark and hard to be understood, and some things which men of corrupt minds wrest to their own destruction, for want of distinguishing between Solomon's arguments and the objections of atheists and epicures; but there is enough easy and plain to convince us (if we will admit the conviction) of the vanity of the world, and its utter insufficiency to make us happy, the vileness of sin, and its certain tendency to make us miserable, and of the wisdom of being religious, and the solid comfort and satisfaction that are to be had in doing our duty both to God and man. This should be intended in every sermon, and that is a good sermon by which these points are in any measure gained. II. That it is a penitential sermon, as some of David's psalms are penitential psalms; it is a recantation-sermon, in which the preacher sadly laments his own folly and mistake, in promising himself satisfaction in the things of this world, and even in the forbidden pleasures of sense, which now he finds more bitter than death. His fall is a proof of the weakness of man's nature: Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, nor say, " I shall never be such a fool as to do so and so," when Solomon himself, the wisest of men, played the fool so egregiously; nor let the rich man glory in his riches, since Solomon's wealth was so great a snare to him, and did him a great deal more hurt than Job's poverty did him. His recovery is a proof of the power of God's grace, in bringing one back to God that has gone so far from him; it is a proof too of the riches of God's mercy in accepting him notwithstanding the many aggravations of his sin, pursuant to the promise made to David, that if his children should commit iniquity they should be corrected, but not abandoned and disinherited, 2Sa 7:14, 2Sa 7:15. Let him therefore that thinks he stands take heed lest he fall; and let him that has fallen make haste to get up again, and not despair either of assistance or acceptance therein. III. That it is a practical profitable sermon. Solomon, being brought to repentance, resolves, like his father, to teach transgressors God's way (Psa 51:13) and to give warning to all to take heed of splitting upon those rocks which had been fatal to him; and these were fruits meet for repentance. The fundamental error of the children of men, and that which is at the bottom of all their departures from God, is the same with that of our first parents, hoping to be as gods by entertaining themselves with that which seems good for food, pleasant to the eyes, and desirable to make one wise. Now the scope of this book is to show that this is a great mistake, that our happiness consists not in being as gods to ourselves, to have what we will and do what we will, but in having him that made us to be a God to us. The moral philosophers disputed much about man's felicity, or chief good. Various opinions they had about it; but Solomon, in this book, determines the question, and assures us that to fear God and to keep his commandments is the whole of man. He tried what satisfaction might be found in the wealth of the world and the pleasures of sense, and at last pronounced all vanity and vexation; yet multitudes will not take his word, but will make the same dangerous experiment, and it proves fatal to them. He, 1. Shows the vanity of those things in which men commonly look for happiness, as human learning and policy, sensual delight, honour and power, riches and great possessions. And then, 2. He prescribes remedies against the vexation of spirit that attends them. Though we cannot cure them of their vanity, we may prevent the trouble they give us, by sitting loose to them, enjoying them comfortable, but laying our expectations low from them, and acquiescing in the will of God concerning us in every event, especially by remembering God in the days of our youth, and continuing in his fear and service all our days, with an eye to the judgment to come.

Matthew Henry: Ecclesiastes 5 (Chapter Introduction)

Solomon, in this chapter, discourses, I. Concerning the worship of God, prescribing that as a remedy against all those vanities which he had already observed to be in wisdom, learning, pleasure, honour, power, and business. That we may not be deceived by those things, nor have our spirits vexed with the disappointments we meet with in them, let us make conscience of our duty to God and keep up our communion with him; but, withal, he gives a necessary caution against the vanities which are to often found in religious exercises, which deprive them of their excellency and render them unable to help against other vanities. If our religion be a vain religion, how great is that vanity! Let us therefore take heed of vanity, 1. In hearing the word, and offering sacrifice (Ecc 5:1). 2. In prayer (Ecc 5:2, Ecc 5:3). 3. In making vows (Ecc 5:4-6). 4. In pretending to divine dreams (Ecc 5:7). Now, (1.) For a remedy against those vanities, he prescribes the fear of God (Ecc 5:7). (2.) To prevent the offence that might arise from the present sufferings of good people, he directs us to look up to God (Ecc 5:8). II. Concerning the wealth of this world and the vanity and vexation that attend it. The fruits of the earth indeed are necessary to the support of life (Ecc 5:9), but as for silver, and gold, and riches, 1. They are unsatisfying (Ecc 5:10). 2. They are unprofitable (Ecc 5:11). 3. They are disquieting (Ecc 5:12). 4. They often prove hurtful and destroying (Ecc 5:13). 5. They are perishing (Ecc 5:14). 6. They must be left behind when we die (Ecc 5:15, Ecc 5:16). 7. If we have not a heart to make use of them, they occasion a great deal of uneasiness (Ecc 5:17). And therefore he recommends to us the comfortable use of that which God has given us, with an eye to him that is the giver, as the best way both to answer the end of our having it and to obviate the mischiefs that commonly attend great estates (Ecc 5:18-20). So that if we can but learn out of this chapter how to manage the business of religion, and the business of this world (which two take up most of our time), so that both may turn to a good account, and neither our sabbath days nor our week-days may be lost, we shall have reason to say, We have learned two good lessons.

Constable: Ecclesiastes (Book Introduction)

Introduction

Title

The title of this book in the Hebrew text is all of verse 1. The Septuagint translation (third century B.C.) gave it the name "Ekklesiastes" from which the English title is a transliteration. This word is the Greek translation of the Hebrew word qohelet that the NASB translated "Preacher" in verse 1. The Hebrew word designates a leader who speaks before an assembly of people. The NIV translation "Teacher" is also a good one.

Writer and Date

The commentators sometimes treat the Hebrew word qohelet ("Preacher"; 1:1-2, 12; 7:27; 12:8-10) as a proper name.¹ However the fact that the article is present on the Hebrew word in 12:8, and perhaps in 7:27, seems to indicate that qohelet is a title: "the preacher" or "the teacher."

Internal references point to Solomon as this preacher (cf. 1:1, 12-2:26; 2:4-9; 12:9). Both Jewish and Christian interpreters believed Solomon was the writer until the eighteenth century. With the rise of literary and historical Bible criticism a widespread rejection of Solomonic authorship set in. Rejection of Solomonic authorship rests mainly on linguistic factors (vocabulary and syntax) that some scholars feel were more characteristic of a time much later than Solomon's, namely, about 450-250 B.C.² Conservative scholars have refuted this linguistic argument.³ Several more or less conservative scholars have rejected Solomonic authorship.⁴ Yet there is no information in the Bible that would eliminate Solomon as the writer.

Assuming that Solomon wrote the book in its entirety, he must have done so during his lifetime and probably during his reign (971-931 B.C.). It has seemed probable to some expositors that he may have written Song of Solomon in his youth, Proverbs in his middle life, and Ecclesiastes in his old age (cf. 2:1-11; 11:9; 12:1). This theory rests on the contents of the three inspired Bible books that he evidently wrote, specifically clues in these books about the age of their writer.

"Ecclesiastes is best placed after his apostasy, when both his recent turmoil and repentance were still fresh in his mind."⁵

Purpose

This book helps the reader develop a God-centered worldview and recognize the dangers of a self-centered worldview. It does not describe the life of faith or teach what the responsibilities of faith in God are. It also prescribes the limits of human philosophy (cf. 3:11; 8:16-17). The book teaches that people are accountable to God and that we should avoid self-indulgence that leads to the exploitation of others for selfish gain.

"Christians may ask how the stress on using and enjoying life tallies with the NT command Do not love the world' (1 John 2:15). The answer is that the Teacher (Ecclesiastes) would have agreed fully with John's next statement that everything in the world--the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does--comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away' (vv. 16-17). One could hardly find a better statement than this of the whole theme of Ecclesiastes (e.g., 2:1-11; 5:10). Life in the world has significance only when man remembers his Creator (12:1).

"There always have been two kinds of teaching about the way to holiness. One is by withdrawal as far as possible from the natural in order to promote the spiritual. The other is to use and transform the natural into the expression of the spiritual. While each kind of teaching has its place, some people need one emphasis rather than the other. Ecclesiastes definitely teaches the second."⁶

"Ecclesiastes does not pretend to preach the Gospel. Rather, it encourages the reader to a God-centered worldview rather than falling victim to frustrations and unanswered questions. None of its contents has to be rejected in the light of the NT. Although the NT revelation is vastly greater than that in Ecclesiastes, the two are not devoid of similarities (e.g., James 4:13-17). Like the people of God in Solomon's time, believers today are subject to the unexpected changes and chances common to mankind. Yet they know that God works through every vicissitude of life. Respecting the future, which for Solomon was shrouded in a shadow land, Christians have the glorious hope of being in the presence of Christ himself (2 Cor 5:6; Phil 1:23)."⁷

Message⁸

I believe that the message of Ecclesiastes is essentially a positive one. This may seem strange since the vanity of various human endeavors is such a major theme of this book. Nevertheless the total statement that Solomon made was positive.

He was saying, I believe, that even though every human endeavor lacks ultimate value, we should live life in the fear of God (i.e., with the proper recognition of Him). Furthermore we should enjoy life maximally as a gift from God. Ecclesiastes 12:13 is very similar to Proverbs 1:7 and 3:5-6. In both these books, as well as in Job, the fear of God is the prerequisite for successful living here and now.

The difference between Ecclesiastes and Proverbs is that in Ecclesiastes the emphasis is on the inability of every human endeavor to provide ultimate value. In Proverbs the emphasis is on the comparative value of living in the fear of God.

Solomon's attitude is very important for us to grasp to understand this book. He never lost sight of God's existence. He was not an atheist or even an apostate. The fact that Solomon kept God in view throughout the book enabled him to see that all is vanity under the sun. The person who disregards God does not say that. For him what is under the sun is all that is meaningful.

I do not believe Solomon did everything he said he did in rebellion against God. Some things were acts of disobedience, but many other things were experiments in living designed to discover the relative value of various experiences.

The major revelations of the book are three.

First, Ecclesiastes reveals that every human endeavor lacks ultimate value. All is vanity in that sense.

Solomon stated this thesis in 1:2.

Then Solomon supported his thesis with examples he took from nature (1:3-11).

Next Solomon appealed to various human achievements to apply his thesis. He did this first by citing his own personal experiments and observations on this subject (1:12-2:17). Then he referred to facts observable by all people that confirm the same conclusion (2:18-6:9).

Solomon next showed that every human endeavor lacks ultimate value by reminding us of the limits of human wisdom (6:10-11:6). He supported these assertions also with empirical evidence (what people experience generally in life). God's will will indeed happen. However man does not know God's plan fully. Therefore man does not know exactly what will happen.

The second major revelation of this book is that people should live life in the fear of God and enjoy life as much as they can. This is really Solomon's practical conclusion to the truthfulness of the thesis that he proved in 1:3-11:6.

Since death is coming we should enjoy life now, not in disregard for God, but in the fear of God (11:7-8).

We should enjoy life in our youth while at the same time remembering that God will judge our lives (11:9-10). Moreover we should behave responsibly in our youth since old age is coming (12:1-7).

The third major revelation of the book is its statement of what true wisdom is (12:13). God intends people to rejoice, but to remember God and to live with recognition of Him (cf. Prov. 3:5-6). Failing to fear God will result in a life of vanity. To fear God and live in harmony with His will will result in a life of fullness.

Let me point out some implications of the teaching of this book.

Conviction results in conduct that produces character. That is a basic reality of life regardless of what one's convictions may be. When we have a conviction that God exists and we live under His loving authority, our conduct will be obedience to His will. Furthermore responsibility and joy will mark our character. However if we believe that God either does not exist or is not worth consideration, our conduct will be disregard of His will, and vanity will mark our character.

To dethrone God is to lose the key to life. We may pursue many human endeavors, but all we will find is vanity, lack of ultimate fulfillment. On the other hand if we enthrone God we will enter into the fullness of life (John 17:3; Ps. 16:11).

Outline⁹

I. The introductory affirmation 1:1-11

A. Title and theme 1:1-2

1. The title 1:1

2. The theme 1:2

B. The futility of all human endeavor 1:3-11

1. The vanity of work 1:3

2. The illustrations from life 1:4-11

II. The futility of work 1:12-6:9

A. Personal observations 1:12-2:17

1. Solomon's investigation of human achievement 1:12-15

2. Solomon's evaluation of his investigation of human achievement 1:16-18

3. Solomon's investigation of pleasure 2:1-11

4. Solomon's evaluation of his investigation of pleasure 2:12-17

B. General observations 2:18-6:9

1. The outcome of labor 2:18-26

2. Labor and divine providence 3:1-4:3

3. The motivations of labor 4:4-16

4. The perishable fruits of labor 5:1-6:9

III. The limitations of wisdom 6:10-11:6

A. God's sovereign foreordination of all things 6:10-12

B. God's inscrutable plan chs. 7-8

1. Adversity and prosperity 7:1-14

2. Righteousness and wickedness 7:15-27

3. The value and limitations of wisdom ch. 8

C. Man's ignorance of the future 9:1-11:6

1. The future of the righteous on earth 9:1-10

2. The future of the wise on earth 9:11-10:11

3. The folly of criticism in view of the uncertain future 10:12-20

4. Wise behavior in view of the uncertain future 11:1-6

IV. The way of wisdom 11:7-12:14

A. Joyous and responsible living 11:7-12:7

1. Joyful living 11:7-10

2. Responsible living 12:1-7

B. The concluding summary 12:8-14

Constable: Ecclesiastes

Ecclesiastes

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Shank, H. Carl. "Qoheleth's World and Life View as Seen in His Recurring Phrases." Westminster Theological Journal 37 (1974):57-73.

Short, Robert L. A Time to Be Born--A Time to Die. New York: Harper and Row, 1973.

Torcszyner, Harry. "The Riddle in the Bible." Hebrew Union College Annual 1 (1924):125-49.

von Rad, Gerhard. Wisdom in Israel. New York: Abingdon, 1972.

White, Graham. "Luther on Ecclesiastes and the limits of human ability." Neue Zeitschrift für Systematische Theologie und Religionsphilosophie 29:2 (1987):180-94.

Whybray, R. N. "Ecclesiastes 1.5-7 and the Wonders of Nature." Journal for the Study of the Old Testament 41(June 1988):105-12.

_____. "Qoheleth the Immoralist? (Qoh 7:16-17). In Israelite Wisdom: Theological and Literary Essays in Honor of Samuel Terrien, pp. 191-204. Edited by John G. Gammie, Walter A. Brueggemann, W. Lee Humphreys, and James M. Ward. New York: Union Theological Seminary, 1978.

Wright, Addison G. "The Riddle of the Sphinx: The Structure of the Book of Qoheleth." Catholic Biblical Quarterly 30 (1968):313-34.

Wright, J. Stafford. "Ecclesiastes." In Psalms-Song of Songs. Vol. 5 of The Expositor's Bible Commentary. Edited by Frank E. Gaebelein. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1991.

_____. "The Interpretation of Ecclesiastes." In Classical Essays in Old Testament Interpretation, pp. 133-50. Edited by Walter C. Kaiser Jr. Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1972.

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Copyright 2003 by Thomas L. Constable

Haydock: Ecclesiastes (Book Introduction)

ECCLESIASTES.

INTRODUCTION.

This Book is called Ecclesiastes, or the preacher, (in Hebrew, Coheleth ) because in it Solomon, as an excellent preacher, setteth forth the vanity of the things of this world, to withdraw the hearts and affections of men from such empty toys. (Challoner) --- Coheleth is a feminine noun, to indicate the elegance of the discourse. It is very difficult to discriminate the objections of free-thinkers from the real sentiments of the author. It is most generally supposed that Solomon wrote this after his repentance; but this is very uncertain. St. Jerome (in chap. xii. 12.) informs us that the collectors of the sacred books had some scruple about admitting this; and Luther speaks of it with great disrespect: (Coll. conviv.) but the Church has always maintained its authority. See Conc. v. Act. 4. Philast. 132. (Calmet) --- It refutes the false notions of worldlings, concerning felicity; and shews that it consists in the service of God and fruition. (Worthington)

Gill: Ecclesiastes (Book Introduction)

INTRODUCTION TO ECCLESIASTES

This book has been universally received into the canon of the Scriptures, by Jews and Christians. The former, indeed, had once some controversy ^a about it; and they thought to have hid it, or put it among the apocryphal books; because, at first sight, some things seemed contradictory to each other ^b, and to incline to heresy ^c, atheism, and epicurism, and to assert the eternity of the world ^d: but they better considered of it; and when they observed those passages were capable of a good sense, and that the whole agreed with the law of God, they changed their minds ^e. And so likewise it has been rejected by some heretical persons, of the Christian name, as Theodore and Mopsuest, and others; and by deists, and some deistically inclined. But it carries in it such internal evidences of a divine original, as cannot well be denied; it delivers out and inculcates such divine instructions, concerning the duties of men to God, and one another; concerning the contempt of the world, and the carnal pleasures of it; the fear and worship of God, and a future judgment; as none but the wisdom of God could suggest. There are various things in it which seem to be referred to by Christ and his apostles; at least there is an entire agreement between them: among the many things that might be observed, compare Ecc 11:5 with Joh 3:8; and Ecc 11:9 with 2Co 5:10; and Ecc 7:20 with 1Jo 1:8. As to the author of it, there are evident marks of its being written by Solomon; yet, by some Jewish writers, it is ascribed to Isaiah ^f, which seems exceeding strange; for though he was a great prophet, and an evangelical preacher, yet no king in Jerusalem; whatever may be said for his being of the house of David, and of the royal family, as some have thought: and, besides, there is no agreement in style between this book and the writings of Isaiah. Others of them ascribe it to Hezekiah and his men ^g: Hezekiah was indeed the son of David, and David in expressly called his father; and he was a prince of great character, both with respect to religion, and to wealth and grandeur; see 2Ch 29:2; which might induce them to such a conceit; though it seems to take its rise from Hezekiah's men being the copiers of some of Solomon's proverbs, Pro 25:1; but the proof from thence must be exceeding weak; that because they were the transcribers of some of his proverbs, therefore were the writers of this book; and especially King Hezekiah; for, whatever may be said of his character, it falls greatly short of Solomon's wisdom or riches; and such things are said, with for respect to both, in this book, as cannot agree with him: and, on the other hand, it does not appear that he was addicted to wine and women, and gave himself a loose to carnal pleasures, as the writer of this book had formerly done. Grotius thinks it was written by some persons in the times of Zerubbabel, and published under the name of Solomon, as a penitent; which is quite shocking, that an inspired writing should have a false title put to it, and be imposed upon the church of God under a wrong name: besides, the name of Solomon is never mentioned in it; though this, by the way, betrays a conviction that he is intended in the title of it: nor are many persons concerned in it; it appears throughout the whole to be the work of a single person, who often speaks as such in it. That Zerubbabel should be meant by the one shepherd, Ecc 12:11, is a mere fancy; it is better interpreted, as by many, of Jesus Christ: his chief argument for this conjecture is, because there are three or four Chaldee words in it, as he supposes; which yet does not appear, and are nowhere to be found but in Daniel, Ezra, and the Chaldee interpreter: and so there are in the book of Proverbs, Pro 31:2; but it does not follow, that because these words, or others, are but once used in Scripture, that they are not originally Hebrew; since the language was more extensive and better understood in Solomon's time than now, when we have only the copy of the Old Testament in which it is preserved. In short, what is said of the descent and dignity of the writer of this book, of his wisdom, wealth, riches, and grandeur, of his virtues and of his vices, agrees with none as with Solomon; to which may be added, that there is one passage in it, the same he used in his prayer at the dedication of the temple, Ecc 7:20; compared with 1Ki 8:46. As to the time in which it was written by him, it seems to have been in his old age, as the Jewish writers observe ^h; after his sin and fall, and recovery out of it, and when he was brought to true repentance for it: it was after he had made him great works, and built houses, his own house and the house of God, which were twenty years in building; it was after he had acquired not only vast riches and treasures, which must require time, but had gotten knowledge of all things in nature; and had seen all the works that are done under the sun, and had made trial of all pleasures that were to be enjoyed; see Ecc 1:1; it was after he had been ensnared by women, which he confesses and laments, Ecc 7:26; and his description of old age seems to be made, not merely upon the theory of it, but from a feeling experience of the evils and infirmities of it, Ecc 12:1. The general scope and design of it is to expose the vanity of all worldly enjoyments; to show that a man's happiness does not lie in natural wisdom and knowledge; nor in worldly wealth; nor in civil honour, power, and authority; nor in the mere externals of religion; but in the fear of God, and the worship of him. It encourages men to a free use of the good things of life in a moderate way, with thankfulness to God; to submit with cheerfulness to adverse dispensations of Providence; to fear God and honour the king; to be dutiful to civil magistrates, and kind to the poor; to expect a future state, and an awful judgment; with many other useful things.

Gill: Ecclesiastes 5 (Chapter Introduction)

INTRODUCTION TO ECCLESIASTES 5

This chapter contains some rules and directions concerning the worship of God; how persons should behave when they go into the house of God; concerning hearing the word, to which there should be a readiness, and which should be preferred to the sacrifices of fools, Ecc 5:1. Concerning prayer to God; which should not be uttered rashly and hastily, and should be expressed in few words; which is urged from the consideration of the majesty of God, and vileness of men; and the folly of much speaking is exposed by the simile of a dream, Ecc 5:2. Concerning vows, which should not be rashly made; when made, should be kept; nor should excuses be afterwards framed for not performing them, since this might bring the anger of God upon men, to the destruction of the works of their hands, Ecc 5:4; and, as an antidote against those vanities, which appear in the prayers and vows of some, and dreams of others, the fear of God is proposed, Ecc 5:7; and, against any surprise at the oppression of the poor, the majesty, power, and providence of God, and his special regard to his people, are observed, Ecc 5:8. And then the wise man enters into a discourse concerning riches; and observes, that the fruits of the earth, and the culture of it, are necessary to all men, and even to the king, Ecc 5:9; but dissuades from covetousness, or an over love of riches; because they are unsatisfying, are attended with much trouble, often injurious to the owners of them; at length perish, and their possessors; who, at death, are stripped quite naked of all, after they have spent their days in darkness and distress, Ecc 5:10; and concludes, therefore, that it is best for a man to enjoy, in a free manner, the good things of this life he is possessed of, and consider them as the gifts of God, and be thankful for them; by which means he will pass through the world more comfortably, and escape the troubles that attend others, Ecc 5:18.