Ecclesiastes 5:13

Materialism Thwarts Enjoyment of Life

5:13 Here is ¹  a misfortune ²  on earth ³  that I have seen:

Wealth hoarded by its owner to his own misery.

Ecclesiastes 5:16

5:16 This is another misfortune: ⁴ 

Just as he came, so will he go.

What did he gain from toiling for the wind?

[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]).

[5:13]  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).

[5:13]  ³ tn Heb “under the sun.”

[5:16]  ⁴ tn See the note on the phrase “depressing misfortune” in v. 13.