10 Whoever loves money never has enough;

whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with their income.

This too is meaningless.

11 As goods increase,

so do those who consume them.

And what benefit are they to the owners

except to feast their eyes on them?

12 The sleep of a laborer is sweet,

whether they eat little or much,

but as for the rich, their abundance

permits them no sleep.

13 I have seen a grievous evil under the sun:

wealth hoarded to the harm of its owners,

14 or wealth lost through some misfortune,

so that when they have children

there is nothing left for them to inherit.

15 Everyone comes naked from their mother’s womb,

and as everyone comes, so they depart.

They take nothing from their toil

that they can carry in their hands.

16 This too is a grievous evil:

As everyone comes, so they depart,

and what do they gain,

since they toil for the wind?

10 He who loves money will not be satisfied with money, nor he who loves wealth with his income; this also is vanity. 11 When goods increase, they increase who eat them, and what advantage has their owner but to see them with his eyes? 12 Sweet is the sleep of a laborer, whether he eats little or much, but the full stomach of the rich will not let him sleep.

13 There is a grievous evil that I have seen under the sun: riches were kept by their owner to his hurt, 14 and those riches were lost in a bad venture. And he is father of a son, but he has nothing in his hand. 15 As he came from his mother’s womb he shall go again, naked as he came, and shall take nothing for his toil that he may carry away in his hand. 16 This also is a grievous evil: just as he came, so shall he go, and what gain is there to him who toils for the wind?

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.

13 There is a sore evil which I have seen under the sun, namely, riches kept for the owners thereof to their hurt. 14 But those riches perish by evil travail: and he begetteth a son, and there is nothing in his hand. 15 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. 16 And this also is a sore evil, that in all points as he came, so shall he go: and what profit hath he that hath laboured for the wind?

10 Those who love money will never have enough. How meaningless to think that wealth brings true happiness! 11 The more you have, the more people come to help you spend it. So what good is wealth—except perhaps to watch it slip through your fingers!

12 People who work hard sleep well, whether they eat little or much. But the rich seldom get a good night’s sleep.

13 There is another serious problem I have seen under the sun. Hoarding riches harms the saver. 14 Money is put into risky investments that turn sour, and everything is lost. In the end, there is nothing left to pass on to one’s children. 15 We all come to the end of our lives as naked and empty-handed as on the day we were born. We can’t take our riches with us.

16 And this, too, is a very serious problem. People leave this world no better off than when they came. All their hard work is for nothing—like working for the wind.

10 Whoever loves money

will never have enough money;

Whoever loves wealth

will not be satisfied with it.

This is also useless.

11 The more wealth people have,

the more friends they have to help spend it.

So what do people really gain?

They gain nothing except to look at their riches.

12 Those who work hard sleep in peace;

it is not important if they eat little or much.

But rich people worry about their wealth

and cannot sleep.

13 I have seen real misery here on earth:

Money saved is a curse to its owners.

14 They lose it all in a bad deal

and have nothing to give to their children.

15 People come into this world with nothing,

and when they die they leave with nothing.

In spite of all their hard work,

they leave just as they came.

16 This, too, is real misery:

They leave just as they came.

So what do they gain from chasing the wind?

10 He that loveth silver shall not be satisfied with silver; nor he that loveth abundance, with increase: this also is vanity. 11 When goods increase, they are increased that eat them; and what advantage is there to the owner thereof, save the beholding of them with his eyes? 12 The sleep of a laboring man is sweet, whether he eat little or much; but the fulness of the rich will not suffer him to sleep.

13 There is a grievous evil which I have seen under the sun, namely, riches kept by the owner thereof to his hurt: 14 and those riches perish by evil adventure; and if he hath begotten a son, there is nothing in his hand. 15 As he came forth from his mother’s womb, naked shall he go again as he came, and shall take nothing for his labor, which he may carry away in his hand. 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 he laboreth for the wind?

10 He that loveth silver shall not be satisfied with silver, nor he that loveth abundance with increase. This also is vanity. 11 When goods increase, they are increased that eat them; and what profit is there to the owner thereof, except the beholding of them with his eyes? 12 The sleep of the labourer is sweet, whether he have eaten little or much; but the fulness of the rich doth not suffer him to sleep. 13 There is a grievous evil that I have seen under the sun: riches kept for the owners thereof to their hurt; 14 or those riches perish by some evil circumstance, and if he have begotten a son, there is nothing in his hand. 15 As he came forth from his mother’s womb, naked shall he go away again as he came, and shall take nothing of his labour, which he may carry away in his hand. 16 And this also is a grievous evil, that in all points as he came so doth he go away, and what profit hath he, in having laboured for the wind?

10 Whoever loves money will never be satisfied with money. Whoever loves wealth will never be satisfied with more income. Even this is pointless. 11 As the number of goods increase, so do the number of people who consume them. What do owners gain ⸤from all their goods⸥ except ⸤the opportunity⸥ to look at them? 

12 The sleep of working people is sweet, whether they eat a little or a lot. But the full stomachs that rich people have will not allow them to sleep. 

13 There is a painful tragedy that I have seen under the sun: Riches lead to the downfall of those who hoard them. 14 These hoarded riches were then lost in bad business deals. The owners had children, but now they have nothing to give them. 15 They came from their mother’s womb naked. They will leave as naked as they came. They won’t even be able to take a handful of their earnings with them from all their hard work. 

16 This also is a painful tragedy: They leave exactly as they came. What advantage do they gain from working so hard for the wind?

10 The one who loves money is never satisfied with money, and whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with income. This too is futile. 11 When good things increase, the ones who consume them multiply; what, then, is the profit to the owner, except to gaze at them with his eyes? 12 The sleep of the worker is sweet, whether he eats little or much, but the abundance of the rich permits him no sleep.

13 There is a sickening tragedy I have seen under the sun: wealth kept by its owner to his harm. 14 That wealth was lost in a bad venture, so when he fathered a son, he was empty-handed. 15 As he came from his mother’s womb, so he will go again, naked as he came; he will take nothing for his efforts that he can carry in his hands. 16 This too is a sickening tragedy: exactly as he comes, so he will go. What does the one gain who struggles for the wind?

10 The lover of money will not be satisfied with money; nor the lover of wealth, with gain. This also is vanity.

11 When goods increase, those who eat them increase; and what gain has their owner but to see them with his eyes?

12 Sweet is the sleep of laborers, whether they eat little or much; but the surfeit of the rich will not let them sleep.

13 There is a grievous ill that I have seen under the sun: riches were kept by their owners to their hurt, 14 and those riches were lost in a bad venture; though they are parents of children, they have nothing in their hands. 15 As they came from their mother’s womb, so they shall go again, naked as they came; they shall take nothing for their toil, which they may carry away with their hands. 16 This also is a grievous ill: just as they came, so shall they go; and what gain do they have from toiling for the wind?

10 Whoever loves money is not satisfied with money,

and whoever loves wealth is not satisfied with profit.

This also is vanity!

11 When prosperity increases,

those who consume it increase.

So its owner gains nothing,

except to see his wealth before it is spent.

12 The sleep of the laborer is pleasant, whether he eats little or much,

but the wealth of the rich man does not allow him to rest.

13 There is a grievous evil which I have seen under the sun: wealth hoarded by its owner to his harm. 14 That wealth was lost in a bad venture. Although he has borne a child, he has nothing to leave to him. 15 Just as he came from his mother’s womb naked, he will depart just as he came; he will take nothing with him for his toil. 16 This also is a grievous illness. Exactly as he came, so he will go. What profit does he gain for all his toil for the wind?

10 Anyone who loves money never has enough.

Anyone who loves wealth is never satisfied with what he gets.

That doesn’t have any meaning either.

11 As more and more goods are made,

more and more people use them up.

So how can those goods benefit their owner?

All he can do is look at them with longing.

12 The sleep of a worker is sweet.

It doesn’t matter whether he eats a little or a lot.

But the wealth of a rich man

keeps him awake at night.

13 I’ve seen something very evil on earth.

It’s when wealth is stored up

and then brings harm to its owner.

14 It’s also when wealth is lost

because of an unwise business deal.

Then there won’t be anything left

for the owner’s son.

15 A man is born naked.

He comes into the world with nothing.

And he goes out of it with nothing.

He doesn’t get anything from his work

that he can take with him.

16 Here’s something else that is very evil.

A man is born, and a man dies.

And what does he get for his work?

Nothing. It’s like working for the wind.

10 He who loves money will not be satisfied with money, nor he who loves abundance with its income. This too is vanity.

11 When good things increase, those who consume them increase. So what is the advantage to their owners except to look on?

12 The sleep of the working man is pleasant, whether he eats little or much; but the full stomach of the rich man does not allow him to sleep.

13 There is a grievous evil which I have seen under the sun: riches being hoarded by their owner to his hurt.

14 When those riches were lost through a bad investment and he had fathered a son, then there was nothing to support him.

15 As he had come naked from his mother’s womb, so will he return as he came. He will take nothing from the fruit of his labor that he can carry in his hand.

16 This also is a grievous evil—exactly as a man is born, thus will he die. So what is the advantage to him who toils for the wind?