Ecclesiastes 5:12–15

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.

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.

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.

12 The sleep of a laboring man is sweet,

Whether he eats little or much;

But the abundance of the rich will not permit him to sleep.

13 There is a severe evil which I have seen under the sun:

Riches kept for their owner to his hurt.

14 But those riches perish through misfortune;

When he begets a son, there is nothing in his hand.

15 As he came from his mother’s womb, naked shall he return,

To go as he came;

And he shall take nothing from his labor

Which he may carry away in his hand.

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.

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.

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.

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. 

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.

12 Sweet is the sleep of laborers, whether they eat little or much, but the abundance 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 that they may carry away with their hands.

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.

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.

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.