Ecclesiastes 5:8–15

⁸If you see ^aoppression of the poor and ^bdenial of justice and righteousness in the province, do not be ^cshocked at the ¹sight; for one ²official watches over another official, and there are higher ³officials over them.

⁹After all, a king who cultivates the field is an advantage to the land.

The Folly of Riches

^10aHe who loves money will not be satisfied with money, nor he who loves abundance with its income. This too is ¹vanity.

^11aWhen good things increase, those who consume them increase. So what is the advantage to their owners except to ¹look on?

¹²The sleep of the working man is ^apleasant, whether he eats little or much; but the ¹full stomach of the rich man does not allow him to sleep.

¹³There is a grievous evil which I have seen under the sun: ^ariches being ¹hoarded by their owner to his hurt.

¹⁴When those riches were lost through ¹a bad investment and he had fathered a son, then there was nothing ²to support him.

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