The Evanescence of Wealth
(Ecclesiastes 5:8–20)
For the choirmaster. A Psalm of the sons of Korah.
Hear this, all you peoples; Psa 78:1Mat 11:15Psa 33:8Mat 28:19-20Rev 2:17Rev 2:7Rom 10:18Rom 3:29
listen, all inhabitants of the world,
both low and high, Psa 62:9Jas 2:1-71Sa 2:7-8Jer 5:4-5Job 34:19Pro 22:2Jas 1:9-11Rev 6:15-17
rich and poor alike.
My mouth will impart wisdom, Mat 12:35Psa 19:14Pro 22:20-21Pro 22:172Ti 3:15-17Deu 32:2Job 33:3Job 33:33
and the meditation of my heart will bring understanding.
I will incline my ear to a proverb; Psa 78:2Mat 13:35Num 12:8Num 23:72Co 3:12Luk 12:3Mat 13:11-15Dan 8:23
I will express my riddle with the harp:
Why should I fear in times of trouble, Act 27:24Php 1:28Pro 24:10Rom 8:33-341Sa 26:20Amo 5:13Eph 5:16Gen 49:17
when wicked usurpers surround me?
They trust in their wealth 1Ti 6:17Ezk 28:4-5Jer 9:23Psa 52:7Pro 11:28Luk 12:19Mrk 10:24Est 5:11
and boast in their great riches.
No man can possibly redeem his brother 1 Mat 16:26Mat 20:281Pe 1:181Ti 2:6Mat 25:9
or pay his ransom to God.
For the redemption of his soul is costly, Mat 16:26Job 36:18-19
and never can payment suffice,
that he should live on forever Psa 89:48Psa 16:10Ecc 8:8Jhn 8:51-52Pro 10:2Pro 11:4Act 2:27Act 2:31
and not see decay.
For it is clear that wise men die, Luk 12:20Psa 39:6Ecc 5:13-161Ti 6:6-10Heb 9:27Jer 10:8Pro 30:2Ecc 2:26
and the foolish and the senseless both perish
and leave their wealth to others.
Their graves 2are their eternal homes— Gen 4:17Psa 5:9Psa 64:62Sa 18:18Ezk 38:10Psa 10:61Sa 15:12Act 8:22
their dwellings for endless generations—
even though their lands were their namesakes.
But a man, despite his wealth, cannot endure; Ecc 3:18-21Psa 39:5Psa 49:20Psa 82:7Ecc 9:12Jas 1:10-111Pe 1:24
he is like the beasts that perish.
This is the fate of the self-confident 3 Luk 12:201Co 3:19Luk 16:27-28Jer 44:17Luk 11:47-48
and their followers who endorse their sayings.
Selah
Like sheep they are destined for Sheol. Mal 4:31Co 6:2Dan 7:22Job 24:19-20Job 30:23Dan 7:18Jer 12:3Luk 22:30
Death will be their shepherd.
The upright will rule them in the morning,
and their form will decay in Sheol,
far from their lofty abode.
But God will redeem my life from Sheol, Psa 73:24Psa 56:13Psa 86:13Psa 89:48Hos 13:14Psa 16:10-11Rev 5:9Gen 5:24
for He will surely take me to Himself.
Selah
Do not be amazed when a man grows rich, Psa 37:7Psa 37:1Rev 21:24Rev 21:26Est 3:1-6Gen 31:1Est 5:11Pro 28:12
when the splendor of his house increases.
For when he dies, he will carry nothing away; 1Ti 6:7Job 27:191Co 15:43Ecc 5:15Job 1:21Luk 16:24Isa 10:3Isa 5:14
his abundance will not follow him down.
Though in his lifetime he blesses his soul— Deu 29:19Luk 12:19Psa 10:31Sa 25:6Act 12:20-22Est 3:2Hos 12:8Rev 13:3-4
and men praise you when you prosper—
he will join the generation of his fathers, Job 33:30Gen 15:15Psa 56:13Luk 12:201Ki 16:6Ecc 12:7Ecc 3:21Jud 1:13
who will never see the light of day.
A man who has riches without understanding Ecc 3:18-19Psa 49:12Est 7:10Job 4:21Est 5:11-14Psa 73:18-19
is like the beasts that perish.