Ecclesiastes 5:12-1953 kjv — The sleep of a labouring man is sweet, whether he eat little or much: but the abundance of the rich will not suffer him…

“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. There is a grievous evil which I have seen under the sun, namely, riches kept by the owner thereof to his hurt: and those riches perish by evil adventure; and if he hath begotten a son, there is nothing in his hand. 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. 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? All his days also he eateth in darkness, and he is sore vexed, and hath sickness and wrath. Behold, that which I have seen to be good and to be comely is for one to eat and to drink, and to enjoy good in all his labor, wherein he laboreth under the sun, all the days of his life which God hath given him: for this is his portion. Every man also to whom God hath given riches and wealth, and hath given him power to eat thereof, and to take his portion, and to rejoice in his labor—this is the gift of God. For he shall not much remember the days of his life; because God answereth him in the joy of his heart. ”

“The sleep of a laboring man is sweet, whether he eats little or much; but the abundance of the rich will not allow him to sleep. There is a grievous evil which I have seen under the sun: wealth kept by its owner to his harm. Those riches perish by misfortune, and if he has fathered a son, there is nothing in his hand. 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. This also is a grievous evil, that in all points as he came, so shall he go. And what profit does he have who labors for the wind? All his days he also eats in darkness, he is frustrated, and has sickness and wrath. Behold, that which I have seen to be good and proper is for one to eat and to drink, and to enjoy good in all his labor, in which he labors under the sun, all the days of his life which God has given him; for this is his portion. Every man also to whom God has given riches and wealth, and has given him power to eat of it, and to take his portion, and to rejoice in his labor--this is the gift of God. For he shall not often reflect on the days of his life; because God occupies him with the joy of his heart.”

“The sleep of the laborer is pleasant– whether he eats little or much– but the wealth of the rich will not allow him to sleep. Materialism Thwarts Enjoyment of Life Here is a misfortune on earth that I have seen: Wealth hoarded by its owner to his own misery. Then that wealth was lost through bad luck; although he fathered a son, he has nothing left to give him. Just as he came forth from his mother’s womb, naked will he return as he came, and he will take nothing in his hand that he may carry away from his toil. This is another misfortune: Just as he came, so will he go. What did he gain from toiling for the wind? Surely, he ate in darkness every day of his life, and he suffered greatly with sickness and anger. Enjoy the Fruit of Your Labor I have seen personally what is the only beneficial and appropriate course of action for people: to eat and drink, and find enjoyment in all their hard work on earth during the few days of their life which God has given them, for this is their reward. To every man whom God has given wealth, and possessions, he has also given him the ability to eat from them, to receive his reward and to find enjoyment in his toil; these things are the gift of God. For he does not think much about the fleeting days of his life because God keeps him preoccupied with the joy he derives from his activity.”

“There is also another grievous evil, which I have seen under the sun: riches kept to the hurt of the owner. For they are lost with very great affliction: he hath begotten a son, who shall be in extremity of want. As he came forth naked from his mother's womb, so shall he return, and shall take nothing away with him of his labour. A most deplorable evil: as he came, so shall he return. What then doth it profit him that he hath laboured for the wind? All the days of his life he eateth in darkness, and in many cares, and in misery, and sorrow. This therefore hath seemed good to me, that a man should eat and drink, and enjoy the fruit of his labour, wherewith he hath laboured under the sun, all the days of his life, which God hath given him: and this is his portion. And every man to whom God hath given riches, and substance, and hath given him power to eat thereof, and to enjoy his portion, and to rejoice of his labour: this is the gift of God. For he shall not much remember the days of his life, because God entertaineth his heart with delight. ”

“The sleep of a working man is sweet, if he has little food or much; but to him who is full, sleep will not come. There is a great evil which I have seen under the sun--wealth kept by the owner to be his downfall. And I saw the destruction of his wealth by an evil chance; and when he became the father of a son he had nothing in his hand. As he came from his mother at birth, so does he go again; he gets from his work no reward which he may take away in his hand. And this again is a great evil, that in all points as he came so will he go; and what profit has he in working for the wind? All his days are in the dark, and he has much sorrow, pain, disease, and trouble. This is what I have seen: it is good and fair for a man to take meat and drink and to have joy in all his work under the sun, all the days of his life which God has given him; that is his reward. Every man to whom God has given money and wealth and the power to have pleasure in it and to do his part and have joy in his work: this is given by God. He will not give much thought to the days of his life; because God lets him be taken up with the joy of his heart.”

“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. There is a sore evil which I have seen under the sun, namely, riches kept for the owners thereof to their hurt. But those riches perish by evil travail: and he begetteth a son, and there is nothing in his hand. 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. 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? All his days also he eateth in darkness, and he hath much sorrow and wrath with his sickness. Behold that which I have seen: it is good and comely for one to eat and to drink, and to enjoy the good of all his labour that he taketh under the sun all the days of his life, which God giveth him: for it is his portion. Every man also to whom God hath given riches and wealth, and hath given him power to eat thereof, and to take his portion, and to rejoice in his labour; this is the gift of God. For he shall not much remember the days of his life; because God answereth him in the joy of his heart. ”