The Evanescence of Wealth (Ecclesiastes 5:8–20)
1 UST Listen to me, members of people groups from throughout the world, BSB BSB: For the choirmaster. A Psalm of the sons of Korah. Hear this, all you peoples; listen, all inhabitants of the world,
2 UST whether or not you are famous and whether or not you are rich! BSB BSB: both low and high, rich and poor alike.
3 UST I have thought carefully about what I am going to say, so it will be wise, and it will help you understand things better. BSB BSB: My mouth will impart wisdom, and the meditation of my heart will bring understanding.
4 UST There is a popular saying about something that people find difficult to understand. I have considered it, and I will explain it as I{ sing and} play my harp. BSB BSB: I will incline my ear to a proverb; I will express my riddle with the harp:
5 UST I do not have to be afraid during difficult times when wicked people around me try to harm me. BSB BSB: Why should I fear in times of trouble, when wicked usurpers surround me?
6 UST These wicked people believe that they will be able to use their money to overcome any difficulty. They boast about how rich they are. BSB BSB: They trust in their wealth and boast in their great riches.
7 UST No one can use his money to keep a person from dying. No, no one can pay God money so that another person will not die. BSB BSB: No man can possibly redeem his brother or pay his ransom to God.
8 UST No matter how much money a person has, it is never enough to keep someone else from dying BSB BSB: For the redemption of his soul is costly, and never can payment suffice,
9 UST so that the person will live forever and never leave this world. BSB BSB: that he should live on forever and not see decay.
10 UST Whether people are wise or foolish and brutish, they all die. Then other people inherit their money. BSB BSB: For it is clear that wise men die, and the foolish and the senseless both perish and leave their wealth to others.
11 UST They imagine that the houses they live in will always exist. They call their properties by their own names{ as if they would always have them}. BSB BSB: Their graves are their eternal homes—their dwellings for endless generations—even though their lands were their namesakes.
12 UST Even if someone is great, he does not stay that way. He still dies, just as animals do. BSB BSB: But a man, despite his wealth, cannot endure; he is like the beasts that perish.
13 UST Those who think and act as if they will never die are living in a foolish manner. Even so, some other people admire them and approve of what they say. Selah BSB BSB: This is the fate of the foolish and their followers who endorse their sayings. Selah
14 UST God has determined that they will die, as easily as sheep die, and go to the place where dead people are. They will remain there, as if death were a shepherd keeping them in a pen. One day God will make righteous people rule over wicked people. Wicked people will no longer live in comfortable homes. Instead, their bodies will decay in their graves. BSB BSB: Like sheep they are destined for Sheol. 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.
15 UST But God will take me to himself. In that way, he will rescue me from the place where dead people are. Selah BSB BSB: But God will redeem my life from Sheol, for He will surely take me to Himself. Selah
16 UST Do not let it trouble you when a person becomes rich and has many valuable possessions. BSB BSB: Do not be afraid when a man grows rich, when the splendor of his house increases.
17 UST After all, when that person dies, he will take nothing with him{ to the place where dead people are}. He will not be able to bring his money there with him. BSB BSB: For when he dies, he will carry nothing away; his abundance will not follow him down.
18 UST While a rich person is alive, he says to himself that he is successful.(People tend to praise anyone who is successful.) BSB BSB: Though in his lifetime he blesses his soul—and men praise you when you prosper—
19 UST Nevertheless, he will die and go to where his dead ancestors are. All of them will remain in that dark place forever. BSB BSB: he will join the generation of his fathers, who will never see the light of day.
20 UST If someone is great but does not understand these things, he will die, just as animals do. BSB BSB: A man who has riches without understanding is like the beasts that perish.
Select verses for actions: Enter goes to them and Escape comes back.