Ecclesiastes 5:13 · Bible study
Ecclesiastes 5:13 Commentary: When Wealth Becomes a Grievous Evil
Hebrew · 9 what the commentators say
Meaning in one sentence
How can wealth, typically seen as a blessing, become a 'grievous evil'? Ecclesiastes 5:13 examines the dangers of hoarding riches to one's own harm.
Research Summary
- Meaning: Wealth kept only for the owner, without use or generosity, brings harm rather than blessing.
- Key words: “grievous evil” (Hebrew: חולה רעה, a “morbid, deep wound”), “kept” (guarded, hoarded), “to his hurt” (for evil, harm).
- Main debate: Whether the harm is primarily temporal (loss, poverty, anxiety) or eternal (spiritual ruin), and whether the cause is the owner’s misuse or misfortune.
- Theological theme: The vanity of riches (cf. Psalm 49; Matthew 6:19, 21); the right use of wealth as a gift from God.
- Best use: As a warning against hoarding and a call to enjoy God’s gifts with open hands.
Translation Comparison
BSB Berean Standard Bible 2020
There is a grievous evil I have seen under the sun: wealth hoarded to the harm of its owner,
WEB World English Bible 2000
There is a grievous evil which I have seen under the sun: wealth kept by its owner to his harm.
KJV King James Version 1769
There is a sore evil which I have seen under the sun, namely, riches kept for the owners thereof to their hurt.
ASV American Standard Version 1901
There is a grievous evil which I have seen under the sun, namely, riches kept by the owner thereof to his hurt:
YLT Young's Literal Translation 1898
There is a painful evil I have seen under the sun: wealth kept for its possessor, for his evil.
Darby Darby Bible 1890
There is a grievous evil that I have seen under the sun: riches kept for the owners thereof to their hurt;
Douay-Rheims Douay-Rheims Bible 1899
For they are lost with very great affliction: he hath begotten a son, who shall be in extremity of want.
Translations in other languages (10 available)
Hay una trabajosa enfermedad que he visto debajo del sol: las riquezas guardadas de sus dueños para su mal;
Há um mal causador de sofrimentos que vi abaixo do sol: as riquezas que seus donos guardam para seu próprio mal.
Ces richesses se perdent par quelque événement fâcheux; il a engendré un fils, et il ne reste rien entre ses mains.
Es ist ein böses Übel, das ich sah unter der Sonne: Reichtum, behalten zum Schaden dem, der ihn hat.
Er is een kwaad, dat krankheid aanbrengt, hetwelk ik zag onder de zon: rijkdom van zijn bezitters bewaard tot hun eigen kwaad.
V’è un male grave ch’io ho visto sotto il sole; delle ricchezze conservate dal loro possessore, per sua sventura.
Bo takowe bogactwo złą sprawą giną, a syn, którego spłodzi, nie będzie miał nic w rękach swych.
И гибнет богатство это от несчастных случаев: родил он сына, и ничего нет в руках у него.
我見 日光 之下 有 一宗大 禍患，就是財主 積存 資財，反害自己。
There is a great evil which I have seen under the sun--wealth kept by the owner to be his downfall.
Verse in Context
Scholars' Consensus
Commentators across traditions agree that Ecclesiastes 5:13 identifies a paradox: the very wealth people expect to bring security can become a source of serious harm. Adam Clarke lists four ways: improper use harming health, unfortunate partnerships, robbery, or leaving it to a profligate son. Gill adds that hoarders may face God's curse, robbery, or even murder for their riches. The Cambridge Bible notes that riches kept fail to give joy and instead produce anxieties. Keil and Delitzsch describe the Hebrew phrase for “grievous evil” (חולה רעה) as a “morbid evil”, a wound that is severe and scarcely curable. The consensus is clear: wealth kept only for its owner, without use or generosity, turns from blessing into a curse that harms body, family, and soul.
How settled is the interpretation?
Interpretive difficulty: Medium
Main views:
- Hoarding leads to judgment: Gill and Clarke point to spiritual and eternal harm from covetousness and misuse.
- Loss through misfortune: Keil and Delitzsch stress the 'evil travail' that destroys wealth, as in Job's case.
- Futility of ambition: Matthew Henry and Cambridge Bible see it as proof that riches fail to satisfy or secure family legacy.
What is clear: Wealth kept solely for the owner's benefit can become a source of genuine harm, contradicting the common assumption that more wealth equals greater security.
What Scholars Agree and Debate
| Topic | Agreed | Debated |
|---|---|---|
| Nature of the harm | Wealth can harm its owner, both temporally and spiritually | Some commentators (Gill, Clarke) emphasize eternal judgment and spiritual ruin; others (Keil, Cambridge) focus on temporal loss, anxiety, and disappointment. |
| Cause of the harm | The wealth itself is not inherently evil, but how it is kept or used matters | Some see it as the owner’s fault (hoarding or misuse); others view it as misfortune (Keil notes the case of Job, where “evil travail” destroys wealth). |
| The son’s condition | The son inherits nothing if wealth is lost | Whether the loss happens before the son’s birth or after; some see the son as a potential recipient who ends up empty-handed. |
Historical & Cultural Context
This verse sits within a passage (Ecclesiastes 5:9, 6:12) that systematically dismantles the illusion that wealth guarantees happiness. The preceding verses contrast the sweet sleep of a laborer (v12) with the insomnia of the rich. Verse 13 then introduces a specific “grievous evil”, in Hebrew, חולה רעה, which Keil and Delitzsch call “not an ordinary, but a morbid evil,” a deep wound. The cultural context is ancient Near Eastern wisdom, where wealth was often seen as a sign of divine favor, yet sages also warned of its dangers. The surrounding verses (14, 17) describe how riches can perish through “evil travail” (adversity), leaving a man with nothing for his son and forcing him to leave the world as he entered it: naked. The phrase “under the sun” limits the perspective to life as experienced in a fallen world, without reference to the afterlife. This fits the book’s overall argument: even legitimate goods like wealth become vanity when hoarded without faith and enjoyment. The passage presses a question that crosses every era: will we use wealth as a tool for God’s purposes, or let it become a trap?
Textual Notes
The consulted commentaries note no significant textual variants for Ecclesiastes 5:13. The Hebrew text is stable across manuscripts. The main interpretive differences arise from the meaning of the phrase “kept for the owners thereof to their hurt” and the following verses, not from variant readings.
Reception History
Early church fathers like Cyprian and Augustine cited this verse to warn against avarice and the illusion of security in wealth. Monastic traditions used it to support voluntary poverty. Reformation commentators such as Martin Luther and John Calvin understood it as a critique of hoarding and a call to trust God rather than possessions. In modern times, preachers have applied it to consumerism and the anxiety of accumulation. The verse continues to challenge believers to examine their relationship with wealth and to hold it as stewards rather than owners.
Preaching This Verse
Three-Point Outline
- The Perversion of Blessing, Wealth intended as a gift becomes a “grievous evil” when hoarded. Adam Clarke notes it can harm health, invite robbery, or ruin a child.
- The Path to Harm, Keeping wealth “to the owner’s hurt” happens through misuse, anxiety, or loss (v14). Keil and Delitzsch call this a “morbid evil” that destroys the owner.
- The Proper Perspective, The following verses (vv.18, 20) present an alternative: enjoy wealth as God’s gift with a glad heart. This contrast is the book’s pastoral counsel.
Five-Point Outline
- The observation: a “grievous evil” seen under the sun (v13a)
- The evil defined: wealth kept to the owner’s harm (v13b)
- Consequence: riches perish by “evil travail” (v14a)
- Result: son inherits nothing (v14b)
- Application: naked we came, naked we go (vv.15, 17)
Illustration Hooks
- A parent who spends decades building a financial legacy, only to watch a child waste it or be estranged from them.
- The contrast between a laborer who sleeps soundly after a day’s work and a wealthy person who lies awake counting losses or planning investments.
- The story of a hoarder whose accumulation isolates them from relationships and leads to ruin, not security.
Questions Your Congregation Is Asking
- “Is it wrong to have wealth? Where is the line between responsible saving and hoarding?”
- “What does ‘to his hurt’ look like today, can my wealth actually damage my faith or family?”
- “How do I hold wealth in a way that honors God and avoids this ‘grievous evil’?”
Leading a Discussion
This verse challenges the common assumption that more wealth always means more security. Ecclesiastes 5:13 shows us a scenario where the very thing people count on to protect them becomes the source of their harm. As you discuss this passage, consider how the “grievous evil” of hoarded wealth might appear in your own context.
Discussion questions
- What does Solomon mean when he calls this a “grievous evil”, what makes it so serious?
- How does verse 13 connect to the contrast between the laborer’s rest and the rich man’s insomnia in verse 12?
- Why might wealth that is “kept” (guarded, hoarded) lead to harm? What are some ways that happens?
- Verse 14 says riches “perish by evil travail.” Does this suggest bad luck, divine judgment, or something else? How does the case of Job (Keil and Delitzsch’s example) inform your view?
- How does the fate of the son in verse 14 deepen the tragedy of hoarding?
- What does it mean practically to hold wealth without being harmed by it, to enjoy it as a gift rather than a security?
- Where do you see the temptation to “keep” wealth for yourself rather than use it generously? What steps can you take to counter that temptation?
Cross-References
Source: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (TSK, public domain)
| Genesis 13:5 | Lot also, who went with Abram, had flocks, herds, and tents. |
| Genesis 13:11 | So Lot chose the Plain of the Jordan for himself. Lot traveled east, and they separated themselves from one another. |
| Genesis 14:16 | He brought back all the goods, and also brought back his relative Lot and his goods, and the women also, and the other people. |
| Genesis 19:14 | Lot went out, and spoke to his sons-in-law, who were pledged to marry his daughters, and said, “Get up! Get out of this place, for Yahweh will destroy the city!” But he seemed to his sons-in-law to be joking. |
| Genesis 19:26 | But Lot’s wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt. |
| Genesis 19:31 | The firstborn said to the younger, “Our father is old, and there is not a man in the earth to come in to us in the way of all the earth. |
| Genesis 19:38 | The younger also bore a son, and called his name Ben Ammi. He is the father of the children of Ammon to this day. |
| Proverbs 1:11 | If they say, “Come with us. Let’s lie in wait for blood. Let’s lurk secretly for the innocent without cause. |
Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0). Commentaries are public domain.
For personal reflection
Read the devotional page — prayer, application, and "for families"
What the Commentators Say
9 public-domain commentaries, condensed into plain language.
Adam Clarke's Commentary Methodist/Wesleyan 1826
Clarke notes that a person can lose his wealth through his own bad choices (like using it badly) or by being in bad business deals. He also says robbers might steal it or that a son could waste it all.
Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges Anglican 1880
Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges notes that the wealth stored by a father does not bring lasting joy. He worries about losing it and worries still more that his son will end up poor after he dies.
Geneva Bible Notes Reformed 1599
The Geneva annotator observes that wealth gained through unscrupulous or reckless ventures inevitably vanishes, leaving the next generation empty-handed. The point is not simply that riches are temporary, but that ill-gotten or badly managed prosperity is doubly cursed: it disappears, and nothing remains for one's heir.
Gill's Exposition of the Bible Baptist 1748
Gill calls hoarded riches a "sore evil" or "evil sickness" that actually harms their owner. He observes that such wealth, whether used intemperately or not used at all, brings physical disease, divine curse, plunder, or even violent death, and it endangers the owner's eternal state.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Commentary Protestant 1871
JFB sees this as proof that God's judgments operate even in this life. The rich oppressor's wealth attracts enemies and misfortune, so he loses it before his son can inherit it. The son is then born to inherit only poverty.
Keil & Delitzsch OT Commentary Protestant 1876
Keil and Delitzsch see this as a particularly severe kind of harm because riches kept for one’s own protection end in sudden loss that harms the owner deeply. It shows that even great wealth cannot protect a person from sudden disaster or leave anything for his child.
Lange's Commentary Reformed 1857
Lange reads the chapter as three means for earthly happiness: piety toward God, justice toward others, and temperate self-enjoyment. He insists the final section is not Epicurean. True contentment comes not from pleasure itself but from the grateful awareness that every good is God’s gift.
Matthew Henry's Commentary Reformed/Presbyterian 1710
Henry notes that Solomon sees great riches as just as vain as other forms of desire because holding onto wealth brings no true happiness. You may find peace in simple living even without much money.
Wesley's Explanatory Notes Methodist/Wesleyan 1754
Wesley warns that what people consider beneficial often becomes the very thing that destroys them, both in this life and in eternity. Transient gain, he cautions, repeatedly leads to permanent ruin.