Ecclesiastes 5:12
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.
Ecclesiastes 5:12 in other translations
| BSB | The sleep of the worker is sweet, whether he eats little or much, but the abundance of the rich man permits him no sleep. |
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| WEB | 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. |
| ASV | 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. |
| YLT | Sweet is the sleep of the labourer whether he eat little or much; and the sufficiency of the wealthy is not suffering him to sleep. |
| DARBY | The sleep of the labourer is sweet, whether he have eaten little or much; but the fulness of the rich doth not suffer him to sleep. |
| BBE | 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. |
| Webster | The sleep of a laboring man is sweet, whether he eateth little or much: but the abundance of the rich will not suffer him to sleep. |
What does Ecclesiastes 5:12 mean?
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain
Adam Clarke's Commentary
Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain
Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Ecclesiastes 5:9-17
The goodness of Providence is more equally distributed than appears to a careless observer. The king needs the common things of life, and the poor share them; they relish their morsel better than he does his luxuries. There are bodily desires which silver itself will not satisfy, much less will worldly abundance satisfy spiritual desires. The more men have, the better house they must keep, the more servants they…
Ecclesiastes 5:12 in the original Hebrew
Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.
Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).
Cross references for Ecclesiastes 5:12
- Proverbs 3:24
When thou liest down, thou shalt not be afraid: yea, thou shalt lie down, and thy sleep shall be sweet.
- Psalms 4:8
I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep: for thou, Lord, only makest me dwell in safety.
- Jeremiah 31:26
Upon this I awaked, and beheld; and my sleep was sweet unto me.
- Psalms 127:2
It is vain for you to rise up early, to sit up late, to eat the bread of sorrows: for so he giveth his beloved sleep.
Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).
Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Context
- Ecclesiastes 5:11
When goods increase, they are increased that eat them: and what good is there to the owners thereof, saving the beholding of them with their eyes?
- Ecclesiastes 5:12
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.
- Ecclesiastes 5:13
There is a sore evil which I have seen under the sun, namely, riches kept for the owners thereof to their hurt.
Ecclesiastes 5:12 in other languages
| Spanish Reina-Valera 1909 | Dulce es el sueño del trabajador, ora coma mucho ó poco; mas al rico no le deja dormir la hartura. |
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| French Bible J.N. Darby 1885 | Il y a un mal douloureux que j’ai vu sous le soleil: les richesses sont conservées à leurs maîtres pour leur détriment, |
| German Elberfelder 1871 | Der Schlaf des Arbeiters ist süß, mag er wenig oder viel essen; aber der Überfluß des Reichen läßt ihn nicht schlafen. - |
| Latin Clementine Vulgate | Est et alia infirmitas pessima quam vidi sub sole: divitiæ conservatæ in malum domini sui. |