Ecclesiastes 5:12

12 The sleep of a laborer is sweet, whether they eat little or much, but as for the rich, their abundance permits them no sleep.

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Ecclesiastes 5:12 in Other Translations

King James Version (KJV)
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.
English Standard Version (ESV)
12 Sweet is the sleep of a laborer, whether he eats little or much, but the full stomach of the rich will not let him sleep.
New Living Translation (NLT)
12 People who work hard sleep well, whether they eat little or much. But the rich seldom get a good night’s sleep.
The Message Bible (MSG)
12 Hard and honest work earns a good night's sleep, Whether supper is beans or steak. But a rich man's belly gives him insomnia.
American Standard Version (ASV)
12 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.
GOD'S WORD Translation (GW)
12 The sleep of working people is sweet, whether they eat a little or a lot. But the full stomachs that rich people have will not allow them to sleep.
Holman Christian Standard Bible (CSB)
12 The sleep of the worker is sweet, whether he eats little or much; but the abundance of the rich permits him no sleep.
New International Reader's Version (NIRV)
12 The sleep of a worker is sweet. It doesn't matter whether he eats a little or a lot. But the wealth of a rich man keeps him awake at night.

Ecclesiastes 5:12 Meaning and Commentary

Ecclesiastes 5:12

The sleep of a labouring man [is] sweet, whether he eat
little or much
Or "of a servant" F9, who enjoys sleep equally as a king; a tiller of the ground, as Jarchi; who also interprets it of one that serves the Lord, as likewise the Targum; a beloved one of his, to whom he gives sleep, ( Psalms 127:2 ) . A refreshing sleep is always reckoned a great mercy and blessing, and which labouring men enjoy with sweetness F11; for if they have but little to eat at supper, yet coming weary from their work, sleep is easily brought on when they lie down, and sound sleep they have, and rise in the morning lively and active, and fit for business; or, if they eat more plentifully, yet through their labour they have a good digestion, and their sleep is not hindered: so that should it be answered to the above question, what has the master more than the servant, though he eats and drinks more freely, and of the best, and lives voluptuously? yet it may be replied, that, in the business of sleep, the labouring man has the preference to him; which must be owned to be a great blessing of life, and is often interrupted by excessive eating and drinking; but the abundance of the rich will not suffer him to sleep;
either the abundance of food which he eats, which loads his stomach, and fills his head with vapours, and makes him restless, so that he can get no sleep, or what he does get is very uncomfortable: or the abundance of his riches fills him with cares, what he shall do with them, and how to keep and increase them; and with fears, lest thieves should break in and take them away from him, so that he cannot sleep quietly F12. The Targum is,

``sweet is the sleep of a man that serves the Lord of the world with a perfect heart; and he shall have rest in the house of his grave, whether he lives a few years or more, &c;''
and much to the same purpose Jarchi; and who says, it is thus interpreted in an ancient book of theirs, called Tanchuma.
FOOTNOTES:

F9 (dbeh) (tou doulou) , Sept. "servi", Arab. "i.e. agricolae", Drusius, Rambachius; "qui par regi famuloque venis", Senec. Hercul. Fur. v. 1073.
F11 "Somnus agrestium lenis" Horat. Carmin. l. 3. Ode 1. v. 21, 22.
F12 "Ne noctu, nec diu quietus unquam eam", Plauti Aulularia, Act. 1. Sc. 1. v. 23. "Aurea rumpunt tecta quietem", Senec. Hercul. Oet. v. 646.

Ecclesiastes 5:12 In-Context

10 Whoever loves money never has enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with their income. This too is meaningless.
11 As goods increase, so do those who consume them. And what benefit are they to the owners except to feast their eyes on them?
12 The sleep of a laborer is sweet, whether they eat little or much, but as for the rich, their abundance permits them no sleep.
13 I have seen a grievous evil under the sun: wealth hoarded to the harm of its owners,
14 or wealth lost through some misfortune, so that when they have children there is nothing left for them to inherit.

Cross References 1

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