The Media Desk takes a look atEcclesiastes

Part Two: we do an in depth study of the book itself. Chapters 5 and 6.

Part One: About the Book. Part Three: A bit of review. (links below)

Produced by TheMediaDesk, ©2026

Chapter Five
NOTE: some translations begin chapter five with the last verse of four, (4:16), including the English translation of the Septuagint. We're going with the most common lineup for verse numbering. And remind everybody that the Original Text did not have chapters and verses.

verse 1
      "shamar" (observe / keep / guard / take heed) your "regel" (feet (implies 'footsteps')) when your "halak" (proceed / walk / come) to the "bayith" (house / dwelling) of 'Elohim (God) (meaning: The Temple), and coming "qarob" (close / near) to "shama" (hear / listen) is better than the "nathan" (giving) of "kesil" (fool / stupid / dullard) the "zebach" (sacrifice / offering) for "ayin" (there is not / nothing / without / none) "yada" (know / perceive / understand / acknowledge) they do "ra'" (evil / harm / wickedness).

      The part about 'watching your feet' isn't to keep you from tripping over something on the way in. It is to make sure you are doing it willingly and intentionally. Going to listen to God's Word and to Worship HIM, instead of just because it is something you are supposed to do. As for the offerings of fools, well.... go read 1 Samuel 15 : 22. Something that was echoed later by Christ, such as in Luke 11 : 40, among others.

2 - 3 Verses and comment:
      "al" (no / nor) be "bahal" (eager / hurry / haste / etc (also used for: 'dismayed / disturbed') with your "peh" (mouth) and your "leb" (heart / mind) "al" (no / nor) let it "mahar" (hurry / be quick / etc) "yatsa" (to go out / bring out / depart) a "dabar" (word / speech) in the "panim" (before) 'Elohim. For 'Elohim is in "shamayim" (heaven / sky) and you are on "erets" (earth / ground)

      These statements echo Proverbs 10 : 19 and 17 : 28 as well as others. And then in the NT we find something along that line in Matthew 5 : 37 and then in 6 : 7.
      And then our passage restates an obvious point.

4 - 5 Summary:
      The speaker says if you make a 'vow to God' you should not delay because there is "ayin" (not / none / nothing) "chephets" (delight / pleasure / purpose) to "kesil" (fools / stupid people / dullard). You MUST fulfill your vow. You are better off if you do not make a vow than to not fulfill it.

6 - 7
      "al" (no / nothing) "nathan" (give) your "peh" (mouth (implies: speech)) cause "chata" (sin / to sin / to go wrong / incur guilt) in the "basar" (flesh / body), and "al" (no...) "amar" (say) in front of the "malak" (messenger / angel) that "shegagah" (mistake / error / 'unintentional sin') it was. "mah" (why / what) "qatsaph" (to be- wroth / indignant / angry) 'Elohim "al" (upon / over / because of) your "qol" (voice) and "chabal" (corrupt / destroy / spoil) the "maaseh" (work / labor / product) of your "yad" (hands).
      "ki" (for / because / indeed) "rob" (multitude / abundance / plenty) "chalom" (dream / dreams) "hebel" (vapor / emptiness....) and "dabar" (words / speech) "rabah" (increase / multiply / become many), but 'Elohim you 'have to / must' "yare'" (revere / 'hold in awe').

      We're going to bring up something from Israel's own history. Let's revisit an episode before Moses became the leader of song and story, and multiple movies. When he stood before the Burning Bush and told GOD that He needed to "find somebody else for the job" in Exodus 3 and 4. But then later, Moses not only revered God, He knew him 'face to face'. Another famous individual in the Bible that thought a Messenger from God was making a mistake was the father of John the Baptist.
      There was a man of note who had a similar opinion on those that talk too much, we'll quote him and move on:

"I am rather inclined to silence, and whether that be wise or not, it is at least more unusual nowadays to find a man who can hold his tongue than to find one who cannot."
- Abraham Lincoln (1809 - 1865)

      ... !?!?!.... .... ( "... our first thought was that this was some sort of prophecy about the US Congress and various State Legislatures, not to mention Wall Street. So we had to take a break and come back to it...." )....

      We saw this recurring theme in our study of The Minor Prophets / The Book of the Twelve: Injustice, oppressing the poor, using a position of power for evil. Then the speaker reminds us that there is a King who is watching the King. The last line is simply a statement that, effectively, a wheat field doesn't care who is tilling it.

10
      One who "aheb" (loves / to love) "keseph" (money / silver) "lo" (not / no) "saba" (satisfied / be full / satiate) with money/silver, and he who loves "hamon" (increased abundance / multitude (includes: /crowd of people)) "lo" (not) not have 'abundance/ multitude'. This is also vapor.

      Another observation, and, in fact, a truism.
      Those who love money, and / or the adulation of the masses, seldom have enough. Which makes it grasping at a vapor.

11 - 12 Summary and comment:
      The speaker goes on to mention that when good is multiplied, those "akal" (eating / devouring) it are also multiplied, and what does it profit them except to look at? We'll cite a somewhat comical example. Take your local individual who starts out feeding one or two stray cats, what do they have six months from now?
      "mathoq" (sweet / pleasant) is the "shenah" (sleep) on one "abad" (serving / working / 'cultivating') "im" (if / whether) "me at" (little / few) or "rabah" (much / in abundance) he "akal" (eats), and the "saba" (satisfied / filled) of the "ashir" (rich / wealthy) "ayin" (nothing / without / none) "nuach" (rest / settle) for him "yashen" (to sleep / fall asleep).

      This is another famous statement from Ecclesiastes, and is often heard repeated to those that work for a living.
      Let's look at a few more verses, then we'll have a comment or two.

13 - 16
      "yesh" (there exists / there is) "ra'" (evil / wicked / etc) "chalah" (weakening / affliction / wounded / 'to be made sick or ill') I "raah" (see / have seen) 'under the sun', "osher" (wealth / riches) "shamar" (kept / guarded / hoarded) to their owner's "ra'" (harm / unpleasant / wicked). And "abad" (perished / destroyed / ruined) that wealth in a "inyan" (business / matter / occupation) of "ra'" (evil / wicked...) and he "yalad" (brings forth / begets) "ben" (son / child), and has "ayin" (not / nothing / none) in his "yad" (hand) any thing.
      "asher" (that / how / etc) "yatsa" (came out / was brought forth) "beten" (womb / belly) of his "em" (mother) "arom" (bare / naked) "shub" (return) "halak" (to go / proceed) as he "bo" (came / entered) and "lo" (not / nothing) "nasa" (bear / carry) for his "amal" (labor / trouble (with sorrow)) "halak" (to go / proceed / walk) in his hand.
      And also this is an "ra'" (evil / wicked) "chalah" (weakening / affliction ...), "kol" (every / all / entire) "ummah" (with) "bo" (came / entered) "ken" (thus / so / therefore) "halak" (to go / proceed) and what is "yithron" (profit / advantage / gain) for him "amal" (toil / labor (with weariness)) for the "ruach" (wind / spirit / breath).

      Let's see... what's that old saying about money and stuff???
"You mean: 'you can't take it with you'?"
      Well, kinda, but we were thinking more along the lines of something from the Emperor Marcus Aurelius. We said we'd check in with him from time to time... it's time. ( all puns at no extra charge)

"The only wealth which you will keep forever is the wealth you have given away."
- Marcus Aurelius (121 - 180)
      One more verse, then we'll discuss all this.

17 Verse, discussion, tangent:
      "gam" (also / indeed) all "yom" (days) he will "choshek" (darkness (also implies: ignorance / obscurity)) he will "akal" (eat), and have "ka'ac" (anger / grief / vexation) "rabah" (multiply / increase / many) and "choli" (illness / disease / sickness) and "qetseph" (wrath / indignation (literally: 'to foam with anger'))

      This section, beginning at our verse 13, paints a picture of everything from the works of Charles Dickens, where the image of Scrooge has become a trope (a familiar idea that needs little background information, so the reader/viewer understands what is meant) seen throughout movies and TV. To the reality seen in the occasional news story of how a 'bitter old individual' (it applies to men and women) who lived in a solitude of work, and in some cases, misery, and then left a fortune to a school or charity. For a modern fictional example, consider "Miser Madison" from the Tony Award winning theatrical epic (later good movie) The Music Man (link below). While real world examples abound, and some turn into country songs, we have one 'from across the pond' most people in the US have never heard of.

      Ralph Sperring (1909 - 1990) was an English property owner in Midsomer Norton, England (about 130 miles due west of London), with something of a local reputation for frugality, and even being a miser, who lived in an old house with his sister, who died some years before he did. One report has it that she would get old bread from a local bakery, moisten it with water, and then rebake it, and that's what they'd have for supper. He maintained his own properties, always wearing the same old outfit and well-worn cap. He'd be seen carrying a ladder and tools down the street to work on the places he owned in town to do whatever work needed done on them. And, you know it, when he finally died, he left an estate worth over two million British pounds, that's nine million US dollars today, and the forty properties in the city went with it to continue to support it, for a Charitable Trust for the betterment of the local community. See links below.

18 - 19 Summary and discussion:
      The speaker continues to say he has seen 'good' which / that it is "yapheh" (beautiful) to eat and drink, and to see good in his "amal" (labor (with sorrow)) under the sun, all the days of his life that God portioned to him.
      He continues by stating that God has also given him whatever "osher" (riches / wealth) "nekes" (wealth / riches) and "shalat" (power / rule / dominate) to eat and recieve his portion, and to "samach" (rejoice / be glad) in his "amal" (labor (with sorrow)) as a gift of 'Elohim.

      Here we have an example of how the meaning can be changed depending on how the punctuation is inserted into the English translation of the verse. Remember, there was no punctuation, as such, in most of the Hebrew. However, you get the sense that whoever is saying all this thinks that people are at least supposed to be happy with what they do in life. Which we see concluded in the next statement.

20
      "ki" (because / for / when / etc) "lo" (no / nor / cannot) "rabah" (increase / to grow) he "zakar" (remember / call to mind / mention (includes 'be reminded of')) the "yom" (days) "chay" (alive / living) "ki" (because / for...) 'Elohim "anah" ('humble with an answer') with "simchah" (joy / gladness / rejoicing) of his "leb" (heart / mind).

      This is a restatement that we are mortal, and we need to be happy with our lot.

end chapter five, and oddball verse numbering.

Chapter Six
verse 1
      "yesh" (there is / exists) "ra'" (evil / wicked) "asher" (which / that) "raah" (see / saw) "tachath" (under / below) "shemesh" (sun / daylight) and "rab" (many / much / great) it is upon "adam" (humans).

      We haven't been keeping track of how many evils he has seen 'under the sun', perhaps we should have. But remember, he is talking about the evil that is simply part of the fabric of this world and the people in it, NOT the "embodiment of evil" known as the individual called "Satan" (which isn't a name, but a title). See our special study of "The Bad Guy" linked below.

2 - 3 Summary and comment:
      The speaker goes on to say that there is a man to whom God had given riches, wealth, and "kabowd" (honor / splendor / glory (includes the idea of 'fabulous wealth')) and he lacks nothing "nephesh" (life / soul / heart / living being (implies 'the entire person')) all he desires, ...
      but "lo" (not / no) "nathan" (give) "shalat" (power / permission / mastery) 'Elohim "akal" (to eat) from it, "ki" (instead / because) a man "nokri" (foreign / alien (the term also means 'adulterous woman')) "akal" (eats it), this "hebel" (vapor) is "choli" (sickness / disease) and "ra'" (evil / bad).
      If "yalad" (brings forth / begets) "ish" (men / 'sons') "meah / meyah" (one hundred / 'a lot of'), and "shanah" (year) "rab" (many / great) "chayah" ('to be alive' / 'to live') "rab" (many / great) are the days of his years, and his "nephesh" (soul / inner self) "lo" (not) "saba" (satisfied / full (content)) from this "towb" (goodness / pleasure) and "gam" (indeed) a "qeburah" (grave / burial) is not for him, I "amar" (say) "towb" (better / well favored) him than a "nephel" (miscarriage / stillborn).

      This appears to be another statement on the political and economic situation when and where this was committed to paper. The Jews had worked for years to build up their own nation, and now were not benefiting from those labors as 'foreigners' (read: gentiles), who were pagans, were living off of it. Elsewhere in the OT Israel is labeled an 'unfaithful wife' (see Ezekiel 16 and Hosea 2, for example) for turning to idolatry. The double meaning in the original text of Ecclesiastes is intentional.
      Toward the end of chapter three the speaker said humans are in the same boat as animals. And now, he's saying that a 'successful' man is no better off than a stillborn baby. And, we can see his point, if you take GOD out of the picture and see humanity as nothing more than an animal with a (" 'slightly' ") greater vocabulary than your average coyote. But hang on, whoever is speaking isn't done with that image just yet.

4
      "ki" (because / for) in "hebel" (vapor / futility / etc) he "bo" (enters / comes) and in "cheshek" (darkness / ignorance (the Hebrew word means both)) he "halak" (proceeds / goes) and in "cheshek" (darkness / ignorance) his "shem" (name / character (as a remembrance)) is "kasah" (concealed / hidden (includes idea of: 'obscurity'))

      This isn't the most cheerful set of verses we've studied so far in Ecclesiastes. It isn't even top.... well, we've been through just over 100 verses so far in the book, and this is one of the gloomiest: You are born into futility, you live in the dark, in ignorance, then in the end, the dark swallows all hint of you. But stay with us, there's more here.

5
      "gam" (moreover / indeed) the "shemesh" (sun / daylight) "lo" (not) "raah" (saw / seen) and "lo" (not) "yada" (perceived / understood / known) it "nachath" (tranquility / quietness / 'rest in satisfaction') is for "zeh" (this / these) more than this one.

      While the English gets a bit cumbersome, he is saying that even though the infant born dead will never see the sun, he will rest better than the rich man in death. There's a bit more here.

6 - 7
      And if he might "chayah" (live / be alive) "eleph" (one thousand) "shanah" (year / years) "paam" (twice / thrice / hundred-fold) and "towb" (good / beauty / pleasant) "lo" (not) "raah" (see / saw) are "lo" (not) to "maqom" (place / location) "echad" (one / single) "kol" (all / every) "halak" (proceeding / moving / going). "kol" (all / every) "amal" (labor / toil (with sorrow)) "adam" (humans / man) is for his "peh" (mouth) "gam" (indeed / also) "nephesh" (soul / inner self / mind / heart / etc) is not "male / mala" (filled / fulfilled / complete).

      And that's what it says. If the 'rich man' lived a couple of thousand years, he will work his whole life in sorrow, still end up in the grave.... and not be satisfied.

8 - 9
      And then the speaker goes back to asking the advantage of the wise over the fool. Why/How the "ani" (afflicted / humble / poor) one "yada" (knows / understands) 'how' "halak" (proceed / walk / go) "neged" (before / 'in presence of') the "chay" (living / alive). "towb" (good / better / etc) is the "mareh" (vision / sight / form / appearance) "ayin" (sight / 'something to be seen') than "halak" (go / walk / come / etc) of the "nephesh" (soul / mind / inner self), "gam" (indeed / moreover / also) this is "vapor" and "reuth" (striving / grasping) after the "ruach" (spirit / wind).

      We're going to take a look at his question in the wrap-up after chapter 12, but for now, let's just say that being a fool can get very expensive very quickly.
      The idea that someone who is 'afflicted' (which implies some sort of long term illness) and the 'poor', have a level of social awareness that they know how to act in public isn't all that mysterious, for most of them, it's a survival trait.
      This section concludes saying that something you can actually see is better than being a 'wandering soul', implying they don't know what they want and are constantly changing what they desire, which is chasing the wind.

10 - 12 Summary and comment:
      He continues a theme that we first saw in the middle of chapter one.
      He says everything that has come, has been named and is known, and that humans cannot contend with one who is stronger, implying God without naming Him.
      Then, with a level of irony that is seldom seen in the OT, he says many words increase the "hebel" (vapor / futility) with what advantage for men?
      The speaker continues saying nobody knows what is good for a man in life all the days of 'his vapor' that he makes is a shadow. Who can tell a man what will happen after him under the sun.

      Whoever the Teacher is interviewing was seriously obsessed with the idea of his own legacy. As have been others who held similar positions, as we've seen in some of our quotes.

Outside resources:

Interlinear: Hebrew - English https://biblehub.com/interlinear/ecclesiastes/1.htm

References from above linked below

During the 1950's and even until he was quite elderly, Ralph Sperring, was always out and about in Midsomer Norton. He was always wearing a cap, a brown decorator s coat, carrying ladders, painting materials and other equipment needed for decorating. He was a tall, thin man and always had a very red face. Even though he tended the properties of his tenants, he left his own rambling house to remain in a time warp. On 29th January, 1990 the local newspaper reported the death of Ralph Sperring, at the age of 81. One headline, across six columns read: "lonely miser who lived on stale bread leaves 2.5 million pounds."

More about him from one of the organizations his trust supports:
https://www.stjohnsmsn.co.uk/our-church-school/our-benefactors.htm

The Sperring Charity https://www.thesperringcharity.co.uk/history

"By turns wicked, funny, warm, romantic and touching, The Music Man is family entertainment at its best. Meredith Wilson's six-time, Tony Award-winning musical comedy has been entertaining audiences since 1957 and is a family-friendly story to be shared with every generation."
https://www.mtishows.com/the-music-man

Ecclesiastes: Part One: About the Book and Study Index.
Part Three: A bit of Review.

NOTE: The Bible Study Lesson presented above is posted as a reference document to begin a conversation of the topic. And that's it. Please accept it at such.

http://centralparkchurchofchrist.org