This verse and the following explain why money fails to satisfy. One reason is that our expenses quickly outstrip our gains.

When goods increase: the first part of this verse again appears to be a proverbial saying. In Hebrew it is quite brief: “In the increasing of goods, those who eat increase.” The keyword is obviously increase (from the same root as “many”), loosely tying this passage back to the previous section (verses 3, 7). The preposition “in” gives a time sense: “When goods increase….” Another keyword, goods, is used here to indicate “good things.” Goods is a term for possessions or material things and can be so translated. Here we can assume that goods also refers to the money and wealth spoken of in verse 10. If this is the case, then we have evidence that Qoheleth does not take such a negative attitude to material things as some might suppose, for these things are good in and of themselves. That is an aspect of the meaning we may miss if we choose a more general term like “possessions” or “what you own.”

They increase who eat them repeats the verb “become many.” Its subject is who eat them, literally “the eating ones.” Eat has a more extended meaning than just enjoying some food. “Those who eat them” can be interpreted either as people or activities that devour our resources. In many African languages, the verb “eat” has exactly this meaning, so a more literal translation can render both the meaning and the form of the original. Many other languages will have similar idioms using verbs like “eat,” “eat away,” “devour,” “consume.” If not, a nonfigurative expression can be used, such as “those using up,” “those causing us to spend our money.”

In the broadest sense the first part of this verse means that the more we have, the more we spend; the demands on our assets increase. In many languages where the culture is based on the extended family, this proverb will be readily understood. The more a person has, the more people come round to take advantage of that person’s wealth. Therefore even a person who has a good income may find it constantly drained by demands from others. However, to describe those who make these extra demands as “parasites” as Jerusalem Bible does overloads the interpretation. The text here is not so negative.

In the light of these possibilities, the translation can be:

• The more we have, the more people we have to feed.

Or more literally:

• When your possessions increase, those who eat them do as well.

• When our goods increase, so do the demands we make on them.

• The more we have, the more we spend.

And what gain has their owner…?: the rhetorical question can be retained, or we can use a strong statement that there is no overall gain. Gain is a term meaning “ability” or “skill” and can describe anything that is of advantage (see also comments on “skill” in 4.4). It is an expanded sense of the basic meaning “skill,” describing what we can acquire with our skills. It also points to the success a person enjoys in achieving certain goals. Qoheleth questions whether we can really describe as “success” the fact that we have made more money and accumulated more goods. Owner translates the word normally meaning “lord,” or “master.” This word does not appear frequently in Qoheleth, but we find it in verse 13 with this same meaning, namely, “one who is master of….”

But to see them with his eyes?: “seeing with … eyes” is a redundant expression, since most people see that way. Of course the point here is that people only get to look at their increased wealth, not to really enjoy it. There is a sense in which increased wealth is an illusion, without any real substance, because it cannot make any meaningful difference to a person’s life. Expenses quickly overtake us and we are no better off for having more. In 4.8 Qoheleth has already made the point that a person’s “eyes” cannot be satisfied with riches.

The second half of the verse can be rendered as follows:

• What has the owner gained except something he can look at?

• The owner only gets to look at his increased wealth.

• The owner of the goods gets nothing out of it—only the appearance of wealth.

Quoted with permission from Ogden, Graham S. and Zogbo, Lynell. A Handbook on the Book of Ecclesiates. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1997. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .