Ecclesiastes 5:17

Hoarding Wealth Can Backfire

¹⁶ This also is a grievous evil—exactly as he was born, so he shall die. So what advantage has he who labors for the wind? ¹⁷ All of his life he also eats in darkness [cheerlessly, without sweetness and light], with great frustration, sickness, and anger. ¹⁸ Behold, here is what I have seen to be good and fitting: to eat and drink, and to find enjoyment in all the labor in which he labors under the sun during the few days of his life which God gives him—for this is his [allotted] reward.

All the Days of His Life

Psalm 127:2

It is vain for you to rise early,
To retire late,
To eat the bread of anxious labors—
For He gives [blessings] to His beloved even in his sleep.

Genesis 3:17

Then to Adam the Lord God said, “Because you have listened [attentively] to the voice of your wife, and have eaten [fruit] from the tree about which I commanded you, saying, ‘You shall not eat of it’;

The ground is [now] under a curse because of you;
In sorrow and toil you shall eat [the fruit] of it
All the days of your life.

1 Kings 17:12

But she said, “As the Lord your God lives, I have no bread, only a handful of flour in the bowl and a little oil in the jar. See, I am gathering a few sticks so that I may go in and bake it for me and my son, that we may eat it [as our last meal] and die.”

2 Kings 1:2

Ahaziah [the king of Israel] fell through the lattice (grid) in his upper chamber which was in Samaria, and became sick [from the injury]. So he sent messengers, saying to them, “Go, inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron, if I will recover from this sickness.”

2 Kings 1:6

They replied, “A man came up to meet us and said to us, ‘Go, return to the king who sent you and tell him, “Thus says the Lord: ‘Is it because there is no God in Israel that you send to inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron? Therefore you will not leave the bed on which you lie, but you will certainly die.’”’”

2 Kings 5:27

Therefore, the leprosy of Naaman shall cling to you and to your descendants forever.” So Gehazi departed from his presence, a leper as white as snow.

2 Chronicles 16:10-12

Then Asa was angry with the seer and put him in prison [in the stocks], for he was enraged with him because of this. And at the same time Asa oppressed some of the people.

2 Chronicles 24:24-25

Though the army of the Arameans came with a small company of men, the Lord handed over a very large army into their hands, because Joash and Judah had abandoned (turned away from) the Lord, the God of their fathers. So the Arameans executed judgment against Joash.

Job 21:25

Whereas another dies with a bitter soul,
Never even tasting pleasure or good fortune.

Psalm 78:33

Therefore He consumed their days like a breath [in emptiness and futility]
And their years in sudden terror.

Psalm 90:7-11

For we have been consumed by Your anger
And by Your wrath we have been terrified.

Psalm 102:9

For I have eaten ashes like bread,
And have mingled my drink with tears

Proverbs 1:27-29

When your dread and panic come like a storm,
And your disaster comes like a whirlwind,
When anxiety and distress come upon you [as retribution].

Ezekiel 4:16-17

Moreover, He said to me, “Son of man, behold (listen carefully), I am going to break the staff of bread [that supports life] in Jerusalem; and they shall eat bread [rationed] by weight and [eat it] with anxiety and fear, and drink water by measure and [drink it] in horror [of the impending starvation],

Acts 12:23

And at once an angel of the Lord struck him down because he did not give God the glory [and instead permitted himself to be worshiped], and he was eaten by worms and died [five days later].

1 Corinthians 11:30-32

That [careless and unworthy participation] is the reason why many among you are weak and sick, and a number sleep [in death].