Ecclesiastes 4:14

Ecclesiastes 4:14 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)For out of prison he cometh to reign; whereas also he that is born in his kingdom becometh poor.
• New International Version (NIV)The youth may have come from prison to the kingship, or he may have been born in poverty within his kingdom.
• English Standard Version (ESV)For he went from prison to the throne, though in his own kingdom he had been born poor.
• New King James Version (NKJV)For he comes out of prison to be king, Although he was born poor in his kingdom.

Context of Ecclesiastes 4:14

12And though one can overpower him who is alone, two can resist him. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken. 13A poor yet wise youth is better than an old and foolish king who no longer knows how to receive instruction and counsel (friendly reproof, warning)— for the poor youth has [used his wisdom and] come out of prison to become king, even though he was born poor in his kingdom. 15I have seen all the living under the sun join with the second youth (the king’s acknowledged successor) who replaces him. 16There is no end to all the people; to all who were before them. Yet those who come later will not be happy with him. Surely this also is vanity (emptiness) and chasing after the wind.

Ecclesiastes 4:14 word by word

כִּֽי־מִבֵּ֥ית הָסוּרִ֖ים יָצָ֣א לִמְלֹ֑ךְ כִּ֛י גַּ֥ם בְּמַלְכוּת֖וֹ נוֹלַ֥ד רָֽשׁ׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• For out of prisonבַּ֫יִתbayith · house: homeH1004
• For out of prisonאָסַר'âsar · to bindH631
• he comethיָצָאyâtsâ' · to come out: comeH3318
• to reignמָלַךְmâlak · to reignH4427
• bornיָלַדyâlad · to begetH3205
• in his kingdomמַלְכוּתmalkûth malkûth malkûyâh · royaltyH4438
• becometh poorרוּשׁrûsh · be poorH7326

Cross-references for Ecclesiastes 4:14

• Genesis 41:14Then Pharaoh sent and called for Joseph, and they hurriedly brought him out of the dungeon; and when Joseph shaved himself and changed his clothes [making himself presentable], he came to Pharaoh.
• Job 5:11So that He sets on high those who are lowly, And He lifts to safety those who mourn.
• Psalms 113:7He raises the poor out of the dust And lifts the needy from the ash heap,
• 1 Kings 14:26He took away the treasures of the house (temple) of the Lord and the treasures of the king’s house; he took away everything, he even took all the shields of gold which Solomon had made.
• 2 Kings 23:31Jehoahaz was twenty-three years old when he became king, and he reigned for [only] three months in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Hamutal daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah.
• 2 Kings 24:1In his days, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up, and Jehoiakim became his servant for three years; then he turned and rebelled against him.
• 2 Kings 25:7They slaughtered the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes, then put out the eyes of Zedekiah and bound him [hand and foot] with bronze fetters and brought him to Babylon.
• Lamentations 4:20The breath of our nostrils, the anointed of the Lord [our king], Was captured in their snares, He of whom we had said, “Under his shadow We shall live among the nations.”
• Daniel 4:31While the words were still in the king’s mouth, a voice came [as if falling] from heaven, saying, ‘O King Nebuchadnezzar, to you it is declared: “The kingdom has been removed from you,

Commentaries on Ecclesiastes 4:14

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 14For out of prison he cometh to reign - "Then Abraham left the country of the idolaters, where he had been imprisoned, and came and reigned over the land of Canaan; and Nimrod became poor in this world." This is the fact to which the ancient rabbins supposed Solomon to allude.Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 13-16Verses 13-16 These verses set forth the vanity of earthly prosperity even on a throne. Opinion as to their application is chiefly divided between considering them a parable or fiction like that of the childless man in Ecclesiastes 4:8: or as setting forth first the vicissitudes of royal life in two proverbial sayings Ecclesiastes 4:13-14, and then Ecclesiastes 4:15-16, the vicissitudes or procession of the whole human race, one generation giving place to…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 13-16Verses 13-16 People are never long easy and satisfied; they are fond of changes. This is no new thing. Princes see themselves slighted by those they have studied to oblige; this is vanity and vexation of spirit. But the willing servants of the Lord Jesus, our King, rejoice in him alone, and they will love Him more and more to all eternity.Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 13-14Better is a...wise youth: Wisdom is valuable because it helps in real-life situations.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1414. out of prison--Solomon uses this phrase of a supposed case; for example, Joseph raised from a dungeon to be lord of Egypt. His words are at the same time so framed by the Holy Ghost that they answer virtually to Jeroboam, who fled to escape a "prison" and death from Solomon, to Shishak of Egypt (1Ki 11:40). This unconscious presaging of his own doom, and that of Rehoboam, constitutes the irony. David's elevation from poverty and exile, under Saul…Read the comment

Topics related to Ecclesiastes 4:14

• Rulers

In the dictionaries

• Prison
• Threefold
• Poor
• Prison; Prisoner
• Synagogue, the Great

Commentaries on Ecclesiastes 4

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings