American Standard Version
Ecclesiastes 10:19
19A feast is made for laughter, and wine maketh glad the life; and money answereth all things.
Ecclesiastes 10:19 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)A feast is made for laughter, and wine maketh merry: but money answereth all things.
- New International Version (NIV)A feast is made for laughter, wine makes life merry, and money is the answer for everything.
- English Standard Version (ESV)Bread is made for laughter, and wine gladdens life, and money answers everything.
- New King James Version (NKJV)A feast is made for laughter, And wine makes merry; But money answers everything.
Context of Ecclesiastes 10:19
17Happy art thou, O land, when thy king is the son of nobles, and thy princes eat in due season, for strength, and not for drunkenness! 18By slothfulness the roof sinketh in; and through idleness of the hands the house leaketh. A feast is made for laughter, and wine maketh glad the life; and money answereth all things. 20Revile not the king, no, not in thy thought; and revile not the rich in thy bedchamber: for a bird of the heavens shall carry the voice, and that which hath wings shall tell the matter.
Read all of Ecclesiastes 10Ecclesiastes 10:19 word by word
לִשְׂחוֹק֙ עֹשִׂ֣ים לֶ֔חֶם וְיַ֖יִן יְשַׂמַּ֣ח חַיִּ֑ים וְהַכֶּ֖סֶף יַעֲנֶ֥ה אֶת־הַכֹּֽל׃Read the interlinear
Cross-references for Ecclesiastes 10:19
- Ecclesiastes 2:1I said in my heart, Come now, I will prove thee with mirth; therefore enjoy pleasure: and, behold, this also was vanity.
- Ecclesiastes 7:2It is better to go to the house of mourning than to go to the house of feasting: for that is the end of all men; and the living will lay it to his heart.
- Genesis 43:34And he took and sent messes unto them from before him: but Benjamin’s mess was five times so much as any of theirs. And they drank, and were merry with him.
- Daniel 5:1Belshazzar the king made a great feast to a thousand of his lords, and drank wine before the thousand.
- 1 Peter 4:3For the time past may suffice to have wrought the desire of the Gentiles, and to have walked in lasciviousness, lusts, winebibbings, revellings, carousings, and abominable idolatries:
- Ecclesiastes 9:7Go thy way, eat thy bread with joy, and drink thy wine with a merry heart; for God hath already accepted thy works.
- Psalms 104:15And wine that maketh glad the heart of man, Andoil to make his face to shine, And bread that strengtheneth man’s heart.
- Isaiah 24:11There is a crying in the streets because of the wine; all joy is darkened, the mirth of the land is gone.
- 1 Samuel 25:36And Abigail came to Nabal; and, behold, he held a feast in his house, like the feast of a king; and Nabal’s heart was merry within him, for he was very drunken: wherefore she told him nothing, less or more, until the morning light.
- 2 Samuel 13:28And Absalom commanded his servants, saying, Mark ye now, when Amnon’s heart is merry with wine; and when I say unto you, Smite Amnon, then kill him; fear not; have not I commanded you? be courageous, and be valiant.
- Luke 12:19And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, be merry.
- Ephesians 5:18And be not drunken with wine, wherein is riot, but be filled with the Spirit;
- Ecclesiastes 7:11Wisdom is as good as an inheritance; yea, more excellent is it for them that see the sun.
- 1 Chronicles 21:24And king David said to Ornan, Nay; but I will verily buy it for the full price: for I will not take that which is thine for Jehovah, nor offer a burnt-offering without cost.
- 1 Chronicles 29:2Now I have prepared with all my might for the house of my God the gold for the things of gold, and the silver for the things of silver, and the brass for the things of brass, the iron for the things of iron, and wood for the things of wood; onyx stones, and stones to be set, stones for inlaid work, and of divers colors, and all manner of precious stones, and marble stones in abundance.
- 2 Chronicles 24:11And it was so, that, at what time the chest was brought unto the king’s officers by the hand of the Levites, and when they saw that there was much money, the king’s scribe and the chief priest’s officer came and emptied the chest, and took it, and carried it to its place again. Thus they did day by day, and gathered money in abundance.
Commentaries on Ecclesiastes 10:19
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 19A feast is made for laughter - The object of it is to produce merriment, to banish care and concern of every kind. But who are they who make and frequent such places? Epicures and drunkards generally; such as those of whom Horace speaks: Nos numerus sumus, et fruges consumere nati. Epist. lib. i., ep. 2, ver. 27. "Those whose names stand as indications of men, the useless many; and who appear to be born only to consume the produce of the soil." But money…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 16-20Verses 16-20 Foolish rulers, by their weakness, self-indulgence and sloth, bring decay upon the state: nobleness and temperance insure prosperity: yet the subject must not rebel in word or thought against his king. Ecclesiastes 10:16 A child - Rather, young. The word is applied to Rehoboam 2 Chronicles 13:7 at the time of his accession to the throne, when he was 41 years old. Eat in the morning - A sign of intemperance (compare Isaiah 5:11). Ecclesiastes…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 16-20Verses 16-20 The happiness of a land depends on the character of its rulers. The people cannot be happy when their princes are childish, and lovers of pleasure. Slothfulness is of ill consequence both to private and public affairs. Money, of itself, will neither feed nor clothe, though it answers the occasions of this present life, as what is to be had, may generally be had for money. But the soul, as it is not redeemed, so it is not maintained with…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 19money is the answer for everything: It helps you get what you want or need in this world (see Ecclesiastes 7:11–12).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1919. Referring to Ec 10:18. Instead of repairing the breaches in the commonwealth (equivalent to "building"), the princes "make a feast for laughter (Ec 10:16), and wine maketh their life glad (Psa 104:15), and (but) money supplieth (answereth their wishes by supplying) all things," that is, they take bribes to support their extravagance; and hence arise the wrongs that are perpetrated (Ec 10:5, 6; 3:16; Is 1:23; 5:23). Maurer takes "all things" of the…Read the comment
Topics related to Ecclesiastes 10:19
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Ecclesiastes 10
- 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
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
American Standard Version — 1901 — Public Domain
Commentaries