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 if a man prevail against him that is alone, two shall withstand him; and a threefold cord is not quickly broken. 13Better is a poor and wise youth than an old and foolish king, who knoweth not how to receive admonition any more. For out of prison he came forth to be king; yea, even in his kingdom he was born poor. 15I saw all the living that walk under the sun, that they were with the youth, the second, that stood up in his stead. 16There was no end of all the people, even of all them over whom he was: yet they that come after shall not rejoice in him. Surely this also is vanity and a striving after wind.

Ecclesiastes 4:14 word by word

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

• cameיָצָאyâtsâ' · to come out: comeH3318
• kingמָלַךְmâlak · to reignH4427
• kingdomמַלְכוּתmalkûth malkûth malkûyâh · royaltyH4438
• bornיָלַדyâlad · to begetH3205
• poorרוּשׁrûsh · be poorH7326

Cross-references for Ecclesiastes 4:14

• Genesis 41:14Then Pharaoh sent and called Joseph, and they brought him hastily out of the dungeon: and he shaved himself, and changed his raiment, and came in unto Pharaoh.
• Job 5:11So that he setteth up on high those that are low, And those that mourn are exalted to safety.
• Psalms 113:7He raiseth up the poor out of the dust, And lifteth up the needy from the dunghill;
• 1 Kings 14:26and he took away the treasures of the house of Jehovah, and the treasures of the king’s house; he even took away all: and he took away all the shields of gold which Solomon had made.
• 2 Kings 23:31Jehoahaz was twenty and three years old when he began to reign; and he reigned three months in Jerusalem: and his mother’s name was Hamutal the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah.
• 2 Kings 24:1In his days Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up, and Jehoiakim became his servant three years: then he turned and rebelled against him.
• 2 Kings 25:7And they slew the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes, and put out the eyes of Zedekiah, and bound him in fetters, and carried him to Babylon.
• Lamentations 4:20The breath of our nostrils, the anointed of Jehovah, was taken in their pits; Of whom we said, Under his shadow we shall live among the nations.
• Daniel 4:31While the word was in the king’s mouth, there fell a voice from heaven, saying, O king Nebuchadnezzar, to thee it is spoken: The kingdom is departed from thee:

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