Darby Bible
Ecclesiastes 10:16
16Woe to thee, O land, when thy king is a child, and thy princes eat in the morning!
Ecclesiastes 10:16 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Woe to thee, O land, when thy king is a child, and thy princes eat in the morning!
- New International Version (NIV)Woe to the land whose king was a servant and whose princes feast in the morning.
- English Standard Version (ESV)Woe to you, O land, when your king is a child, and your princes feast in the morning!
- New King James Version (NKJV)Woe to you, O land, when your king is a child, And your princes feast in the morning!
Context of Ecclesiastes 10:16
14And the fool multiplieth words: [yet] man knoweth not what shall be; and what shall be after him, who will tell him? 15The labour of fools wearieth them, because they know not how to go to the city. Woe to thee, O land, when thy king is a child, and thy princes eat in the morning! 17Happy art thou, O land, when thy king is a son of nobles, and thy princes eat in [due] season, for strength, and not for drunkenness! 18By much sloth fulness the framework falleth in; and through idleness of the hands the house drippeth.
Read all of Ecclesiastes 10Ecclesiastes 10:16 word by word
אִֽי־לָ֣ךְ אֶ֔רֶץ שֶׁמַּלְכֵּ֖ךְ נָ֑עַר וְשָׂרַ֖יִךְ בַּבֹּ֥קֶר יֹאכֵֽלוּ׃Read the interlinear
Cross-references for Ecclesiastes 10:16
- 2 Chronicles 13:7And vain men, sons of Belial, gathered to him and strengthened themselves against Rehoboam the son of Solomon, and Rehoboam was young and faint-hearted, and did not shew himself strong against them.
- 2 Chronicles 33:1Manasseh was twelve years old when he began to reign; and he reigned fifty-five years in Jerusalem.
- 2 Chronicles 36:2Jehoahaz was twenty-three years old when he began to reign; and he reigned three months in Jerusalem.
- Isaiah 3:4And I will appoint youths as their princes, and children shall rule over them.
- Proverbs 20:1Wine is a scorner, strong drink is raging; and whoso erreth thereby is not wise.
- Isaiah 5:11Woe unto them that, rising early in the morning, run after strong drink; that linger till twilight, [till] wine inflameth them!
- Isaiah 28:7But these also have erred through wine, and through strong drink are they gone astray. The priest and the prophet have erred through strong drink; they are overpowered by wine, they are gone astray through strong drink; they have erred in vision, they have stumbled [in] judgment.
- Hosea 7:5In the day of our king, the princes made themselves sick with the heat of wine: he stretched out his hand to scorners.
- Jeremiah 21:12House of David, thus saith Jehovah: Judge with justice in the morning, and deliver him that is spoiled out of the hand of the oppressor, lest my fury go forth like fire and burn, and there be none to quench it, because of the evil of your doings.
Commentaries on Ecclesiastes 10:16
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 16Wo to thee, O land, when thy king is a child - Minorities are, in general, very prejudicial to a state. Regents either disagree, and foment civil wars; or oppress the people. Various discordant interests are raised up in a state during a minority; and the young king, having been under the tutelage of interested men, acts partially and injuriously to the interests of the people when he comes to the throne; and this produces popular discontent, and a…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. 16-17A servant does not have leadership skills. feast at the proper time: Wise leaders relax only after completing their work, not in the morning before starting. Lazy leaders weaken a society or organization.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1616. a child--given to pleasures; behaves with childish levity. Not in years; for a nation may be happy under a young prince, as Josiah. eat in the morning--the usual time for dispensing justice in the East (Jr 21:12); here, given to feasting (Is 5:11; Ac 2:15).Read the comment
Topics related to Ecclesiastes 10:16
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
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Commentaries