EasyEnglish Bible 2018
Ecclesiastes 5:9
9All of them take something for themselves from the land. The king himself receives his share of the crops.
Ecclesiastes 5:9 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Moreover the profit of the earth is for all: the king himself is served by the field.
- New International Version (NIV)The increase from the land is taken by all; the king himself profits from the fields.
- English Standard Version (ESV)But this is gain for a land in every way: a king committed to cultivated fields.
- New King James Version (NKJV)Moreover the profit of the land is for all; even the king is served from the field.
Context of Ecclesiastes 5:9
7If you dream all the time or if you talk all the time, that has no purpose. Instead, respect God and obey him. 8You may see a place where poor people are suffering. Powerful people may be hurting them. Do not be surprised if you see that. The judges may not be doing what is right and fair. That happens because the government's officers have to obey people who are more important than them. All of them take something for themselves from the land. The king himself receives his share of the crops. 10People who love money never have enough. They may get more and more valuable things, but they are never happy. This also has no purpose. 11As a person's money becomes more, there are more people who want a share of it. Money does not help the people who have a lot of it. They see it, but it quickly disappears.
Read all of Ecclesiastes 5Ecclesiastes 5:9 word by word
וְיִתְר֥וֹן אֶ֖רֶץ בַּכֹּ֣ל ה֑וּא מֶ֥לֶךְ לְשָׂדֶ֖ה נֶעֱבָֽד׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Ecclesiastes 5:9
- Genesis 1:29Then God said, ‘Listen! I now give to you every plant on the earth as your food. I give you every plant that has seeds in it. I give you every tree that has fruit with a seed in it. I give them to you for your food.
- Genesis 3:17Then God said to Adam, ‘You listened to your wife and you did what she said. You ate fruit from the tree after I told you, “You must not eat fruit from this tree.” Because you did that, I will curse the ground. You will have to work very hard to make plants grow in it for your food. It will be like this for your whole life.
- Psalms 104:14You give grass for farm animals to eat. You give crops for people to plant. In that way, people get food from the ground.
- Psalms 115:16The heavens belong to the Lord, but he has given the earth to us people.
- Proverbs 13:23Even a poor man's field may give him enough food. But he loses it because wicked people rob him.
- Proverbs 27:23Always take care of your sheep and your goats, as well as your cows.
- Proverbs 28:19A farmer who works hard will have plenty of food to eat. But anyone who works only on useless things will always be poor.
- Jeremiah 40:10I myself will stay here in Mizpah. If Babylon's officers come to visit me, I will speak on your behalf. But you should go and live in the towns that you have taken for yourselves. Then you can eat the things that you grow in your fields. You can pick grapes to make wine and olives to make oil. You can pick dates and figs. You can store these things in jars.’
- 1 Samuel 8:12The king will choose some of your sons to be officers in his army. Some will be leaders of 1,000 soldiers. Others will be leaders of 50 soldiers. Some of your sons will have to plough the king's fields. They will have to cut his crops at harvest time. They will have to make weapons for the king to fight wars. They will have to fix his chariots.
- 1 Kings 4:7Solomon had 12 officers with authority in the regions of Israel. They supplied food for the king and for the people who lived in his palace. Each officer had to supply food to the king for one month in each year.
- 1 Chronicles 27:26Kelub's son Ezri had authority over the men who worked in the king's fields.
Commentaries on Ecclesiastes 5:9
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 9The profit of the earth is for all - The earth, if properly cultivated, is capable of producing food for every living creature; and without cultivation none has a right to expect bread. The king himself is served by the field - Without the field he cannot have supplies for his own house; and, unless agriculture flourish, the necessary expenses of the state cannot be defrayed. Thus, God joins the head and feet together; for while the peasant is protected…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 9The king himself is served by the field - Rather, the king is subject to the field, i. e., is dependent on its cultivation. The higher ranks, if they oppress the lower, lose thereby their own means of subsistence.Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 9-17Verses 9-17 The goodness of Providence is more equally distributed than appears to a careless observer. The king needs the common things of life, and the poor share them; they relish their morsel better than he does his luxuries. There are bodily desires which silver itself will not satisfy, much less will worldly abundance satisfy spiritual desires. The more men have, the better house they must keep, the more servants they must employ, the more guests…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 8-9for one official is watched by a superior, and others higher still are over them. The produce of the earth is taken by all; the king himself profits from the fields: The New Living Translation sees these verses as saying that bureaucracy causes oppression instead of justice, even up to the king (see also 1 Samuel 8:11–18). This is not surprising because bureaucracies often work this way. Others interpret the verses to mean that the king and his officials…Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 99. "The profit (produce) of the earth is (ordained) for (the common good of) all: even the king himself is served by (the fruits of) the field" (2Ch 26:10). Therefore the common Lord of all, high and low, will punish at last those who rob the "poor" of their share in it (Pr 22:22, 23; Am 8:4-7).Read the comment
Topics related to Ecclesiastes 5:9
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Ecclesiastes 5
- 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
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
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