God’s Word Translation
Ecclesiastes 4:14
14A young man came out of prison to rule as king, even though he had been born in poverty in that same kingdom.
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
12Though one person may be overpowered by another, two people can resist one opponent. A triple-braided rope is not easily broken. 13A young man who is poor and wise is better than an old, foolish king who won’t take advice any longer. A young man came out of prison to rule as king, even though he had been born in poverty in that same kingdom. 15I saw all living people moving about under the sun. They sided with the second young man, the king’s successor. 16There was no end to all those people, everyone whom he led. But those who will come later will not be happy with the successor. Even this is pointless. ⌞It’s like⌟ trying to catch the wind.
Read all of Ecclesiastes 4Ecclesiastes 4:14 word by word
כִּֽי־מִבֵּ֥ית הָסוּרִ֖ים יָצָ֣א לִמְלֹ֑ךְ כִּ֛י גַּ֥ם בְּמַלְכוּת֖וֹ נוֹלַ֥ד רָֽשׁ׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Ecclesiastes 4:14
- Genesis 41:14Then Pharaoh sent for Joseph, and immediately he was brought from the prison. After he had shaved and changed his clothes, he came in front of Pharaoh.
- Job 5:11He places lowly people up high. He lifts those who mourn to safety.
- Psalms 113:7He lifts the poor from the dust. He lifts the needy from a garbage heap.
- 1 Kings 14:26He took the treasures from the Lord’s temple and the royal palace. He took them all. He took all the gold shields Solomon had made.
- 2 Kings 23:31Jehoahaz was 23 years old when he became king, and he was king for 3 months in Jerusalem. His mother was Hamutal, daughter of Jeremiah from Libnah.
- 2 Kings 24:1During Jehoiakim’s reign King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon attacked ⌞Judah⌟, and Jehoiakim became subject to him for three years. Then Jehoiakim turned against him and rebelled.
- 2 Kings 25:7They slaughtered Zedekiah’s sons as he watched, and then they blinded Zedekiah. They put him in bronze shackles and took him to Babylon.
- Lamentations 4:20The person the Lord anointed ⌞as king⌟, who is the breath of our life, was caught in their pits. We had thought that we would live in our king’s shadow among the nations.”
- Daniel 4:31Before the words came out of his mouth, a voice said from heaven, “King Nebuchadnezzar, listen to this: The kingdom has been taken 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
In the dictionaries
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
God’s Word Translation — © 1995 God’s Word to the Nations Bible Society
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