Proverbs 19:10

Proverbs 19:10 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Delight is not seemly for a fool; much less for a servant to have rule over princes.
• New International Version (NIV)It is not fitting for a fool to live in luxury— how much worse for a slave to rule over princes!
• English Standard Version (ESV)It is not fitting for a fool to live in luxury, much less for a slave to rule over princes.
• New King James Version (NKJV)Luxury is not fitting for a fool, Much less for a servant to rule over princes.

Context of Proverbs 19:10

8The one who acquires wisdom loves himself; the one who preserves understanding will prosper. 9A false witness will not go unpunished, and the one who spouts out lies will perish. Luxury is not appropriate for a fool; how much less for a servant to rule over princes! 11A person’s wisdom makes him slow to anger, and it is his glory to overlook an offense. 12A king’s wrath is like the roar of a lion, but his favor is like dew on the grass.

Proverbs 19:10 word by word

לֹֽא־נָאוֶ֣ה לִכְסִ֣יל תַּעֲנ֑וּג אַ֝֗ף כִּֽי־לְעֶ֤בֶד׀ מְשֹׁ֬ל בְּשָׂרִֽים׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Delightתַּעֲנוּגta‛ănûg ta‛ănûg ta‛ănûgâh · luxuryH8588
• is not seemlyנָאוֶהnâ'veh · lovelyH5000
• for a foolכְּסִילkesîyl · foolH3684
• much less for a servantעֶ֫בֶד‛ebed · servant/slaveH5650
• to have ruleמָשַׁלmâshal · to ruleH4910
• over princesשַׂרώar · rulerH8269

Cross-references for Proverbs 19:10

• Proverbs 30:21Under three things the earth trembles, and under four things it cannot bear up:
• 1 Samuel 25:36When Abigail went back to Nabal, he was holding a banquet in his house like that of the king. Nabal was having a good time and was very intoxicated. She told him absolutely nothing until morning’s light.
• Esther 3:15The messengers scurried forth with the king’s order. The edict was issued in Susa the citadel. While the king and Haman sat down to drink, the city of Susa was in an uproar!
• Isaiah 5:11Those who get up early to drink beer are as good as dead, those who keep drinking long after dark until they are intoxicated with wine.
• Isaiah 22:12At that time the sovereign master, the Lord who commands armies, called for weeping and mourning, for shaved heads and sackcloth.
• Hosea 7:3The royal advisers delight the king with their evil schemes, the princes make him glad with their lies.
• Hosea 9:1O Israel, do not rejoice jubilantly like the nations, for you are unfaithful to your God. You love to receive a prostitute's wages on all the floors where you thresh your grain.
• Amos 6:3You refuse to believe a day of disaster will come, but you establish a reign of violence.
• Luke 16:19“There was a rich man who dressed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day.
• James 4:9Grieve, mourn, and weep. Turn your laughter into mourning and your joy into despair.
• 2 Samuel 3:24So Joab went to the king and said, “What have you done? Abner has come to you! Why would you send him away? Now he’s gone on his way!
• Ecclesiastes 10:5I have seen another misfortune on the earth: It is an error a ruler makes.
• Isaiah 3:5The people will treat each other harshly; men will oppose each other; neighbors will fight. Youths will proudly defy the elderly and riffraff will challenge those who were once respected.

Commentaries on Proverbs 19:10

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 10Delight is not seemly for a fool - תענוג taanug, splendid or luxurious living, rank, equipage, etc. These sit ill on a fool, though he be by birth a lord. For a servant to have rule over princes - I pity the king who delivers himself into the hands of his own ministers. Such a one loses his character, and cannnot be respected by his subjects, or rather their subjects. But it is still worse when a person of mean extraction is raised to the throne, or to…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 10“Delight,” high unrestrained enjoyment, is to the “fool” who lacks wisdom but a temptation and a snare. The second clause carries the thought on to what the despotism of Eastern monarchies often presented, the objectionable rule of some favored slave, it might be, of alien birth, over the princes and nobles of the land.Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 10Verse 10 A man that has not wisdom and grace, has no right or title to true joy. It is very unseemly for one who is a servant to sin, to oppress God's free-men.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1010. (Compare Pr 17:7). The fool is incapable of properly using pleasure as knowledge, yet for him to have it is less incongruous than the undue elevation of servants. Let each abide in his calling (1Co 7:20).Read the comment

Topics related to Proverbs 19:10

• Citizens
• Servant

In the dictionaries

• Judgment
• Pity
• Scorner
• Slothfulness
• Proverb
• Proverbs, the Book of

Commentaries on Proverbs 19

• 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