New International Version
Ecclesiastes 10:16
16Woe to the land whose king was a servant and whose princes feast 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!
- 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!
- New Living Translation (NLT)What sorrow for the land ruled by a servant, the land whose leaders feast in the morning.
Context of Ecclesiastes 10:16
14and fools multiply words. No one knows what is coming— who can tell someone else what will happen after them? 15The toil of fools wearies them; they do not know the way to town. Woe to the land whose king was a servant and whose princes feast in the morning. 17Blessed is the land whose king is of noble birth and whose princes eat at a proper time— for strength and not for drunkenness. 18Through laziness, the rafters sag; because of idle hands, the house leaks.
Read all of Ecclesiastes 10Ecclesiastes 10:16 word by word
אִֽי־לָ֣ךְ אֶ֔רֶץ שֶׁמַּלְכֵּ֖ךְ נָ֑עַר וְשָׂרַ֖יִךְ בַּבֹּ֥קֶר יֹאכֵֽלוּ׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Ecclesiastes 10:16
- 2 Chronicles 13:7Some worthless scoundrels gathered around him and opposed Rehoboam son of Solomon when he was young and indecisive and not strong enough to resist them.
- 2 Chronicles 33:1Manasseh was twelve years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem fifty-five years.
- 2 Chronicles 36:2Jehoahaz was twenty-three years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem three months.
- Isaiah 3:4“I will make mere youths their officials; children will rule over them.”
- Proverbs 20:1Wine is a mocker and beer a brawler; whoever is led astray by them is not wise.
- Isaiah 5:11Woe to those who rise early in the morning to run after their drinks, who stay up late at night till they are inflamed with wine.
- Isaiah 28:7And these also stagger from wine and reel from beer: Priests and prophets stagger from beer and are befuddled with wine; they reel from beer, they stagger when seeing visions, they stumble when rendering decisions.
- Hosea 7:5On the day of the festival of our king the princes become inflamed with wine, and he joins hands with the mockers.
- Jeremiah 21:12This is what the Lord says to you, house of David: “ ‘Administer justice every morning; rescue from the hand of the oppressor the one who has been robbed, or my wrath will break out and burn like fire because of the evil you have done— burn with no one to quench it.
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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