New King James Version
Ecclesiastes 10:16
16Woe to you, O land, when your king is a child, And your 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!
- 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 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
14A fool also multiplies words. No man knows what is to be; Who can tell him what will be after him? 15The labor of fools wearies them, For they do not even know how to go to the city! Woe to you, O land, when your king is a child, And your princes feast in the morning! 17Blessed are you, O land, when your king is the son of nobles, And your princes feast at the proper time— For strength and not for drunkenness! 18Because of laziness the building decays, And through idleness of 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 13:7Then worthless rogues gathered to him, and strengthened themselves against Rehoboam the son of Solomon, when Rehoboam was young and inexperienced and could not withstand them.
- 2 Chronicles 33:1Manasseh was twelve years old when he became king, and he reigned fifty-five years in Jerusalem.
- 2 Chronicles 36:2Jehoahaz was twenty-three years old when he became king, and he reigned three months in Jerusalem.
- Isaiah 3:4“I will give children to be their princes, And babes shall rule over them.
- Proverbs 20:1Wine is a mocker, Strong drink is a brawler, And whoever is led astray by it is not wise.
- Isaiah 5:11Woe to those who rise early in the morning, That they may follow intoxicating drink; Who continue until night, till wine inflames them!
- Isaiah 28:7But they also have erred through wine, And through intoxicating drink are out of the way; The priest and the prophet have erred through intoxicating drink, They are swallowed up by wine, They are out of the way through intoxicating drink; They err in vision, they stumble in judgment.
- Hosea 7:5In the day of our king Princes have made him sick, inflamed with wine; He stretched out his hand with scoffers.
- Jeremiah 21:12O house of David! Thus says the Lord: “Execute judgment in the morning; And deliver him who is plundered Out of the hand of the oppressor, Lest My fury go forth like fire And burn so that no one can 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
New King James Version — © 1982 Thomas Nelson, Inc
Commentaries