New Living Translation
Ecclesiastes 10:6
6when they give great authority to foolish people and low positions to people of proven worth.
Ecclesiastes 10:6 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Folly is set in great dignity, and the rich sit in low place.
- New International Version (NIV)Fools are put in many high positions, while the rich occupy the low ones.
- English Standard Version (ESV)folly is set in many high places, and the rich sit in a low place.
- New King James Version (NKJV)Folly is set in great dignity, While the rich sit in a lowly place.
Context of Ecclesiastes 10:6
4If your boss is angry at you, don’t quit! A quiet spirit can overcome even great mistakes. 5There is another evil I have seen under the sun. Kings and rulers make a grave mistake when they give great authority to foolish people and low positions to people of proven worth. 7I have even seen servants riding horseback like princes—and princes walking like servants! 8When you dig a well, you might fall in. When you demolish an old wall, you could be bitten by a snake.
Read all of Ecclesiastes 10Ecclesiastes 10:6 word by word
נִתַּ֣ן הַסֶּ֔כֶל בַּמְּרוֹמִ֖ים רַבִּ֑ים וַעֲשִׁירִ֖ים בַּשֵּׁ֥פֶל יֵשֵֽׁבוּ׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Ecclesiastes 10:6
- Judges 9:14“Then all the trees finally turned to the thornbush and said, ‘Come, you be our king!’
- 1 Kings 12:13But Rehoboam spoke harshly to the people, for he rejected the advice of the older counselors
- Esther 3:1Some time later King Xerxes promoted Haman son of Hammedatha the Agagite over all the other nobles, making him the most powerful official in the empire.
- Psalms 12:8even though the wicked strut about, and evil is praised throughout the land.
- Proverbs 28:12When the godly succeed, everyone is glad. When the wicked take charge, people go into hiding.
- James 2:3If you give special attention and a good seat to the rich person, but you say to the poor one, “You can stand over there, or else sit on the floor”—well,
Commentaries on Ecclesiastes 10:6
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 6The “evil” of Ecclesiastes 10:5 is here specified as that caprice of a king by which an unworthy favorite of low origin is promoted to successive dignities, while a noble person is degraded or neglected.Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 4-10Verses 4-10 Solomon appears to caution men not to seek redress in a hasty manner, nor to yield to pride and revenge. Do not, in a passion, quit thy post of duty; wait awhile, and thou wilt find that yielding pacifies great offences. Men are not preferred according to their merit. And those are often most forward to offer help, who are least aware of the difficulties, or the consequences. The same remark is applied to the church, or the body of Christ…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 5-7Giving power to those who cannot use it wisely is a big mistake. Favoritism, nepotism, extortion, and bribery can put reckless people in powerful positions.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 66. rich--not in mere wealth, but in wisdom, as the antithesis to "folly" (for "foolish men") shows. So Hebrew, rich, equivalent to "liberal," in a good sense (Is 32:5). Mordecai and Haman (Es 3:1, 2; 6:6-11).Read the comment
Topics related to Ecclesiastes 10:6
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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