Ecclesiastes 10:16
in Ecclesiastes 10Woe to you, O land whose king is a youth, and whose princes feast in the morning.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Woe to thee, O land, when thy king is a child, and thy princes eat in the morning!
KJV
Woe to thee, O land, when thy king is a child, and thy princes eat in the morning!
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This verse in Ecclesiastes 10
Commentary
10 notes on this verse"Woe to you, O land, whose king acts as an adolescent, and whose ministers dine in the morning. Happy are you, O land, whose king is a man of dignity, and whose ministers dine at the proper time- in strength and not in drunkenness. "He seems in fact here to reprove the young king and to condemn indulgent judges, which in another place has been called wisdom that is weakened by age, and even in other places mature age which is made frail by pleasure.
This site's exposition
Woe to you, O land whose king is a youth
on Ecclesiastes 10:16-20
Woe to you, O land whose king is a youth, and whose princes feast, government judged by its appetites, as Henry puts it. Verse 18 applies sloth to government, and money is the answer for everything reports the courtiers' creed. Do not curse the king even in your thoughts.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church2 voices
A commentator
BonaventureCommentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 10 · Written in the 13th century.
proposed
He gave the remedy against the disorder that arises from a wicked and foolish prelate: here thirdly he gives the remedy against the disorder that arises from a useless and lax prelate. He shows therefore that such a slothful and carnal person ought not to …
Our intellect is not brought into submission unless our body is subject to it. The kingship of the intellect is the crucifixion of the body. The intellect is not subject to God unless the free will is subject to reason. It is hard to convey …
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
Perhaps Solomon wrote this with a foresight of his son Rehoboam's ill conduct ( 2 Chron. xiii. 7 ); he was a child all the days of his life and his family and kingdom fared the worse for it. Nor is it much better with a people when their princes eat in the morning, that is, make a god of their belly and make themselves slaves to their appetites.
1 Dead flies cause the ointment of the apothecary to send forth a stinking savour: so doth a little folly him that is in reputation for wisdom and honour. 2 A wise man's heart is at his right hand; but a fool's heart at his left. 3 Yea also, when he that is a fool walketh by the way, his wisdom faileth him, and he saith to every one that he is a fool.
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — verbatim-scripture
A child - Either in age, or childish qualities. Eat - Give up themselves to eating and drinking. Morning - The fittest time for God's service, for the dispatch of weighty affairs, and for sitting in judgment.
3 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
Woe to thee, O land, when thy king is a child,....
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
Wo 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 troubled reign.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
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. Ecc 10:16 A child - Rather, young. The word is applied to Rehoboam 2Ch 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 Isa 5:11). Ecc 10:17 Son of nobles - i. e., of a noble disposition. Ecc 10:18 The “building” or “house” represents the state. Compare Isa 3:6; Amo 9:10. Droppeth through - i. e., Lets the rain through the roof. Ecc 10:19 literally, For merriment they make a feast (bread), and wine gladdens the living, and money supplies all things. Ecc 10:20 Curse - Compare Ecc 7:21-22.
The words behind it
8 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| אִֽי־ | ʾi- | woe! | H337 → | |
| לָ֣ךְ | lakh | to <the> you | ||
| אֶ֔רֶץ | ʾeretz | O land | H776 → | 2504 times |
| שֶׁמַּלְכֵּ֖ךְ | shemalkekh | that king your | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| נָ֑עַר | naar | [is] a youth | H5288 → | |
| וְשָׂרַ֖יִךְ | vesarayikh | and princes your | H8269 → | 421 times |
| בַּבֹּ֥קֶר | baboker | in the morning | H1242 → | |
| יֹאכֵֽלוּ׃ | yokhelu | they eat | H398 → | 810 times |
אִֽי־woe!
ʾi-H337 →
לָ֣ךְto <the> you
lakh
אֶ֔רֶץO land
ʾeretzH776 →2504 times
שֶׁמַּלְכֵּ֖ךְthat king your
shemalkekhH4428 →2525 times
נָ֑עַר[is] a youth
naarH5288 →
וְשָׂרַ֖יִךְand princes your
vesarayikhH8269 →421 times
בַּבֹּ֥קֶרin the morning
babokerH1242 →
יֹאכֵֽלוּ׃they eat
yokheluH398 →810 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Isaiah 3:12Youths oppress My people, and women rule over them. O My people, your guides mislead you; they turn you from your paths.
it leads to
- Isaiah 3:4
“I will make mere lads their leaders, and children will rule over them.”
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Nahum 3:13
Look at your troops—they are like your women! The gates of your land are wide open to your enemies; fire consumes their bars.
- 2 Kings 11:1
When Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, she proceeded to annihilate all the royal heirs.
- Isaiah 28:14–15
Therefore hear the word of the LORD, O scoffers who rule this people in Jerusalem.
- Isaiah 3:4
Through
2 Chronicles 13:7Then worthless and wicked men gathered around him to resist Rehoboam son of Solomon when he was young, inexperienced, and unable to resist them.
it leads to
- Judges 9:4
So they gave him seventy shekels of silver from the temple of Baal-berith, with which Abimelech hired some worthless and reckless men to follow him.
- 2 Chronicles 12:13
Thus King Rehoboam established himself in Jerusalem. He was forty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city the LORD had chosen from all the tribes of…
- Proverbs 28:19
The one who works his land will have plenty of food, but whoever chases fantasies will have his fill of poverty.
- Proverbs 12:11
The one who works his land will have plenty of food, but whoever chases fantasies lacks judgment.
- Judges 9:4
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About Ecclesiastes
This page draws on 9 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Bonaventure, Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 10; Isaac of Nineveh, ASCETICAL HOMILIES 36; Jerome, Commentary on Ecclesiastes; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.