Ecclesiastes 10:17
in Ecclesiastes 10Blessed are you, O land whose king is a son of nobles, and whose princes feast at the proper time—for strength and not for drunkenness.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Happy art thou, O land, when thy king is the son of nobles, and thy princes eat in due season, for strength, and not for drunkenness!
KJV
Blessed art thou, O land, when thy king is the son of nobles, and thy princes eat in due season, for strength, and not for drunkenness!
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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.
This site's exposition
a son of nobles
Gill notes the Hebrew word for nobles, horim, comes from the word for white, and reads it as purity of mind and manners. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown place the nobility in virtue, and the time for a feast after duty is done. Augustine read the blessed land's king as Christ.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
The passage from this book which I gladly quote is one touching the two cities and their kings, the devil and Christ: "Woe to you, O land, when your king is a youth, and when the princes eat in the morning. Blessed is the land whose king is the son of freeborn parents and whose princes eat in due season, in strength and not in confusion." Here, the devil is spoken of as a "youth" because of the foolishness, pride, rashness, unruliness, and other faults usually rampant at that age; and Christ is spoken of as the "son of freeborn parents" because he descended in the flesh from those holy patriarchs who were citizens of the free city. The princes of the devil's city "eat in the morning," that is, before the proper time—in the sense that, being overeager to attain perfect happiness at once in the society of this present world, they are unwilling to await the only true happiness which will come in due time in the world to come. But the princes of the city of Christ await in patience the time of a blessedness which is sure to be theirs. The conclusion, "in strength and not in confusion," means that their hope will not cheat them.
The Medieval Church1 voice
A commentator
BonaventureCommentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 10 · Written in the 13th century.
proposed
And because "opposites placed next to each other shine forth more clearly," he commends the contrary, saying in detestation of the former: Blessed is the land whose king is noble, namely with nobility of character, because nobility alone is that which adorns the soul with …
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
Blessed art thou, O land, when thy king is the son of nobles,.... Or "heroes" (z), called "Hhorim" in the Hebrew, which signifies "white"; either from the white garment they wore, or rather from the purity and ingenuity of their minds and manners; being illustrious persons, not only by birth and education, but in their lives and actions.
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
The land is then blessed, (1.) When the sovereign is governed by principles of honour, when the king is the son of nobles, actuated and animated by a noble spirit, which scorns to do any thing base and unbecoming so high a character, which is solicitous for the public welfare, and prefers that before any private interests.
2 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
When thy king is the son of nobles - uiov eleuyerwn, the son of freemen; persons well acquainted with the principles of civil liberty, and who rule according to them - Septuagint. Such a one as comes to the throne in a legitimate way, from an ancient regal family, whose right to the throne is incontestable. It requires such a long time to establish a regal right, that the state is in continual danger from pretenders and usurpers, where the king is not the son of nobles.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
son of nobles--not merely in blood, but in virtue, the true nobility (So 7:1; Isa 32:5, 8). in due season-- (Ec 3:1), not until duty has first been attended to. for strength--to refresh the body, not for revelry (included in "drunkenness").
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
The words behind it
11 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| אַשְׁרֵ֣יךְ | ʾashreikh | how blessed [are] you | H835 → | |
| אֶ֔רֶץ | ʾeretz | O land | H776 → | 2504 times |
| שֶׁמַּלְכֵּ֖ךְ | shemalkekh | that king your | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| בֶּן־ | ben- | [is] a son of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| חוֹרִ֑ים | chorim | nobles | H2715 → | |
| וְשָׂרַ֙יִךְ֙ | vesarayikh | and princes your | H8269 → | 421 times |
| בָּעֵ֣ת | baet | at the appropriate time | H6256 → | 296 times |
| יֹאכֵ֔לוּ | yokhelu | they eat | H398 → | 810 times |
| בִּגְבוּרָ֖ה | bigvurah | for strength | H1369 → | |
| וְלֹ֥א | velo' | and not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| בַשְּׁתִֽי׃ | vasheti | for <the> drinking | H8358 → |
אַשְׁרֵ֣יךְhow blessed [are] you
ʾashreikhH835 →
אֶ֔רֶץO land
ʾeretzH776 →2504 times
שֶׁמַּלְכֵּ֖ךְthat king your
shemalkekhH4428 →2525 times
בֶּן־[is] a son of
ben-H1121 →4930 times
חוֹרִ֑יםnobles
chorimH2715 →
וְשָׂרַ֙יִךְ֙and princes your
vesarayikhH8269 →421 times
בָּעֵ֣תat the appropriate time
baetH6256 →296 times
יֹאכֵ֔לוּthey eat
yokheluH398 →810 times
בִּגְבוּרָ֖הfor strength
bigvurahH1369 →
וְלֹ֥אand not
velo'H3808 →5168 times
בַשְּׁתִֽי׃for <the> drinking
vashetiH8358 →
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 5:11Woe to those who rise early in the morning in pursuit of strong drink, who linger into the evening, to be inflamed by wine.
it leads to
- Proverbs 23:29–30
Who has woe? Who has sorrow? Who has contentions? Who has complaints? Who has needless wounds? Who has bloodshot eyes?
- Romans 13:13
Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy.
- Proverbs 20:1
Wine is a mocker, strong drink is a brawler, and whoever is led astray by them is not wise.
- Proverbs 23:29–30
Through
Jeremiah 30:21Their leader will be one of their own, and their ruler will arise from their midst. And I will bring him near, and he will approach Me, for who would dare on his own…
it leads to
- Numbers 16:5
Then he said to Korah and all his followers, “Tomorrow morning the LORD will reveal who belongs to Him and who is holy, and He will bring that person near to Himself. The one…
- Ezekiel 34:23–24
I will appoint over them one shepherd, My servant David, and he will feed them. He will feed them and be their shepherd.
- Ezekiel 37:24
My servant David will be king over them, and there will be one shepherd for all of them. They will follow My ordinances and keep and observe My statutes.
- Acts 5:31
God exalted Him to His right hand as Prince and Savior, in order to grant repentance and forgiveness of sins to Israel.
- Mark 11:9–10
The ones who went ahead and those who followed were shouting: “Hosanna!” “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!”
- Numbers 16:5
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About Ecclesiastes
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Augustine of Hippo, City of God 17.20; Bonaventure, Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 10; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Ecclesiastes; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.