Ecclesiastes 10:18
in Ecclesiastes 10Through laziness the roof caves in, and in the hands of the idle, the house leaks.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
By slothfulness the roof sinketh in; and through idleness of the hands the house leaketh.
KJV
By much slothfulness the building decayeth; and through idleness of the hands the house droppeth through.
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This verse in Ecclesiastes 10
Commentary
10 notes on this verse"Through slothfulness the ceiling sags, and through idleness of the hands the house leaks." Our house, which is held up by the condition of mankind, even that abode that we have in heaven, sags if we are lazy and slow to do good work. And every ceiling, which is supposed to hold the roof up high, falls to the ground and crushes its inhabitants. And when the help of hands and virtues has eventually gone numb a great storm of all tempests and rain clouds will fall down upon us from above.
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
Through laziness the roof caves in
Jamieson, Fausset and Brown read the house as the kingdom of verses 16 and 17, its roof left to cave in under idle princes. John Cassian applied it to the soul, where a small leak neglected over time brings the whole house down. The ruin comes slowly.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
But we must not imagine that anyone slips and comes to grief by a sudden fall, but that he falls by a hopeless collapse either from being deceived by beginning his training badly, or from the good qualities of his soul failing through a long course of carelessness of mind, and so his faults gaining ground upon him little by little. For "loss goeth before destruction, and an evil thought before a fall," just as no house ever falls to the ground by a sudden collapse, but only when there is some flaw of long standing in the foundation, or when by long continued neglect of its inmates, what was at first only a little drip finds its way through, and so the protecting walls are by degrees ruined, and in consequence of long standing neglect the gap becomes larger, and breaks away, and in time the drenching storm and rain pours in like a river: for "by slothfulness a building is cast down, and through the weakness of hands the house shall drop through."
The Medieval Church2 voices
A commentator
BonaventureCommentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 10 · Written in the 13th century.
proposed
In slothfulness shall be brought low, etc. Here, secondly, it is shown that the lax prelate himself is unworthy on account of the idleness of sloth, which is followed by the destruction of the house that was built. On account of which he says: In …
But as long as we are among the living, while the foundation of our true faith continues unshattered, even if somewhat of the outer roofwork or inner building be disabled, it is allowed to renew by repentance the part rotted by sins.
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
By much slothfulness the building decayeth,....
It is so with the family and the affairs of it; if men cannot find in their hearts to take pains in their callings, to tend their shops and look after their own business, they will soon run in debt and go behind-hand, and, instead of making what they have more for their children, will make it less.
2 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
By much slothfulness - This is remarkably the case in some countries. Houses are not repaired till they almost fall about the ears of the inhabitants. We have an adage that applies to all such cases: “A stitch in time saves nine.”
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
building--literally, "the joining of the rafters," namely, the kingdom (Ec 10:16; Am 9:11). hands-- (Ec 4:5; Pr 6:10). droppeth--By neglecting to repair the roof in time, the rain gets through.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
The words behind it
7 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| בַּעֲצַלְתַּ֖יִם | baatzaltayim | in laziness<es> | H6103 → | |
| יִמַּ֣ךְ | yimakh | it sinks | H4355 → | |
| הַמְּקָרֶ֑ה | hamekareh | the rafter[s] | H4746 → | |
| וּבְשִׁפְל֥וּת | uveshiflut | and in lowering of | H8220 → | |
| יָדַ֖יִם | yadayim | hands | H3027 → | 1618 times |
| יִדְלֹ֥ף | yidlof | it leaks | H1811 → | |
| הַבָּֽיִת׃ | habayit | the house | H1004 → | 2046 times |
בַּעֲצַלְתַּ֖יִםin laziness<es>
baatzaltayimH6103 →
יִמַּ֣ךְit sinks
yimakhH4355 →
הַמְּקָרֶ֑הthe rafter[s]
hamekarehH4746 →
וּבְשִׁפְל֥וּתand in lowering of
uveshiflutH8220 →
יָדַ֖יִםhands
yadayimH3027 →1618 times
יִדְלֹ֥ףit leaks
yidlofH1811 →
הַבָּֽיִת׃the house
habayitH1004 →2046 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
Proverbs 14:1Every wise woman builds her house, but a foolish one tears it down with her own hands.
it leads to
- Proverbs 31:10–31
A wife of noble character, who can find? She is far more precious than rubies.
- Proverbs 24:3–4
By wisdom a house is built and by understanding it is established;
- Proverbs 21:9
Better to live on a corner of the roof than to share a house with a quarrelsome wife.
- Proverbs 21:19
Better to live in the desert than with a contentious and ill-tempered wife.
- Ruth 4:11
“We are witnesses,” said the elders and all the people at the gate. “May the LORD make the woman entering your home like Rachel and Leah, who together built up the house of Israel.…
- Proverbs 31:10–31
Through
Proverbs 20:4The slacker does not plow in season; at harvest time he looks, but nothing is there.
it leads to
- Proverbs 19:15
Laziness brings on deep sleep, and an idle soul will suffer hunger.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Proverbs 13:4
The slacker craves yet has nothing, but the soul of the diligent is fully satisfied.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Proverbs 10:4
Idle hands make one poor, but diligent hands bring wealth.
- Proverbs 19:15
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; Bonaventure, Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 10; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Ecclesiastes; John Cassian, CONFERENCE 6:17; John Damascene, BARLAAM AND JOSEPH 11:94; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.