Ecclesiastes 10:19
in Ecclesiastes 10A feast is prepared for laughter, and wine makes life merry, but money is the answer for everything.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
A feast is made for laughter, and wine maketh glad the life; and money answereth all things.
KJV
A feast is made for laughter, and wine maketh merry: but money answereth all things.
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This verse in Ecclesiastes 10
Commentary
9 notes on this verseA feast is made for laughter,.... Or, "who make bread for laughter" (i).
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
money is the answer for everything
Jamieson, Fausset and Brown keep the princes of verse 16 in view: they feast for laughter while the house leaks, and take bribes. Henry sets a limit on money. It buys what the market sells and buys the soul no pardon.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
"A feast is made for laughter, and wine gladdens life, but money answers everything. "I think that what follows relates to the preceding verses. For with regard to the sloth and the indolence of teachers the Church is lowered, and its roof is made to fall, and its timbers leak, as we have shown above. Therefore here he is speaking of the self-same teachers.
Let each one do his work without chatting or shouting. Let absolutely no one laugh, so that there will not apply to us the reproach of the Scriptures, "They make bread for laughter." If someone needs to ask his neighbor a question, he must do …
The Medieval Church1 voice
A commentator
BonaventureCommentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 10 · Written in the 13th century.
proposed
In laughter they make bread etc. Here thirdly he shows the unworthiness of the slothful and carnal man on account of the unseemliness of merriment, in which the carnal always wish to be, and on account of which they do everything that they do. Therefore …
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
What is to be had may be had for money. But it answers nothing to the soul; it will not procure the pardon of sin, the favour of God, the peace of conscience; the soul, as it is not redeemed, so it is not maintained, with corruptible things as silver and gold.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A feast is made for laughter - The object of it is to produce merriment, to banish care and concern of every kind. But who are they who make and frequent such places? Epicures and drunkards generally; such as those of whom Horace speaks: Nos numerus sumus, et fruges consumere nati. Epist. lib. i., ep. 2, ver. 27. “Those whose names stand as indications of men, the useless many; and who appear to be born only to consume the produce of the soil.” But money answereth all - This saying has prevailed everywhere.
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
Instead of repairing the breaches in the commonwealth (equivalent to "building"), the princes "make a feast for laughter (Ec 10:16), and wine maketh their life glad (Ps 104:15), and (but) money supplieth (answereth their wishes by supplying) all things," that is, they take bribes to support their extravagance; and hence arise the wrongs that are perpetrated (Ec 10:5, 6;
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
The words behind it
10 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| לִשְׂחוֹק֙ | lischok | for laughter | H7814 → | 15 times |
| עֹשִׂ֣ים | ʾosim | [people are] making | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| לֶ֔חֶם | lechem | food | H3899 → | 298 times |
| וְיַ֖יִן | veyayin | and wine | H3196 → | 141 times |
| יְשַׂמַּ֣ח | yesamach | it makes glad | H8055 → | 155 times |
| חַיִּ֑ים | chaiyim | life | H2416 → | 498 times |
| וְהַכֶּ֖סֶף | vehakesef | and <the> money | H3701 → | 403 times |
| יַעֲנֶ֥ה | yaaneh | it answers | H6030 → | |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| הַכֹּֽל׃ | hakol | <the> everything | H3605 → | 5413 times |
לִשְׂחוֹק֙for laughter
lischokH7814 →15 times
עֹשִׂ֣ים[people are] making
ʾosimH6213 →2628 times
לֶ֔חֶםfood
lechemH3899 →298 times
וְיַ֖יִןand wine
veyayinH3196 →141 times
יְשַׂמַּ֣חit makes glad
yesamachH8055 →155 times
חַיִּ֑יםlife
chaiyimH2416 →498 times
וְהַכֶּ֖סֶףand <the> money
vehakesefH3701 →403 times
יַעֲנֶ֥הit answers
yaanehH6030 →
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
הַכֹּֽל׃<the> everything
hakolH3605 →5413 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
Psalms 104:15wine that gladdens the heart of man, oil that makes his face to shine, and bread that sustains his heart.
it leads to
- Psalms 23:5
You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.
- Ecclesiastes 9:7
Go, eat your bread with joy, and drink your wine with a cheerful heart, for God has already approved your works:
- Psalms 23:5
Through
Luke 12:19Then I will say to myself, “You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take it easy. Eat, drink, and be merry!”’
it leads to
- Proverbs 27:1
Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring.
- James 4:13–15
Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business, and make a profit.”
- Matthew 6:19–21
Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.
- 1 Corinthians 15:32
If I fought wild beasts in Ephesus for human motives, what did I gain? If the dead are not raised, “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.”
- Proverbs 27:1
Through
Psalms 112:9He has scattered abroad his gifts to the poor; his righteousness endures forever; his horn will be lifted high in honor.
it leads to
- Hebrews 13:16
And do not neglect to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.
- Psalms 75:10
“All the horns of the wicked I will cut off, but the horns of the righteous will be exalted.”
- Hebrews 13:16
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About Ecclesiastes
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 Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Oresiesis-Heru-sa Ast, REGULATIONS 40.