Ecclesiastes 10:6 BSB

Ecclesiastes 10:6

Folly is appointed to great heights, but the rich sit in lowly positions.

BSB

Parallel translations (2) ▾

ASV

folly is set in great dignity, and the rich sit in a low place.

KJV

Folly is set in great dignity, and the rich sit in low place.

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Commentary

2 voices

Jerome

Commentary on Ecclesiastes (420)

"There is an evil that I have observed in the world as if it were an error proceeding from the ruler: folly is placed on lofty heights, while rich men sit in low places. I have seen slaves on horses and nobles walking on foot like slaves. "Where we read "as if it were an error proceeding from the ruler" Aquila, Theodotion and the Septuagint have interpreted this as "as if not of their own will", that is "hos akousian", from the face of the ruler.

The record, by era

The Nineteenth Century1 voice

Albert Barnes

1798–1870

Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)

The “evil” of Ecc 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.

Voices on this verse

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Original language & word study

7 tagged words

Original	Transliteration	Meaning	Word study
נִתַּ֣ן	ni.Tan	it is put	H5414 →
הַסֶּ֔כֶל	ha.Se.khel	<the> folly	H5529 →
בַּמְּרוֹמִ֖ים	ba.me.ro.Mim	in <the> high places	H4791 →
רַבִּ֑ים	ra.Bim	many	H7227 →
וַעֲשִׁירִ֖ים	va.'a.shi.Rim	and rich [people]	H6223 →
בַּשֵּׁ֥פֶל	ba.She.fel	in the low place	H8216 →
יֵשֵֽׁבוּ׃	ye.She.vu	they sit	H3427 →

Rare words are the text's own signal of a deliberate thread: the fewer the occurrences, the more the places it appears belong together.

H6223vaashirimand rich [people]23×

The walk

The walk8

Where the connections lead

Follow this verse’s cross-references two steps out. Each card is a verse this one points to, and beneath it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several different paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it. Every stop shows its own words, and every stop is a page.

Through
Proverbs 29:2
When the righteous flourish, the people rejoice, but when the wicked rule, the people groan.
leads to
- Proverbs 28:12
  When the righteous triumph, there is great glory, but when the wicked rise, men hide themselves.
  Reached by 2 independent paths from here.
- Proverbs 11:10
  When the righteous thrive, the city rejoices, and when the wicked perish, there are shouts of joy.
  Reached by 2 independent paths from here.
- Proverbs 28:28
  When the wicked come to power, people hide themselves; but when they perish, the righteous flourish.
  Reached by 2 independent paths from here.
- Esther 8:15
  Mordecai went out from the presence of the king in royal garments of blue and white, with a large gold crown and a purple robe of fine linen. And the city of Susa shouted…
- Ecclesiastes 10:5
  There is an evil I have seen under the sun—an error that proceeds from the ruler:
Through
Proverbs 28:12
When the righteous triumph, there is great glory, but when the wicked rise, men hide themselves.
leads to
- Proverbs 29:2
  When the righteous flourish, the people rejoice, but when the wicked rule, the people groan.
  Reached by 2 independent paths from here.
Through
Proverbs 28:28
When the wicked come to power, people hide themselves; but when they perish, the righteous flourish.
leads to
- Job 24:4
  They push the needy off the road and force all the poor of the land into hiding.
- Acts 12:23–24
  Immediately, because Herod did not give glory to God, an angel of the Lord struck him down, and he was eaten by worms and died.

About Ecclesiastes

King Solomon in Old Age — Gustave Doré, Doré's English Bible (1866), public domain

Ecclesiastes: the study guide →Read chapter 10 →The featured study →

Continue: Ecclesiastes 10 →

01Commentary

The record, by era

Voices on this verse

02Original language & word study

03The walk

Where the connections lead

04Related verses

06About Ecclesiastes

The record, by era

Where the connections lead

Commentary

Original language & word study

The walk

Related verses

About Ecclesiastes