Ecclesiastes 10:7
in Ecclesiastes 10I have seen slaves on horseback, while princes go on foot like slaves.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
I have seen servants upon horses, and princes walking like servants upon the earth.
KJV
I have seen servants upon horses, and princes walking as servants upon the earth.
⋯
This verse in Ecclesiastes 10
Commentary
8 notes on this verseA commentator
Gregory the DialogistMorals on the Book of Job, Book 31, Section 43 · Written before 604.
By the name 'horse' is understood temporal dignity, as Solomon witnesses, who says, "I have seen servants upon horses, and princes walking as servants upon the earth." For every one who sins is the servant of sin, and servants are upon horses, when sinners are elated with the dignities of the present life. But princes walk as servants, when no honour exalts many who are full of the dignity of virtues, but when the greatest misfortune here presses them down, as though unworthy. Hence it is said again; "They have slumbered who mounted horses."
This site's exposition
If the ruler’s temper flares against you
on Ecclesiastes 10:4-7
The court cluster opens: If the ruler’s temper flares against you, do not abandon your post, for calmness lays great offenses to rest. Then comes an error that proceeds from the ruler: Folly is appointed to great heights, and I have seen slaves on horseback.
This site's exposition
slaves on horseback
Gregory the Dialogist read the horse as the honor of this life, given to slaves of sin while princes rich in virtue go on foot. Didymus the Blind turned the image around. For him the slaves on horseback are pagans the gospel set free.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
"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.
Those who have come from paganism to the gospel—those who were slaves of desire, slaves of sin, slaves of the devil and of death—have become riders on horseback. About them it is said that, in the future, they will ride on divine words like on …
The Medieval Church1 voice
A commentator
BonaventureCommentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 10 · Written in the 13th century.
proposed
With regard to the defect of life he says: I have seen servants upon horses: servants, he calls sinners, of whom in John 8: "He who commits sin is the servant of sin"; upon horses, he says in the plural to express pomp: Deuteronomy 17: …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
If princes become tyrants, or subjects become rebels, all histories will tell both what is likely to be their fate and that it is at their utmost peril, and it were better for both to be content within their own bounds.
I have seen servants upon horses,....
The words behind it
9 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| רָאִ֥יתִי | raiti | I have seen | H7200 → | 1300 times |
| עֲבָדִ֖ים | ʾavadim | slaves | H5650 → | 799 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| סוּסִ֑ים | susim | horses | H5483 → | |
| וְשָׂרִ֛ים | vesarim | and princes | H8269 → | 421 times |
| הֹלְכִ֥ים | holekhim | [who] walk | H1980 → | 1546 times |
| כַּעֲבָדִ֖ים | kaavadim | like slaves | H5650 → | 799 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| הָאָֽרֶץ׃ | haaretz | the ground | H776 → | 2504 times |
רָאִ֥יתִיI have seen
raitiH7200 →1300 times
עֲבָדִ֖יםslaves
ʾavadimH5650 →799 times
עַל־on
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
סוּסִ֑יםhorses
susimH5483 →
וְשָׂרִ֛יםand princes
vesarimH8269 →421 times
הֹלְכִ֥ים[who] walk
holekhimH1980 →1546 times
כַּעֲבָדִ֖יםlike slaves
kaavadimH5650 →799 times
עַל־on
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
הָאָֽרֶץ׃the ground
haaretzH776 →2504 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
Esther 6:8have them bring a royal robe that the king himself has worn and a horse on which the king himself has ridden—one with a royal crest placed on its head.
it leads to
- 1 Kings 1:33
“Take my servants with you,” said the king. “Set my son Solomon on my own mule and take him down to Gihon.
- Esther 2:17
And the king loved Esther more than all the other women, and she found grace and favor in his sight more than all of the other virgins. So he placed the royal crown upon…
- 1 Samuel 18:4
And Jonathan removed the robe he was wearing and gave it to David, along with his tunic, his sword, his bow, and his belt.
- 1 Kings 1:33
Through
Proverbs 19:10Luxury is unseemly for a fool—how much worse for a slave to rule over princes!
it leads to
- Proverbs 30:21–22
Under three things the earth trembles, under four it cannot bear up:
- Proverbs 26:1
Like snow in summer and rain at harvest, honor does not befit a fool.
- Luke 16:19
Now there was a rich man dressed in purple and fine linen, who lived each day in joyous splendor.
- Luke 16:23
In Hades, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham from afar, with Lazarus by his side.
- Proverbs 30:21–22
Through
Proverbs 30:22a servant who becomes king, a fool who is filled with food,
it leads to
- Proverbs 19:10
Luxury is unseemly for a fool—how much worse for a slave to rule over princes!
- Proverbs 19:10
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About Ecclesiastes
This page draws on Bonaventure, Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 10; Didymus the Blind, COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES 299:24; Gregory the Dialogist, Morals on the Book of Job, Book 31, Section 43; 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.