Ecclesiastes 4:15
in Ecclesiastes 4I saw that all who lived and walked under the sun followed this second one, the youth who succeeded the king.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
I saw all the living that walk under the sun, that they were with the youth, the second, that stood up in his stead.
KJV
I considered all the living which walk under the sun, with the second child that shall stand up in his stead.
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This verse in Ecclesiastes 4
Commentary
9 notes on this verseWith the second child that shall stand up - The Targum applies this to the case of Jeroboam and Rehoboam. History affords many instances of mean persons raised to sovereign authority, and of kings being reduced to the meanest offices, and to a morsel of bread. Agrippa himself ascended the throne of Israel after having been long in prison. See Josephus, Ant. lib. 18: c. 8. This the heathens attributed to fortune. Si fortuna volet, fies de rhetore consul; Si volet haec eadem, fies de consule rhetor. Juv. Sat. vii., ver. 1
This site's exposition
Better is a poor but wise youth
on Ecclesiastes 4:13-16
The last case sets a poor but wise youth against an old but foolish king. The youth comes from the prison to the kingship, a reversal Scripture records in Joseph's rise. Yet the successor will not be celebrated by those who come even later, so the wisest rise ends futile.
This site's exposition
the youth who succeeded the king
The Targum, as Clarke reports, applies the verse to Jeroboam and Rehoboam. Wesley and Jamieson, Fausset and Brown take the second one as the king's own son, second as the successor of his father. Wesley sees here the fickle people of every kingdom.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
"Better is a poor but wise youth, than an old and foolish king who no longer knows how to take care of himself; because from the prison-house he emerged to reign, while even in his reign he was born poor. I saw all the living that wander beneath the sun throng to the succeeding youth that steps into his place. There is no end to the entire nation, to all that was before them; similarly the ones that come later will not rejoice in him. For this too is futility and a vexation of the spirit."
The Medieval Church1 voice
A commentator
BonaventureCommentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 4 · Written in the 13th century.
proposed
Here is touched upon secondly the evil succeeding on account of his imprudence, because he himself is cast down and another is exalted: whence he says: "I saw all the living who walk under the sun," that is, many or innumerable, hyperbolically, "with the second …
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
The Prevalence of Oppression. 1 So I returned, and considered all the oppressions that are done under the sun: and behold the tears of such as were oppressed, and they had no comforter; and on the side of their oppressors there was power; but they had no comforter. 2 Wherefore I praised the dead which are already dead more than the living which are yet alive.
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — scripture-overlap:95%@v1-3
I considered - The general disposition of common people, in all kingdoms, that they are fickle and inconstant. With the second child - This may be understood of the king's child, or son and heir, called second, in respect of his father, whose successor he is.
I considered all the living which walk under the sun,....
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)
"I considered all the living," the present generation, in relation to ("with") the "second youth" (the "legitimate successor" of the "old king," as opposed to the "poor youth," the one first spoken of, about to be raised from poverty to a throne), that is, Rehoboam. in his stead--the old king's.
The words behind it
13 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| רָאִ֙יתִי֙ | raiti | I saw | H7200 → | 1300 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| כָּל־ | kol- | all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| הַ֣חַיִּ֔ים | hachaiyim | the living | H2416 → | 498 times |
| הַֽמְהַלְּכִ֖ים | hamhalekhim | who are walking about | H1980 → | 1546 times |
| תַּ֣חַת | tachat | under | H8478 → | 505 times |
| הַשָּׁ֑מֶשׁ | hashamesh | the sun | H8121 → | 134 times |
| עִ֚ם | ʾim | with | H5973 → | 1050 times |
| הַיֶּ֣לֶד | haiyeled | the youth | H3206 → | |
| הַשֵּׁנִ֔י | hasheni | <the> second | H8145 → | 156 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֥ר | ʾasher | who | H834 → | 5497 times |
| יַעֲמֹ֖ד | yaamod | he will arise | H5975 → | 521 times |
| תַּחְתָּֽיו׃ | tachtav | in place of him | H8478 → | 505 times |
רָאִ֙יתִי֙I saw
raitiH7200 →1300 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
כָּל־all
kol-H3605 →5413 times
הַ֣חַיִּ֔יםthe living
hachaiyimH2416 →498 times
הַֽמְהַלְּכִ֖יםwho are walking about
hamhalekhimH1980 →1546 times
תַּ֣חַתunder
tachatH8478 →505 times
הַשָּׁ֑מֶשׁthe sun
hashameshH8121 →134 times
עִ֚םwith
ʾimH5973 →1050 times
הַיֶּ֣לֶדthe youth
haiyeledH3206 →
הַשֵּׁנִ֔י<the> second
hasheniH8145 →156 times
אֲשֶׁ֥רwho
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
יַעֲמֹ֖דhe will arise
yaamodH5975 →521 times
תַּחְתָּֽיו׃in place of him
tachtavH8478 →505 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
3 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
2 Samuel 15:6Absalom did this to all the Israelites who came to the king for justice. In this way he stole the hearts of the men of Israel.
it leads to
- Romans 16:18
For such people are not serving our Lord Christ, but their own appetites. By smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the naive.
- 2 Peter 2:3
In their greed, these false teachers will exploit you with deceptive words. The longstanding verdict against them remains in force, and their destruction does not sleep.
- Proverbs 11:9
With his mouth the ungodly man destroys his neighbor, but through knowledge the righteous are rescued.
- Romans 16:18
Where this verse is studied
On this page
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 4; Charles Bridges, An Exposition of the Book of Ecclesiastes; Franz Delitzsch, Commentary on the Song of Songs and Ecclesiastes; 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 Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.