Ecclesiastes 10:16. Woe to thee, O land, &c.— Woe to thee, O land, whose king was born to be a servant, and whose princes eat early in the morning! The propriety of this version is best seen by its opposition to the subsequent verses. read more
Ecclesiastes 10:18-19. By much slothfulness, &c.— Through slothfulness the building will decay, and through idleness of hands the house will drop; Ecc 10:19 while they make feasts to divert themselves, and spend their life in making themselves merry with wine and oil; money supplying with them the want of every thing else. Lastly, Solomon concludes this proof, from Ecclesiastes 10:16. (see on ch. Ecclesiastes 9:15.) with a moving explanation upon the unhappy state of a nation, whose fate it... read more
Ecclesiastes 10:20. Curse not the king— Speak not evil of the king, though thou shouldest know reason for it; nay, speak not evil of the rich, not even in the recesses of thy bed-chamber; for a bird of the air shall carry the voice, and a winged bird shall tell the matter. To the last instance, whereof the last proof consists, a very seasonable caution is here subjoined. Though, from the very considerations just touched upon, thinking people may often have reason to be dissatisfied with the... read more
15. labour . . . wearieth— (Isaiah 55:2; Habakkuk 2:13). knoweth not how to go to the city—proverb for ignorance of the most ordinary matters (Ecclesiastes 10:3); spiritually, the heavenly city (Psalms 107:7; Matthew 7:13; Matthew 7:14). MAURER connects Matthew 7:14- : with the following verses. The labor (vexation) caused by the foolish (injurious princes, Matthew 7:14- :) harasses him who "knows not how to go to the city," to ingratiate himself with them there. English Version is simpler. read more
16. a child—given to pleasures; behaves with childish levity. Not in years; for a nation may be happy under a young prince, as Josiah. eat in the morning—the usual time for dispensing justice in the East ( :-); here, given to feasting (Isaiah 5:11; Acts 2:15). read more
17. son of nobles—not merely in blood, but in virtue, the true nobility (Song of Solomon 7:1; Isaiah 32:5; Isaiah 32:8). in due season— (Isaiah 32:8- :), not until duty has first been attended to. for strength—to refresh the body, not for revelry (included in "drunkenness"). read more
18. building—literally, "the joining of the rafters," namely, the kingdom (Ecclesiastes 10:16; Isaiah 3:6; Amos 9:11). hands— (Ecclesiastes 4:5; Proverbs 6:10). droppeth—By neglecting to repair the roof in time, the rain gets through. read more
19. Referring to :-. Instead of repairing the breaches in the commonwealth (equivalent to "building"), the princes "make a feast for laughter (Ecclesiastes 10:16), and wine maketh their life glad (Ecclesiastes 10:16- :), 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 (Ecclesiastes 10:5; Ecclesiastes 10:6; Ecclesiastes 3:16; Isaiah 1:23; Isaiah 5:23). MAURER... read more
20. thought—literally, "consciousness." rich—the great. The language, as applied to earthly princes knowing the "thought," is figurative. But it literally holds good of the King of kings ( :-), whose consciousness of every evil thought we should ever realize. bed-chamber—the most secret place (2 Kings 6:12). bird of the air, c.—proverbial (compare Habakkuk 2:11 Luke 19:40); in a way as marvellous and rapid, as if birds or some winged messenger carried to the king information of the curse so... read more
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Thomas Coke Commentary on the Holy Bible - Ecclesiastes 10:15
Ecclesiastes 10:15. The labour of the foolish, &c.— He will weary himself with foolish labour, not knowing how to go to the city. From the 10th to this verse, Solomon proceeds to shew that such a choice as that mentioned on Ecc 10:7 answers no purpose; as he who employs unfit ministers makes the government heavier to himself, instead of getting any ease, which is the natural design of appointing ministers, or subordinate instruments of government. This is again made out from proverbial... read more