Ecclesiastes 10:5-10

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Ecclesiastes 10:4-11

The scope of these verses is to keep subjects loyal and dutiful to the government. In Solomon's reign the people were very rich, and lived in prosperity, which perhaps made them proud and petulant, and when the taxes were high, though they had enough to pay them with, it is probable that many conducted themselves insolently towards the government and threatened to rebel. To such Solomon here gives some necessary cautions. I. Let not subjects carry on a quarrel with their prince upon any... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Ecclesiastes 10:5

There is an evil which I have seen under the sun ,.... Which Solomon had observed in the course of his life, practised in some kingdoms and by some princes on earth, under the sun; for there is nothing of the like kind, as after mentioned, done in heaven, above the sun; as an error which proceedeth from the ruler ; from the supreme ruler of a nation, the king of it; and it is not only as an error, or like one, a seeming one; but it is a real error, bestowing places of honour and... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Ecclesiastes 10:6

Folly is set in great dignity ,.... Or "in great heights" F17 במרומים רבים εν υψεσι μεγαλοις , Sept. "in celsitudinibus amplis", Piscator, Amama, Gejerus; "in sublimitatibus amplis", Cocceius; "in altitudinibus magnis", Rambachius; "in great height", Broughton. ; in high places of honour and truest; even foolish and wicked men; men of poor extraction, of low life, and of mean abilities and capacities; and, which is worse, men vile and vicious, as Doeg the Edomite, Haman the... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Ecclesiastes 10:7

I have seen servants upon horses ,.... Which being scarce in Judea, were only rode upon by princes and great personages, or such as were in affluent circumstances; and therefore it was an unusual and disagreeable sight to see servants upon them, which was a token of their being advanced upon the ruin and destruction of their masters; a reigning servant is not only uncomely, but one of the things by which the earth is disquieted, and it cannot bear, Proverbs 30:21 ; the Parthians and... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Ecclesiastes 10:8

He that diggeth a pit shall fall into it ,.... This and the three following clauses are proverbial expressions, teaching men to be wise and cautious, lest by their conduct they bring mischief upon themselves; as it often is, the one that digs a pit for another, falls into it himself, as the wise man's father before him had observed, Psalm 7:15 ; as kings that lay snares for their people, and subjects that plot against their sovereign; or courtiers that form schemes for the rain of those... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Ecclesiastes 10:9

Whoso removeth stones shall be hurt therewith ,.... That carries them from the quarry, where they are dug; or takes them from a heap, where they lie; or that attempts to pull them out of a building, where they are put; or removes them from places, where they are set as boundaries and landmarks; all which is troublesome, and by which men get hurt; the stones fall upon them, or are too heavy for them, or they do what they should not do, and so bring themselves into trouble; as do all such... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Ecclesiastes 10:10

If the iron be blunt ,.... With which a man cleaves wood: the axe, made of iron: and he do not whet the edge ; with some proper instrument to make it sharper, that it may cut the more easily; then must he put to more strength ; he must give a greater blow, strike the harder, and use more force; and yet it may not be sufficient, or; it may be to no purpose, and he himself may be in the greatest danger of being hurt; as such are who push things with all their might and main, without... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Ecclesiastes 10:5

An error which proceedeth from the ruler - What this error in the ruler is, the two following verses point out: it is simpiy this - an injudicious distribution of offices, and raising people to places of trust and confidence, who are destitute of merit, are neither of name nor family to excite public confidence, and are without property; so that they have no stake in the country, and their only solicitude must naturally be to enrich themselves, and provide for their poor relatives. This is... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Ecclesiastes 10:8

Whoso breaketh a hedge, a serpent shall bite him - While spoiling his neighbor's property, he himself may come to greater mischief: while pulling out the sticks, he may be bit by a serpent, who has his nest there. Some have supposed that נחש nachash here means a thorn; perhaps from the similarity of its prick to the serpent's sting. He who forces his way through a hedge will be pricked by the thorns. read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Ecclesiastes 10:9

Whoso removeth stones - This verse teaches care and caution. Whoever pulls down an old building is likely to be hurt by the stones; and in cleaving wood many accidents occur for want of sufficient caution. read more

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