Ecclesiastes 10:16
14 Yet the fool multiplies words. No one knows what is coming, and who can tell him what will come after him?
15 The toil of a fool wearies him, for he does not know the way to the city.
Woe to you, O land whose king is a youth, and whose princes feast in the morning.
17 Blessed are you, O land whose king is a son of nobles, and whose princes feast at the proper time— for strength and not for drunkenness.
18 Through laziness the roof caves in, and in the hands of the idle, the house leaks.
This was said to Israel at a particular time, so it is wise to read it together with the surrounding text. Do read the surrounding verses too, because the context often says more than a single verse.
Compare
- BSB
- Woe to you, O land whose king is a youth, and whose princes feast in the morning.
- KJV
- Woe to thee, O land, when thy king is a child, and thy princes eat in the morning!
- WEB
- Woe to you, land, when your king is a child, and your princes eat in the morning!
- ASV
- Woe to thee, O land, when thy king is a child, and thy princes eat in the morning!
- DARBY
- Woe to thee, O land, when thy king is a child, and thy princes eat in the morning!
- BLB
- Woe to you, O land, that your king is a youth, and your princes feast in the morning!
- ÅB
- Ve deg, du land som har et barn til konge, og hvis fyrster holder måltid om morgenen!
- OTB
- Ve det landet hvis konge er en tjener, og hvis fyrster fester om morgenen.
- B1930
- Ve dig, du land som har et barn til konge, og hvis fyrster holder måltid om morgenen!
Study notes (Tyndale)
Original text and word study
Cross references
Isaiah 3:12
Youths oppress My people, and women rule over them. O My people, your guides mislead you; they turn you from your paths.
Read in contextIsaiah 5:11–12
Woe to those who rise early in the morning in pursuit of strong drink, who linger into the evening, to be inflamed by wine.
Read in contextIsaiah 3:4–5
“I will make mere lads their leaders, and children will rule over them.”
Read in contextProverbs 20:1–2
Wine is a mocker, strong drink is a brawler, and whoever is led astray by them is not wise.
Read in contextJeremiah 21:12
O house of David, this is what the LORD says: ‘Administer justice every morning, and rescue the victim of robbery from the hand of his oppressor, or My wrath will go forth like fire and burn with no one to extinguish it because of their evil deeds.
Read in context2 Chronicles 13:7
Then worthless and wicked men gathered around him to resist Rehoboam son of Solomon when he was young, inexperienced, and unable to resist them.
Read in context2 Chronicles 36:5
Jehoiakim was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem eleven years. And he did evil in the sight of the LORD his God.
Read in contextIsaiah 28:7–8
These also stagger from wine and stumble from strong drink: Priests and prophets reel from strong drink and are befuddled by wine. They stumble because of strong drink, muddled in their visions and stumbling in their judgments.
Read in context