Ecclesiastes 10:16

Solomon here observes,

I. How much the happiness of a land depends upon the character of its rulers; it is well or ill with the people according as the princes are good or bad. 1. The people cannot be happy when their princes are childish and voluptuous (Ecc 10:16): Woe unto thee, O land! even the land of Canaan itself, though otherwise the glory of all lands, when thy king is a child, not so much in age (Solomon himself was young when his kingdom was happy in him) as in understanding; when the prince is weak and foolish as a child, fickle and fond of changes, fretful and humoursome, easily imposed upon, and hardly brought to business, it is ill with the people. The body staggers if the head be giddy. Perhaps Solomon wrote this with a foresight of his son Rehoboam's ill conduct (Ch2 13:7); he was a child all the days of his life and his family and kingdom fared the worse for it. Nor is it much better with a people when their princes eat in the morning, that is, make a god of their belly and make themselves slaves to their appetites. If the king himself be a child, yet if the princes and privy-counsellors are wise and faithful, and apply themselves to business, the land may do the better; but if they addict themselves to their pleasures, and prefer the gratifications of the flesh before the despatch of the public business, which they disfit themselves for by eating and drinking in a morning, when judges are epicures, and do not eat to live, but live to eat, what good can a nation expect! 2. The people cannot but be happy when their rulers are generous and active, sober and temperate, and men of business, Ecc 10:17. The land is then blessed, (1.) When the sovereign is governed by principles of honour, when the king is the son of nobles, actuated and animated by a noble spirit, which scorns to do any thing base and unbecoming so high a character, which is solicitous for the public welfare, and prefers that before any private interests. Wisdom, virtue, and the fear of God, beneficence, and a readiness to do good to all mankind, these ennoble the royal blood. 2. When the subordinate magistrates are more in care to discharge their trusts than to gratify their appetites; when they eat in due season (Psa 145:15); let us not take ours unseasonable, lest we lose the comfort of seeing God give it to us. Magistrates should eat for strength, that their bodies may be fitted to serve their souls in the service of God and their country, and not for drunkenness, to make themselves unfit to do any thing either for God or man, and particularly to sit in judgment, for they will err through wine (Isa 28:7), will drink and forget the law, Pro 31:5. It is well with a people when their princes are examples of temperance, when those that have most to spend upon themselves know how to deny themselves.

II. Of what ill consequence slothfulness is both to private and public affairs (Ecc 10:18): By much slothfulness and idleness of the hands, the neglect of business, and the love of ease and pleasure, the building decays, drops through first, and by degrees drops down. If it be not kept well covered, and care be not taken to repair the breaches, as any happen, it will rain in, and the timber will rot, and the house will become unfit to dwell in. It is so with the family and the affairs of it; if men cannot find in their hearts to take pains in their callings, to tend their shops and look after their own business, they will soon run in debt and go behind-hand, and, instead of making what they have more for their children, will make it less. It is so with the public; if the king be a child and will take no care, if the princes eat in the morning and will take no pains, the affairs of the nation suffer loss, and its interests are prejudiced, its honour is sullied, its power is weakened, its borders are encroached upon, the course of justice is obstructed, the treasure is exhausted, and all its foundations are out of course, and all this through the slothfulness of self-seeking of those that should be the repairers of its breaches and the restorers of paths to dwell in, Isa 58:12.

III. How industrious generally all are, both princes and people, to get money, because that serves for all purposes, Ecc 10:19. He seems to prefer money before mirth: A feast is made for laughter, not merely for eating, but chiefly for pleasant conversation and the society of friends, not the laughter of the fool, which is madness, but that of wise men, by which they fit themselves for business and severe studies. Spiritual feasts are made for spiritual laughter, holy joy in God. Wine makes merry, makes glad the life, but money is the measure of all things and answers all things. Pecuniae obediunt omnia - Money commands all things. Though wine make merry, it will not be a house for us, nor a bed, nor clothing, nor provisions and portions for children; but money, if men have enough of it, will be all these. The feast cannot be made without money, and, though men have wine, they are not so much disposed to be merry unless they have money for the necessary supports of life. Money of itself answers nothing; it will neither feed nor clothe; but, as it is the instrument of commerce, it answers all the occasions of this present life. What is to be had may be had for money. But it answers nothing to the soul; it will not procure the pardon of sin, the favour of God, the peace of conscience; the soul, as it is not redeemed, so it is not maintained, with corruptible things as silver and gold. Some refer this to rulers; it is ill with the people when they give up themselves to luxury and riot, feasting and making merry, not only because their business is neglected, but because money must be had to answer all these things, and, in order to that, the people squeezed by heavy taxes.

IV. How cautious subjects have need to be that they harbour not any disloyal purposes in their minds, nor keep up any factious cabals or consultations against the government, because it is ten to one that they are discovered and brought to light, Ecc 10:20. "Though rulers should be guilty of some errors, yet be not, upon all occasions, arraigning their administration and running them down, but make the best of them." Here, 1. The command teaches us our duty "Curse not the king, no, not in thy thought, do not wish ill to the government in thy mind." All sin begins there, and therefore the first risings of it must be curbed and suppressed, and particularly that of treason and sedition. "Curse not the rich, the princes and governors, in thy bed-chamber, in a conclave or club of persons disaffected to the government; associate not with such; come not into their secret; join not with them in speaking ill of the government or plotting against it." 2. The reason consults our safety. "Though the design be carried on ever so closely, a bird of the air shall carry the voice to the king, who has more spies about than thou art aware of, and that which has wings shall tell the matter, to thy confusion and ruin." God sees what men do, and hears what they say, in secret; and, when he pleases, he can bring it to light by strange and unsuspected ways. Wouldst thou then not be hurt by the powers that be, nor be afraid of them? Do that which is good and thou shalt have praise of the same; but, if thou do that which is evil, be afraid, Rom 13:3, Rom 13:4.

Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible (1708–1710) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Ecc 10:16 Woe to thee, O land, when thy king [is] a child, and thy princes eat in the morning!

Ver. 16. Woe to thee, O land, when thy king is a child,] s.c., In understanding, though not in years, such as was Shechem, {Gen 34:19, Neque distulit puer} and Rehoboam. {1Ki 14:21 2Ch 13:7} Solomon was a child king; so was Josiah, Uzziah, our Edward VI; and yet it was well with the land in their days.

“ Hic regum decus et iuvenum flos, spesque honorum,

Deliciae saecli, et gloria gentis erat. ”

As Cardan sings of King Edward in his epitaph, {a} As he was the highest, so I verily believe he was the holiest in the whole kingdom, saith Mr Ridley, martyr. And whilst things were carried on by himself, in his health time, all went very well here; and si per leges fas illi fuisset omnia proprio nutu et voluntate regere, if by the laws of the land he might have done all himself without officers, all should have been far better done, saith Mr Cartwright upon this text. By "child" is here therefore meant a weak or wicked king, that lets loose the golden reins of government, is carried by his passions, lieth heavy upon his subjects. See Isa 3:6, compared with Ecc 10:13. Such princes are threatened as a plague to a people, {Lev 26:17} and they prove no less. This childhood of theirs is the maturity of their subjects’ misery; the land itself is woe, and woe itself the land, as one expositor observed from the word, אי, here used, which signifieth both woe and land. See Job 34:30.

And the princes eat in the morning.] As children use to call for food as soon as they have rubbed sleep out of their eyes. If the king is a child, the state officers will be loose and luxurious; yea, like morning wolves, will devour the prey, and "nourish themselves as in a day of slaughter." {Jas 5:5} The morning is a time to seek God, and search for wisdom, {Pro 8:17} to sit in counsel, and despatch business, as was the manner of Moses, {Exo 18:13} and of the ancient Romans. Scipio Africanus was wont before day to go iuto the capitol, in cellam Iovis into Jupiter’s chapel, and there to stay a great while quasi consultans de republica cum Iove , saith Gellius, {b} as if he were consulting with Jupiter, concerning the public welfare; whence his deeds were pleraque admiranda admirable for the most part, saith that heathen author.

{a} Acts and Mon

{b} Lib. vii. cap. 1.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Foolish rulers, by their weakness, self-indulgence and sloth, bring decay upon the state: nobleness and temperance insure prosperity: yet the subject must not rebel in word or thought against his king.

Ecc 10:16

A child - Rather, young. The word is applied to Rehoboam 2Ch 13:7 at the time of his accession to the throne, when he was 41 years old.

Eat in the morning - A sign of intemperance (compare Isa 5:11).

Ecc 10:17

Son of nobles - i. e., of a noble disposition.

Ecc 10:18

The “building” or “house” represents the state. Compare Isa 3:6; Amo 9:10.

Droppeth through - i. e., Lets the rain through the roof.

Ecc 10:19

literally, For merriment they make a feast (bread), and wine gladdens the living, and money supplies all things.

Ecc 10:20

Curse - Compare Ecc 7:21-22.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Ecc_10:16

Woe to thee, O land, when thy king is a child, and thy princes eat in the morning!

Wickedness in high places

(with Psa_26:10):--Those two passages are descriptive of wickedness in high places.

The morals of a nation hardly ever rise higher than the virtue of the rulers. Henry VIII. makes impurity national and popular. A William Wilberforce in the Parliament ennobles an empire. Sin, epauletted and bestarred, comes to respect and canonization; vice, elevated, is recommended. Malarias rise from the marsh, float upward and away; but moral distempers descend from the mountain to the plain.

1. In unrolling, then, this scroll of wickedness in high places, the first thing that I mark especially is incompetency for office. If a man seeks for a place and wins it when he is incompetent, he is committing a crime against God and a crime against man. It is not a sin for me to be ignorant of medical science; but if, without medical attainment, I set myself up among professional men, and trifle, in my ignorance, with the lives of those whose confidence I have won, then my charlatanism becomes high-handed knavery. The ignorance that in the one case was innocence, in the other case becomes a crime. It is not a sin for me to be ignorant of machinery; but if I attempt to engineer a steamer across the Atlantic, amid darkness and hurricane, holding the lives of hundreds of people in my grasp, then the blood of all the shipwrecked is on my garment. But what shall we say of men who attempt to engineer our State and national affairs over the rough waters without the first element of qualification?--men not knowing enough to vote aye or no until they have looked for the wink of others of their party?

2. I unroll the scroll a little further and find intemperance and the co-ordinate crimes. Oh! it is a sad thing to have a hand tremulous with intoxication holding the scales of justice, when the lives of men and the destinies of a nation are in the balance; to have a charioteer with unskilful hands on the reins while the swift destinies of governments are harnessed on a road where governments have been dashed to pieces, and empires have gone down in darkness and woe!

3. I unroll the scroll of wickedness in high places still further, and I see the crime of bribery. It was that which corrupted Lord Bacon in his magnificent position--it was that which led Chief Justice Thorpe to the gallows.

There are four things for you to do:--

1. First, stand off from all political office unless your own principles are thoroughly settled. Do not go into the blaze of temptation unless you are fire-proof.

2. The second thing to do is to take the counsel of Paul, and pray for your rulers; pray for all in authority. Do you know that Shadrach and Abednego did not need the Son of God beside them in the fire so much as your rulers do?

3. In the next place, be faithful at the ballot-box. Make up your mind in a Christian way as to who are the best Men for office; then vote for the man who loves God and hates rum, and believes in having the Bible read every day, as long as the world stands, in all our common schools. But I have a better prescription than all.

4. It is the fourth thing that I have to say in the way of counsel, and that is, evangelize the people. Gospelize this country, and you will have pure representatives and pure men everywhere. (T. De Witt Talmage.)

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The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Ecc 10:16-17. Wo to thee, O land, when thy king is a child — Either in age or childish qualities; and thy princes eat in the morning — Give themselves up to eating and drinking at that time of the day which is most fit for God’s service, for the despatch of weighty affairs, and for sitting in judgment. Blessed art thou when thy king is the son of the nobles — Not so much by birth, as even the worst of kings commonly are, and have been, as by their noble and worthy dispositions and endowments, for such a one is opposed to the child in the former verse; and thy princes eat in due season — So as may further and not hinder their main business; for strength, and not for drunkenness — To refresh and strengthen their bodies, that they may be fit to perform the duties of their station, and not to please their palates, and indulge themselves in sensuality.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

CRITICAL NOTES.—

Ecc_10:16. When thy king is a child.] Not in age, but in understanding—wanting in all the qualities of a vigorous manhood. And thy princes eat in the morning.] They employ in self-indulgence the time which ought to be devoted to serious business.

Ecc_10:18. By much slothfulness the building decayeth.] The “building” is the edifice of the state, which is brought to ruin by the indolence of the rulers.

Ecc_10:20. The rich.] Those of high rank and station, such as the nobles and princes—the counsellors of the king. A bird of the air shall carry thy voice.] In some unknown manner the secret will come out, as if suddenly picked up and borne off by a bird.

MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.—Ecc_10:16-20

THE TRUE LIFE OF THE STATE

As in individuals, so in states, there is a certain standard of health. There are conditions of vigour and decay. They cannot long hold any life or prosperity which is not founded upon moral goodness. The true life of the state may be considered,

I. As to the Sources by which it is Nourished: All life must draw support, and materials for repair and development, from something beyond itself. No creature can live upon its own blood. Nations can only maintain their true life and prosperity by due supplies of the proper nourishment of that life. It is especially necessary that those who govern should possess the highest excellencies—moral—intellectual—social.

1. They should have superior endowments of mind and heart. (Ecc_10:17.) They should be “sons of nobles,” not only by derivation and rank, but nobles in reality; men who are distinguished by that elevation of mind, those qualities of heart and temper, and that dignified bearing by which they are fitted for the difficult and responsible work of government.

2. They should be diligent in duty. Rulers have certain duties arising from the relations in which they stand to those over whom they are placed. Hence they need not only ability, but also zeal and diligence in their calling. They should be distinguished by industry, two main channels of which are indicated here.

(1) They should maintain the efficiency of what is good. The edifice of state, like a house, is exposed to constant wear, and the slow decays of time. The beauty and use of it must be preserved by repair and renovation. The inherent goodness of institutions will not save them from destruction. They must be maintained in efficiency by constant diligence and care. (Ecc_10:18.)

(2) Necessary improvements and reforms should be made. Time reveals what is weak, or no longer potent. Hence wise legislators will study the peculiar necessities of the age; and upon a wider basis of facts and experience, will endeavour to carry the science of government to greater perfection. All human institutions need reform. They have no natural immortality, and only maintain their potency by renewal of life.

(3) They should exercise moral control. (Ecc_10:16-17.) It is necessary in those who presume to lead mankind that the faculty of reason should be strong and clear, the judgment ready to decide with firmness whatever that reason approves. But this excellence of mind cannot be attained except by the mastery of the appetites and passions. When princes begin the day in rioting and excess, the animal surmounts the rational, justice and judgment fail, and the land fares ill. When moral control is exercised by those who rule, when they eat “for strength, and not for drunkenness,” their powers and energies of mind and heart are most effective for their high duties. Such men renew the life of the state. They are fitted to receive and exercise that wisdom which is profitable to direct, alike in the most retired as well as in the most public ways of life.

II. The Causes of its Decline. There are several forms of folly which, in the course of time, must wear out the life of states and bring them to the condition of dead empires.

1. Intellectual and moral imbecility in their rulers. (Ecc_10:16.) When the king is a “child” in mind and in character, inexperienced and thoughtless, having no manly vigour, no stable virtue, the nation he rules over is exposed to the worst fate. The more absolute the authority, the greater the ills which follow when those who wield it have not reached maturity of wisdom and skill. There are child-like qualities, beautiful in their own order and circumstance, but beyond these, intolerable and disastrous. A child must not hold the helm of the state.

2. Habits of luxury and dissipation. (Ecc_10:7; Ecc_10:19.) When kings give way to gluttony and intemperance, their moral influence must decline, they are rendered insensible to the real evils around them, and powerless to contend against those dangers by which the State is threatened. The contagion of their example is likely to spread rapidly through their subjects, and, as history has often witnessed, the nation unconquerable by the foe has become weakened by luxury, and rendered an easy prey to the invader. But such habits in rulers are marked by a deeper shade of guilt when they are defended by a shameless boldness and bravado. Evil men, on the seat of authority, are not ashamed to avow a vicious code of duty, to utter some miserable dictum with the vain conceit of appearing smart. Such an attempt to justify excess and riot is described in Ecc_10:19.

(1) They plead the abundant provisions of nature for self-indulgence. There is the feast—why should they not carouse, and enjoy to the full? There is the wine—why should they not be merry? Were not these things made for the use of man, and do they not confer with appetite to urge him to the highest enjoyment? Thus far can folly render men insensible to the delicacies and moralities of speech.

(2) They assert the omnipotence of gold. “Money answereth all things.” They are insensible to the noblest influences and powers, and imagine that money can achieve every purpose, and satisfy every desire; that gold is an apology for every crime, and answers all charges. Thus folly attains to the bad eminence of the utmost heights of impertinence.

III. The Cautions which even Wise Men must Observe who Desire its Welfare. The moral and intellectual faculties of such men are not impaired by vicious indulgence, but enhanced by careful culture and soberness of life. By their talents and virtue they contribute to the strength and preservation of the State. They are an influence for good, a standing rebuke to evil, the promoters of wise reforms. Such men might be tempted to impatience under the evils depicted here, and in the greatness of their zeal for the cause of justice, commit themselves to violent measures for reformation. Therefore prudence is necessary.

1. They must avoid too hasty an expression of feeling. (Ecc_10:20.) The king, and the councillors who are associated with him in the government, may be corrupt in their administration. This is a sore trial for men of delicate moral sense and high convictions of justice. Yet the wise man must restrain his feelings, and forbear to curse such rulers, even in his thought. The sense of indignation, though justly roused, might lead such to hasty action, and cause a righteous struggle to end in defeat.

2. They have to consider that the injudicious promotion of a good cause may lead to serious evils. It is not expedient to speak out every conviction of the mind. The wise will learn to maintain a judicious reserve. Mere fragments of speech may be taken up by tale-bearers, and so combined and distributed as greatly to distort and misrepresent what was spoken. Hence, in a world like this, prudence in every course of conduct is necessary; for without it, virtue itself is but a weak and insufficient defence.

SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS ON THE VERSES

Ecc_10:16. Read in the light of this contrast, child must obviously mean a child in capacity—a silly Absalom, or a self-willed Rehoboam—a man destitute of the gravity, and intelligence, and experience, and still more destitute of the high sense of responsibility and duty, which true wisdom inspires; a man more taken up about his own amusements and pleasures than with the affairs and interests of his kingdom. In such hands everything must speedily fall into inevitable disorder. The courtiers would be sure, with their customary servility, to copy the idleness and loose living of the king. It is this, no doubt, that is pointed at by the “princes eating”—that is, feasting—“in the morning.” The morning in all countries, and especially in the East, was devoted by princes to public affairs. Then it was that, as judges, they sat in the gate, to hear and determine the causes and questions which the people might have to bring before them; or that they assembled in the council chambers to deliberate on the great matters of the state [Buchanan].

Ill fares the land when the king is intellectually weak, luxurious, and depraved. His administration is likely to be defective, and even vicious; his exalted position renders his example the more dangerous.

Good and wise institutions cannot preserve a nation from destruction, unless they are administered by good and wise men.

Illustrious names should be supported by illustrious virtues and capacities.

Ecc_10:17. A king, the son of nobles, is one possessing true nobility of mind. To be merely of high lineage would, of itself, be no security for the possession of those qualities of which Solomon here evidently intends to speak. Neither virtue nor wisdom is the necessary accompaniment of high birth. In all periods of the world’s history, from Solomon’s time until now, it has been a thing only too common to find far-descended princes who had nothing else but their pedigree of which to boast—whose personal qualities were as low and base as their ancestry was illustrious and exalted. Wisdom is not hereditary—it does not run in the blood—as Solomon’s own son sufficiently proved [Buchanan].

The senses and appetites, when they are under the control of wisdom, may be made the servants of virtue.

When the indulgence of appetites, lawful in themselves, is carried to excess, or pursued for its own sake, it is a proof that the animal man sinks both the rational and the spiritual. Nations must “seek those things which are above,” if they would prosper.

Ecc_10:18. A house requires not only to be built, but to be kept up. If a man, from laziness, after having got his habitation reared, will not be at the trouble of necessary repairs, a damage that is at first trifling will imperceptibly increase, and will be followed by others till the building comes to be in danger: Day after day, as the time for purposed or half-purposed exertion comes round, the sluggard yawns out to himself the same convenient assurance, that a few hours can make no difference, till by daily procrastination the repair becomes impracticable, and the decayed and shattered tenement “falls through” [Wardlaw].

There are three great fellowships of men, the Family, the State, the Church, which are so many buildings of God. In each of these, slothfulness is an evil fraught with the utmost danger.

No institution can live merely upon the history of the past. The skill and activity of the living present must constantly repair the wrongs of time. It does not suffice even for Christianity itself that it has a firm historical basis. It needs also a living and ever-active Director.

Slothfulness, whether in the things of man or God, is the forerunner of a gradual, yet sure decay.

Ecc_10:19. Men’s lusts are very expensive, they will not get their slothfulness and excess maintained without much money; the consideration whereof should make them more sober and diligent. For their words import that sensual rulers must have money, and may be looked upon as including an argument to dissuade them from laziness and excess taken from the effect thereof, which is the poverty of the people, who must give to them that “money which answereth all things” [Nisbet].

As men yield to the allurements of evil, the power and delicacy of the mind and conscience become impaired. Such are satisfied and lulled by the meanest excuses.

When we consider the power and influence which are secured by gold, we do not wonder that it has turned the heads of some. They have accepted the worship of it as a religion—a sure refuge from every evil—a means of justification.

Ecc_10:20. A righteous man may be so provoked by existing evils, that he cannot prevent the sense of indignation from rising in his breast. Yet the duty of restraining his feelings by a sober and calculating prudence is laid upon him by the constitution of society, and it is part of his trial here.

There is a respect due to office and authority, as such, independently of their moral character. Every ordinance of God may become corrupt by human vices, yet the fact of their Divine appointment remains.

When once thought is uttered in speech, it is often like a stone flung from the hand; we have no further power over it, and know not where it will light or with what results.

This is a strong proverbial form of speech, expressive of the strange and unaccountable way in which such matters are frequently detected. They come to light—nobody knows how. The course they have followed leaves no traces by which it can be searched out. It is as if “a bird of the air had carried the voice.” You are as much at a loss as the Syrian monarch was, when Elisha the prophet “told the king of Israel the words that he spoke in his bed-chamber” [Wardlaw].

The earth is not a place of secrecy. It is scarcely in the power of earthly frailty to keep anything secret and concealed. Wherefore St. Paul was taken up to the third heaven, when he heard things that might not be uttered: according as St. Ambrose noteth upon it, who saith, “Paul heard some secrets of wisdom which he was forbidden to make known to others, and therefore he was taken up into Paradise” [Jermin].

There is a Heavenly King who has immediate note of the most secret suggestions of the mind, and to whose ears are borne even the whispers of rebellion.

The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary (gen. ed. Joseph S. Exell; Funk & Wagnalls, c. 1892) — public domain (pre-1929). A full-Bible homiletical/sermon-outline anthology covering 65 of 66 books (2 John is absent from the source module). Text from a community e-Sword module.

10:16-17 A servant lacks leadership skills. • feast at the proper time: Wise leaders take their leisure only after the work is finished, not in the morning before work has even started. Lazy leaders weaken a society or organization.

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Are given to their lusts, and pleasures.

That is, without wisdom and counsel.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

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 (Jer 21:12); here, given to feasting (Isa 5:11; Act 2:15).

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 16. Wo to thee, O land, when thy king is a child] Minorities are, in general, very prejudicial to a state. Regents either disagree, and foment civil wars; or oppress the people. Various discordant interests are raised up in a state during a minority; and the young king, having been under the tutelage of interested men, acts partially and injuriously to the interests of the people when he comes to the throne; and this produces popular discontent, and a troubled reign.

Thy princes eat in the morning!] They do nothing in order; turn night into day, and day into night; sleep when they should wake, and wake when they should sleep; attending more to chamberings and banquetings, than to the concerns of the state.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(16) Woe.—See Note on Ecc_4:10.

A child.—The Hebrew word has a wide range, being constantly translated lad or young man, and applied, for instance, to Solomon (1Ch_29:1), to Rehoboam (2Ch_13:7), and according to a usage common to many languages (e.g., the Latin puer), it often means a servant (2Sa_16:1, &c). Some take it in that sense here, contrasting it with the nobly-born king of the next verse. But comp. Isa_3:12.

In the morning.—Isa_5:11; Act_2:15.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Woe to thee, O land, when thy king is a child,.... Not so much in age; though it is sometimes an unhappiness to a nation to be governed by a minor, especially if the young king has not good tutors, guardians, ministers, and counsellors, about him; but, if otherwise, a nation may be very happy under a minority, or the government of a young prince; such were Solomon, Joash, Uzziah, Josiah, and our Edward VI: but it rather respects one that is a child in understanding and judgment, in manners and conduct; that minds his pleasures, as children their play; is fickle and changeable, passionate and self-willed, unskilful in government, and yet will not be advised. The Targum applies this to the land of Israel, and instances in wicked Jeroboam, who made the morning sacrifice to cease; see Isa 3:12. From considering the bad effects of folly in men in general, in private persons and in subjects, the wise man proceeds to observe the ill consequences of it to a nation, in kings and princes, in civil magistrates: Jerom or Bede interprets this allegorically: Woe to the land whose king is the devil, who is always desirous of new things, Co2 4:4;

and thy princes eat in the morning; as soon as they are up, children like; and not only eat, which may be convenient and lawful to do; but eat to excess, in a riotous and intemperate manner, and so unfit themselves for any service all the day: the "morning" is particularly observed, because the fittest time for consultation about the affairs of government; and was the usual time of sitting in judgment and trying causes, Jer 21:12; and also for acts of religion and devotion. And so the Targum,

"and thy princes eat bread before they offer the daily morning sacrifice.''

Sad is the case of a nation, when not only their king is a minor, or a foolish one; but when his tutors and guardians, or his ministers of state and counsellors, give up themselves to sensual pleasures, and neglect public affairs; and, instead of being in the council chamber, or in a court of judicature, or at their early devotions, are indulging themselves in riotous eating and drinking.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

When thy. Hebrew literally, "whose," cujus, as [in] ver. 17. (Haydock) --- St. Jerome give two senses to this passage, the literal and the mystical, according to his usual custom. The dominion of young men and of luxurious judges is reproved, as well as innovations in matters of religion, Isaias iii. 4. Those are blessed who have Christ for their head, descending from the patriarchs and saints, (over whom sin ruled not, and who of course were free) and from the blessed Virgin [Mary], who was "more free." They have the apostles for princes, who sought not the pleasures of this world, but will be rewarded, in due time, and eat without confusion. (T. 7.) (Worthington) --- Child. Minorities often prove dangerous to the state, while regents cannot agree. --- Morning, as children eat at all times. This may relate to the ruler who is a child in age, or in knowledge, though it seems rather to refer to his counsellors, Isaias v. 11.

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

A child; either,

1. In age. Or,

2. (which is more agreeable to the following clause) In childish qualities, as ignorance, inexperience, injudiciousness, rashness, frowardness, fickleness, or wilfulness, and the like, in which sense this word is used, 2Ch 13:7, compared with 1Ki 14:21; Isa 3:4,12; 1Co 14:20; Eph 4:14.

Thy princes eat; give up themselves to eating and drinking excessively and intemperately, as it is explained in the next verse. In the morning; the fittest time for God’s service, and for the despatch of weighty affairs, and for sitting in judgment, Psa 101:8; Jer 21:12. Which circumstance is added as a plain evidence of men that wholly devote themselves to vanity and luxury; which must needs occasion gross neglect of the great concerns of the kingdom, the oppression of the people to support such extravagancies, and a woeful and general corruption of the people by their example, and otherwise; which makes him say, Woe to that people!

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

16. Woe to thee, O land — Having shown the true policy of the subject under an unwise ruler, Koheleth rebukes the bad rulers for their folly, artfully couching his reproof in an address to the “land.” Eat in the morning, is here expressive of dissipation and intemperance. Thus, Peter intimates that it was absurd to think that the disciples were so dissolute as to be drunk at the third hour of the day, that is, at nine o’clock in the “morning.”

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Vers. 16-20. Section 15. Koheleth returns to the theme mentioned in vers. 4-7. and speaks of folly in one who holds the position of king, and the need of wisdom and prudence in the subjects of an unworthy ruler.

Woe to thee, O land, when thy king is a child! "Child" is naar, which term included any age up to manhood. Some interpret the word here, as paiv in Greek, in the sense of "slave," contrasting it with "the son of nobles" in the following verse. But it can hardly signify more than servitor, attendant; and in ver. 7 the antithesis to "prince" is ebed, not naar. The child in the present case is a youthful, inexperienced ruler, who does not realize his responsibilities, and is the tool of evil advisers. What particular instance, if any, Koheleth had in view it is impossible to say. Of course, many expositors see a reference to Rehoboam. whom, at forty years of age, his own son Abijah calls naar, (2Ch_13:7) and who was certainly childish in his conduct. (1Ki_12:1-14) Hitzig connects the passage with the reign of Ptolemy Epiphanes, who was but five years old at the death of his father, B.C. 205, the reins of government being assumed by Agathocles and his sister Agathoclea, who occasioned serious disasters to the laud. To support this opinion, the date of our book has to be considerably reduced (see Introduction). It is best to take the gnome as a general expression, like that in Isa_3:12, "As for my people, children are their oppressors, and women rule over them." Thy princes eat in the morning. Eating here implies feasting and banqueting, beginning the day with sensual enjoyment instead of such honest work as attending to state matters, administering justice, etc., as becomes good rulers. None but profligates would thus spend the early morning. "These are not drunken, as ye suppose; seeing it is but the third hour of the day," says St. Peter, repudiating the charge of intoxication. (Act_2:15) "Woe unto them," cries Isaiah, (Isa_5:11) "that rise up early in the morning, that they may follow strong drink!" Even the heathen censured such debauchery. Cicero thus abuses Antonius: "At quam multos dies in ea villa turpissime es per-bacchatus. Ab hora tertia bibebatur, ludebatur, vomebatur" ("Philipp.," 2:41). Curtius (5. 7. 2) reprehends" de die convivia inire." The Greeks had a proverb to denote abnormal sensuality, jAf hJmerav pinein

Vers. 16-20.

The picture of a happy land.

I A NOBLE KING.

1. Of royal blood. "Happy art thou, O land, when thy king is the son of nobles like Horace"s "Macenas atavis edite regibus," descended from a long line of crowned heads. If countries are to have kings, then decidedly the scion of kingly (more especially if also honorable and good) ancestors is better than the upstart who was yesterday a gentleman of the pavement, but is to-day the occupant of a throne. (Ecc_4:14)

1. Of mature manhood, "Woe to thee, O land, when thy king is a child." The experiment of boy-kings has seldom proved successful. Witness the case of Joash (2.Chronicles 24:1), who made a tolerable sovereign only so long as Jehoiada lived. When the king is a minor there is too much scope for ambition on the part of the regent and of the nobles, who would like to be regents or even kings.

2. Of princely intellect. The man who is to rule others should be every inch a king, not in bodily appearance only, but in mental capacity as well. No greater calamity can befall a country than to have its throne filled by a fool or an intellectual baby. In this sense, to be ruled by a "child" is surely the last indignity that can be offered to reasoning and reasonable men.

3. Of large experience. Unlike a child, or a boy, or a youth, whose knowledge of men and things must at the best be limited, the ideal sovereign should be one whose accumulated stores of wisdom, gathered in many ways and from many lands, may be used for promoting the welfare of his people.

II A TEMPERATE ARISTOCRACY.

1. Dissipation, shameful in all, is specially so in princes. Noblesse oblige. The higher one"s rank, the more incumbent on one is virtue. Hence for princes to eat in the morning, or to be addicted to gluttony and other bodily gratifications, to be so intent upon them as not merely to sit up late indulging them, but to rise up early for the purpose of renewing them, is to degrade their dignity, and trail their honor in the mire, besides shaming virtue and outraging decency.

2. Moderation, dutiful in all, is specially promotive of health. Those who live to eat and drink seldom live so long as they might, but by indulgence, setting up disease in their bodies, often shorten their days and die before their time. Those who eat and drink to live, and therefore eat in due season and in due measure, which is what is meant by temperance, take the best means of maintaining themselves in health and strength.

III A VIRTUOUS PEOPLE.

1. Industrious. "By slothfulness the roof sinketh in; and through idleness of the hands the house leaketh" (ver. 18). What is true of a material edifice is also true of the body politic. As the timbers or rafters of a private dwelling will decay unless watched over and from time to time repaired by its inmate, so the fabric of the state will go to ruin unless it be surveyed by vigilant eyes and upheld by untiring hands.

1. Joyous. Not only is there nothing sinful in feasting and wine-drinking when these are kept in virtuous moderation, but the absence of gladness from the face of any people is a bad omen. Gloom on the countenance and wretchedness in the heart mean that social disorder and perhaps revolution are at hand. Everything that contributes to the happiness and contentment of a people is a distinct contribution to the stability of a state.

2. Moneyed. A people without money or money"s worth is a people on the verge of starvation; and no state can stand long whose population consists of paupers. Money there must be, or its equivalent in material goods, and this not concentrated in a few hands, but distributed as widely as possible. The main problem of statesmen should be to secure a population, not only industrious and happy, but well paid, and therefore well fed, well clothed, and well housed.

3. Loyal. A people given to treasonable practices cannot be either prosperous or happy. Hence the Preacher dissuades all good subjects from cursing the king even in their thoughts. The impossibility of escaping detection under the all-pervading espionage of an Oriental despotism rendered it unsafe in the times of the Preacher; but, even in times when the liberty of the subject is respected, it is not always prudent to be hatching conspiracies against the crown, however secret these may be; and certainly it is not conducive to the welfare of a people that such should be common in the land.

4. Law-abiding. As little given to curse the rich as to plot against the king. Not communistic, socialistic, or revolutionary in the bad sense of these expressions; since a people may be all of these in a good sense without losing its character for virtue.

Vers. 16, 17.

Statesmanship.

It is sometimes assumed that moral qualities are unimportant in relation to political affairs. If a king be brave in his warlike expeditions, splendid in his court, and affable in his demeanor; if a statesman be sagacious in counsel and determined in action, it is too generally assumed that nothing further is wanting to secure national greatness and prosperity. The writer of Ecclesiastes looked far deeper, and saw the necessity of a self-denying and laborious character in order to true kingly and statesmanlike service.

I INCOMPETENCE AND SELF-INDULGENCE IN THOSE WHO OCCUPY HIGH PLACES ARE A CURSE TO A NATION. Men who are flung into power by the wave of royal favoritism, or by popular caprice and applause, are apt to use their exalted station as a means to personal enjoyment and to the gratification of vanity. Statesmen who pass their time in luxury and social ostentation will certainly neglect the public interests. They account their power and rank as their possession, and not as a sacred trust. Their example tends to debase the national morals, and to lower the standard of public life. They surround themselves with flatterers, and they neglect their proper duty, until they awake to find their country plunged into calamity or threatened with enslavement.

II SELF-DENIAL, EXPERIENCE, AND DILIGENCE ARE QUALITIES WHICH ENSURE TRUE STATESMANSHIP. In despotic governments it is obvious that the national prosperity depends very largely upon the patriotism and justice, the assiduity and unwearied devotion to duty, of those in high station. The conditions of national life under a constitutional government are different. Yet there is no political community in which unselfishness, temperance, and diligent application to the public service are not valuable qualities on the part of these who deliberate and decide upon great public questions, and of those who administer a nation"s affairs.

APPLICATION. In modern states, where the representative principle so largely obtains, great power is placed in the hands of the citizens and subjects. With them accordingly rests much of the responsibility for the righteous government and the true prosperity of the nation. It behooves Christian men to beware of being misled by party spirit, and so of overlooking the grave moral faults of those who solicit their confidence. It is in the power of the people to raise to positions of eminence and authority men whose aim is not personal aggrandizement and enjoyment, but the public good. If this power be wisely and firmly exercised, vice and crime will be repressed, order and liberty will be maintained, and the nation will maintain a high position and exercise a noble influence among the nations of the earth. Then the spectator will be inspired to utter the exclamation, "Happy art thou, O land! T.

Vers. 16-20.

Duties of rulers and subjects.

Some of the evils of life arise from errors and follies which may be corrected by diligence and prudence, and among them are the caprices of unworthy princes, the vices of courtiers, and the disloyalty of subjects.

Both kings and those over whom they rule have duties towards each other, the violation of which bring many mischiefs; both need to have before their minds the ideal of righteousness belonging to their respective stations.

I THE EVILS OF MISGOVERNMENT. The land is miserable whose king is a child in years or in heedlessness, whose princes begin the days with revels instead of attending to the management of affairs of state and the administration of justice. The incapacity of the prince leads to the appointment of unworthy ministers, and prevents a proper check being put upon their profligacy and neglect. The result is soon seen in the disorders of the state. "Through the slothfulness of rulers," he goes on to hint, "the fabric of thy state decays; the neglected roof lets the water through. And meantime there is high revelry within the palace walls; and gold and silver supply all their needs" (vers. 18, 19). Illustrations of such an unhappy state of matters recur only too readily to the student of history. We may see it exemplified in the condition, shall we say, of some native state within our Indian frontier? or some Eastern empire tottering to its fall nearer home? or a European monarchy at the close of the last century, with luxury and state in the palace, and a hungry people outside its door, and the shadow of the guillotine, and head-crowned pikes and September massacres in the background?" (Bradley).

II THE BLESSINGS OF A. WELL-ORDERED GOVERNMENT. That land is happy, governed by a king of undisputed title (ver. 17), who sets an example of integrity, and not by some upstart adventurer. He derives his title from his noble descent, but he may establish his power on a firmer foundation if the excellences of his ancestors are reproduced in him; he will secure a large measure of prosperity for his people if he choose for his officers men of simple tastes, who think more of discharging their duties than of self-indulgence.

III THE DUTY OF LOYALTY ON THE PART OF SUBJECTS. (Ver. 20.) Even if the sovereign is personally unworthy of respect, the office he holds should be honored; he is still the servant of God, even if he is grossly neglectful of his duties. There is a worse evil than misgovernment, and that is anarchy. "Curse not the king he may not deserve it; there may be reasons of state to explain what seems to be capricious or unjust in his conduct; yield him reverence for conscience sake, because it is right to do so. And even if he be in the wrong, it is prudent to abstain from words of blame, since he has the power to punish those that speak against him, and may hear in unexpected ways what has been said about him in secrecy.

Such counsels are of a kindred character with those which the apostles have given (Rom_13:1-7; 1Pe_2:13-17) At first it might seem as if they commended the cultivation of a slavish spirit on the part of subjects towards their rulers, and it is well known that many have deduced from them the preposterous doctrine of "passive obedience." But it must be kept in mind that while these portions of Scripture prescribe the duties of subjects, they prescribe also the duties of kings; and that it is no slavish doctrine to hold that those who rule in equity have an absolute right to the devotion and loyalty of their subjects. When they depart from equity their claim to implicit obedience is proportionately diminished. The prudential maxim of ver. 20 warns men to count the cost before they assail the power of even a bad king to beware of provoking his wrath by heedless conduct but does not command passive obedience to him. Misgovernment may reach such a pitch as to make it a duty for subjects to brave the wrath of kings, and to attempt to put a check upon their folly. We have not here a mean-spirited and time-serving piece of advice, suitable only for those who languish under the tyranny of Eastern despots, bat a warning against rashness which is not inapplicable to the most public-spirited citizen of the freest state. The examples of Isaiah under Ahaz, of Jeremiah under Zedekiah, and of St, Paul under Nero, show that it is possible to have a love of righteousness and hatred of iniquity, and yet not be wanting in respect to a bad king. J.W.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

A child - Either in age, or childish qualities. Eat - Give up themselves to eating and drinking. Morning - The fittest time for God's service, for the dispatch of weighty affairs, and for sitting in judgment.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

"Woe to thee, O land, whose king is a child, and whose princes sit at table in the early morning! Happy art thou, O land, whose king is a noble, and whose princes sit at table at the right time, in manly strength, and not in drunkenness!" Regarding אי. Instead of שׁם ן, the older language would rather use the phrase מלכּו נער אשׁר; and instead of na'ar, we might correctly use, after Pro 30:22, 'ěvěd; but not as Grtz thinks, who from this verse deduces the reference of the book of Herod (the "slave of the Hasmonean house," as the Talm. names him), in the same meaning. For na'ar, it is true, sometimes means - e.g., as Ziba's by-name (Sa2 19:18 [17]) - a servant, but never a slave as such, so that here, in the latter sense, it might be the contrast of בּן־חורים; it is to be understood after Isa 3:12; and Solomon, Bishop of Constance, understood this woe rightly, for he found it fulfilled at the time of the last German Karolingian Ludwig III.

(Note: Cf. Bchmann's Feglgelte Worte, p. 178, 5th ed. (1868).)

Na'ar is a very extensively applicable word in regard to the age of a person. King Solomon and the prophets Jeremiah and Zechariah show that na'ar may be used with reference to one in a high office; but here it is one of few years of age who is meant, who is incapable of ruling, and shows himself as childish in this, that he lets himself be led by bad guides in accordance with their pleasure. In 16b, the author perhaps thinks of the heads of the aristocracy who have the phantom-king in their power: intending to fatten themselves, they begin their feasting with the break of day. If we translate yochēēlu by "they eat," 16b sounds as if to breakfast were a sin, - with us such an abbreviation of the thought so open to misconception would be a fault in style, but not so with a Hebrew.

(Note: Vid., Gesch. d. jd. Poesie, p. 188.f.)

אכל (for לחם אכל, Psa 14:4) is here eating for eating's sake, eating as its own object, eating which, in the morning, comes in the place of fresh activity in one's calling, consecrated by prayer. Instead of אשׁ, Ecc 10:17, there ought properly to have been אשׁריך; but (1) אשׁרי has this peculiarity, to be explained from its interjectional usage, that with the suff. added it remains in the form of the st. constr., for we say e.g., אשׁריך for אשׁריך; (2) the sing. form אשׁר, inflected אשׁרי, so substitutes itself that אשׁריך, or, more correctly, אשׁרך, and אשׁרהוּ, Pro 29:19, the latter for אשׁריו, are used (vid., under Sol 2:14).

Regarding běn-hhorim, the root-word signifies to be white (vid., under Gen 40:16). A noble is called hhor, Isa 34:12; and one noble by birth, more closely, or also merely descriptively (Gesen. Lehrgeb. p. 649), běn-hhorim, from his purer complexion, by which persons of rank were distinguished from the common people (Lam 4:7). In the passage before us, běn-hhorim is an ethical conception, as e.g., also generosus becomes such, for it connects with the idea of noble by birth that of noble in disposition, and the latter predominates (cf. Sol 7:2, nadiv): it is well with a land whose king is of noble mind, is a man of noble character, or, if we give to běn-hhorim the Mishnic meaning, is truly a free man (cf. Joh 8:36). Of princes after the pattern of such a king, the contrary of what is said 16b is true: they do not eat early in the morning, but ba'et, "at the right time;" everywhere else this is expressed by be'itto (Ecc 3:11); here the expression - corresponding to the Greek ἐν καιρῷ, the Lat. in tempore - is perhaps occasioned by the contrast baboqěr, "in the morning." Eating at the right time is more closely characterized by bighvurah velo vashshethi. Jerome, whom Luther follows, translates: ad reficiendum et non ad luxuriam. Hitz., Ginsb., and Zckl., "for strengthening" (obtaining strength), not: "for feasting;" but that beth might introduce the object aimed at (after Hitz., proceeding from the beth of exchange), we have already considered under Ecc 2:4. The author, wishing to say this, ought to have written lshty wl' lgbwrh. Better, Hahn: "in strength, but not in drunkenness," - as heroes, but not as drunkards (Isa 5:22). Ewald's "in virtue, and not in debauchery," is also thus meant. But what is that: to eat in virtue, i.e., the dignity of a man? The author much rather represents them as eating in manly strength, i.e., as this requires it (cf. the plur. Psa 71:16 and Psa 90:10), only not bashti ("in drunkenness - excess"), so that eating and drinking become objects in themselves. Kleinert, well: as men, and not as gluttons. The Masora makes, under bashti,' the note לית, i.e., שׁתי has here a meaning which it has not elsewhere, it signifies drunkenness; elsewhere it means the weft of a web. The Targ. gives the word the meaning of weakness (חלּשׁוּת), after the Midrash, which explains it by בּתשׁישׁוּ (in weakness); Menahem b. Saruk takes along with it in this sense נשׁתה, Jer 51:30. The Talm. Shabbath 10a, however, explains it rightly by בּשׁתיּה שׁל־יין.

Keil & Delitzsch — Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament (1861–1891) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API. (Old Testament only.)

Woe to you, land ... blessed are you, land

In these verse, the writer is speaking to the nation as if it were a person. (See: Apostrophe)

if your king is a young boy

This means that the king is inexperienced or immature.

begin feasting in the morning

This implies that the leaders are more concerned with having a good time than with leading the nation. (See: Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information)

king is the son of nobles

This implies that the son has been trained by his elders in the customs of being a good king. AT: "king has trained by nobles" (See: Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information)

for strength, and not for drunkenness

This explains why the blessed leaders eat.

translationWords

king

feast

bless

noble

drunk

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

Woe to you, O land whose king when your king and your judges behave childishly.

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.