Ecclesiastes 10:20

Ecc 10:20 Curse not the king, no not in thy thought; and curse not the rich in thy bedchamber: for a bird of the air shall carry the voice, and that which hath wings shall tell the matter.

Ver. 20. Curse not the king, no not in thy thought.] Or, In thy conscience; but in this or any other kind,

“Turpe quid acturus, te sine teste time.” - Auson.

The present government is ever grievous, and nothing more usual than to grudge against it; {a} but take heed of wishing hurt to rulers (thought is not free), much more of uttering it, though in hugger mugger. Kings have long ears, heavy hands; walls also and hedges have ears. Some may overhear thee, as Mordecai did the two traitors, {Est 2:22} or thou mayest unwittingly and unwillingly betray thyself, as our gunpowder plotters.

That which hath wing, &c.] It was a quill, a piece of a wing, that discovered that hellish plot. Wilful murder and treason will out by one means or other. Those two traitors sent by Mohammed to kill Scanderbeg, falling out between themselves, let fall something that brought all to light and themselves to punishment. {b} The like befell that gentleman of Normandy that confessed to a priest his intent to have killed King Francis. {c}

{a} ’Aει το παρον, βαπυ - Thucyd.

{b} Turkish History, fol. 460.

{c} French History.

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.

Ecc 10:20. Curse not the king — Having spoken of the miscarriages of kings, he now gives a caution to their subjects, that they should not thence take occasion to speak irreverently or contemptuously of them, or wish or design any evil against their persons or government. For though vices may be condemned wheresoever they are, yet both reverence and obedience are due to magistrates, as they are God’s deputies and vicegerents, and that, notwithstanding their vices, as is manifest from Rom 13:1, &c.; 1Pe 2:13. No, not in thy thought — In the most secret manner, by giving way to such thoughts and affections, for these would very probably break forth into disloyal words and practices: and curse not the rich — The princes or governors under the king, who are commonly rich; for a bird, &c., shall carry the voice — The king will hear of it by unknown and unsuspected hands, as if a bird had heard and carried the report of it.

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

10:20 It is often a mystery how someone knows what we have said. The best way to control our reputation is to control our thoughts.

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

Thou canst not work evil so secretly, but it shall be known.

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

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 (Psa. 139:1-24), whose consciousness of every evil thought we should ever realize.

bed-chamber--the most secret place (Kg2 6:12).

bird of the air, &c.--proverbial (compare Hab 2:11; Luk 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 uttered. In the East superhuman sagacity was attributed to birds (see on Job 28:21; hence the proverb).

Next: Ecclesiastes Chapter 11

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 20. Curse not the king] Do not permit thyself even to think evil of the king; lest thy tongue at some time give vent to thy thoughts, and so thou be chargeable with treason.

For a bird of the air shall carry the voice] Does he refer here to such fowls as the carrier pigeon, which were often used to carry letters under their wings to a great distance, and bring back answers? The Targum turns it curiously: "Do not speak evil of the king in thy conscience, nor in the secret of thy heart, nor in the most hidden place in thy house, curse not a wise man; for Raziel calls daily from heaven upon Mount Horeb, and his voice goes through the whole world; and Elijah, the great priest, goes, flying through the air like a winged eagle, and publishes the words which are spoken in secret by all the inhabitants of the earth."

Civil government is so peculiarly of God, that he will have it supported for the benefit of mankind; and those who attempt to disturb it are generally marked by his strong disapprobation. And though there have been multitudes of treasons hatched in the deepest secrecy; yet, through the providence of God, they have been discovered in the most singular manner. This shows God's care for government.

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

(20) Thought.—A word of later Hebrew, found only in Daniel and Chronicles.

That which hath wings.—Literally, master of wings; and so also Pro_1:17. (Comp. “master of the tongue,” Ecc_10:11.)

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

20. Curse not the king, no not in thy thought] The words paint, as from a painful experience, the all-pervading espionage, which, as in the delatores of the Roman Empire, associates itself naturally with the police of a despotic government. The wise man must recognise that espionage as a fact and gives his counsel accordingly, but it is not the less clear that the counsel itself conveys, in its grave irony, a condemnation of the practice. It may be noted that the addition of “curse not the rich” makes the irony clearer, and takes the maxim out of the hands of those who would read in it the serious condemnation of all independence of thought and speech in face of the “right divine of kings to govern wrong.” For the purposes of the teacher, in the maxims in which the irony of indignation veils itself in the garb of a servile prudence, the rich man and the king stand on the same level.

in thy bedchamber] This is, as in 2Ki_6:12, like the “closet” of Mat_6:6, proverbial for the extremest retirement.

a bird of the air shall carry the voice] The figure is so natural, answering to the “walls have ears” of the Rabbinic, German, English proverbs, that any more special reference scarcely need to be sought for, but it is interesting to note the close parallel presented by the familiar Greek proverb of “the cranes of Ibycos.” For the reader who does not know the story it may be well to tell it. Ibycos was a lyric poet of Rhegium, circ. b.c. 540. He was murdered by robbers near Corinth and, as he died, called on a flock of cranes that chanced to fly over him, to avenge his death. His murderers went with their plunder to Corinth, and mingled with the crowd in the theatre. It chanced that the cranes appeared and hovered over the heads of the spectators, and one of the murderers betrayed himself by the terror-stricken cry “Behold the avengers of Ibycos!” (Suidas Ἴβυκος. Apollon. Sidon in the Anthol. Graec. B. vii. 745, ed. Tauchnitz). Suggestive parallels are also found in Greek comedy.

οὐδεὶς οἰδεν τὸν θησαυρὸν τὸν ἐμὸν

πλὴν εἴ τις ἄρʼ ὄρνις.

“No one knows of my treasure, save, it may be, a bird.”

Aristoph. Birds, 575.

ἡ κορώνη μοὶ πάλαι

ἄνω τι φράζει.

“Long since the raven tells me from on high.”

Aristoph. Birds, 50.

Possibly, however, the words may refer to the employment of carrier pigeons in the police espionage of despots. Their use goes back to a remote antiquity and is at least as old as Anacreon’s “Ode to a pigeon.”

The pigeon speaks:

Ἐγὼ δʼ Ανακρέοντι

Διακονῶ τοσαῦτα,

Καὶ νῦν ὁρᾶς ἐκείνου

Ἐπιστολὰς κομίζω.

“Now I render service due

To Anacreon, Master true,

And I bear his billets-doux.”

Frequently they were employed to keep up communication between generals, as in the case of Brutus and Hirtius at the battle of Mutina. “What availed it,” says Pliny, in words that coincide almost verbally with the text (Hist. Nat. x. 37), “that nets were stretched across the river while the messenger was cleaving the air” (“per cœlum eunte nuntio”).

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Curse not the king; no, not in thy thought,.... Though he is a child, and unskilful in government, gives himself to his passions and pleasures, and neglects the affairs of the kingdom; yet be so far from rebelling against him, and doing him any injury, or speaking ill of him, as not even to wish him any ill; or, within thine own breast, imprecate any evil upon him, but rather pray for him, wish him well, and do everything to promote the welfare of his person and government, and this both for the Lord's sake, and for conscience's sake; and therefore curse him not "in thy conscience" (m), as some render it. Jarchi interprets this of God the King of the world; see Job 2:9; and Jerom of Christ; who should not be blasphemed, lest the angels, that go about the earth, should carry it to heaven;

and curse not the rich in thy bedchamber; subordinate rulers and magistrates, the king's ministers and counsellors, who are commonly rich; even those luxurious princes, before described, who give up themselves to eating and drinking, and spend the public money in profuse feasts and entertainments: yet a man should be careful how he speaks against them; and not only be cautious of what he says about them, in a vilifying way, in companies and clubs where disaffected persons speak their minds freely; but even in his own house, where his servants may hear him; nay, even in his bedchamber where only his wife and children are;

for a bird of the air shall carry the voice, and that which hath wings shall tell the matter; an hyperbolical expression; showing that, by some strange and unthought of ways and means, treason, though so very secret, should be brought to the knowledge of the king and his ministers; as if a bird, sitting at the window, or flying by at the same time, should hear and carry it to them: sometimes this is by means of spies and informers, that kings have in all places, to bring them news of the behaviour and sentiments of men, of whom such understand the passage; or by means of such, that bear an ill will to them, or are faithful subjects to the king. With the Persians were certain officers, called the king's ears, and the emperor's eyes; by means of whom the king was believed to be a god, since, by the ears and eyes of others, through those spies, he knew all that was done everywhere (n). Some interpret it of angels, good or bad: Jarchi, of the soul of man, which at last flies to heaven, which he thinks is the bird of the air; and of an angel that is associated to him, his guardian angel; meant, as he supposes, by that which hath wings, or "the master of wings" (o).

(m) , Sept. "in conscientia tua", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator, Drusius, Cocceius, Gejerus. (n) Apuleius de Mundo. (o) "dominus alarum", Piscator.

Next: Ecclesiastes Chapter 11

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

Said. Pigeons are taught to carry letters in the east, and Solomon alludes to this custom, or he makes use of this hyperbole to shew, that kings will discover the most secret inclinations by means of spies. We must not speak ill even of those who are worthy of blame, ver. 16. (Calmet)

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).

Curse not the king. Having spoken of the miscarriages of kings, he now gives a caution to their subjects, that they should not thence take occasion to speak irreverently or contemptuously of them, or wish or design any evil against their persons or government; for though vices may be condemned, wheresoever they are, yet both reverence and obedience are due to magistrates, as they are God’s vicegerents and ordinances, notwithstanding their vices, as is manifest from Rom 13:1, &c.; 1Pe 2:13, &c.

In thy thought; in the most secret manner, by giving way to such thoughts or affections; for these will very probably break forth into such words and practices. Curse not the rich; the princes or governors under the king, who are commonly rich; or any other rich men, who can oppress or punish thee by their wealth, as well as kings can do it by their power.

In thy bed-chamber, where thy wife or servant may hear thee, and afterwards through folly or passion discover it to thy ruin.

A bird of the air shall carry the voice, and that which hath wings shall tell the matter; the king will hear of it by unknown and unsuspected hands, as if a bird had chanted to be at the window when thou didst speak the words, and did hear them, and carry the report of it unto the king. It is a proverbial expression, as when we say, Hedges have ears, and, The walls will speak. Hence kings are said to have long ears.

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

20. Curse not the king — Having said in rebuke of the tyrant all that is prudent, admonition of prudence is again given to the subject. It has been remarked that the lack in Hebrew of the little words called particles causes even connected discourse to appear isolated, as if made of separate and distinct propositions. A translation into English or any modern tongue requires the insertion of these. Thus this verse needs to be introduced with Yet, Still, or However. Rich, should be the prince. Reference is here made to the system of espionage which largely prevailed under eastern governments. It was so close and manifold that the figures employed in this verse are not too forcible to express its adroitness and circumstantiality.

As the general subject of discreet behaviour in the trying times produced by bad rulers occupies so large a proportion of this brief book, we may, on dismissing it, again say that its moral weight as against the Solomonic authorship is very serious. The books of Scripture, though written for all time, got their special form and matter from and for some particular time. So much of exhortation to patient endurance under misgovernment could not possibly have been inspired by any thing known to have existed in the golden age of Solomon. But there was hardly a year in the interval between 450 B.C. and 330 B.C. when such wisdom of the serpent and harmlessness of the dove was not wanted in almost every province of the Persian empire.

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

Curse not the king, no not in thy thought. Under the above-mentioned circumstances, a man might be tempted to abuse and curse these ill-conditioned rulers. Koheleth warns against this error; it is dangerous to give way to it, (comp. Exo_22:28) in Ecc_8:2 the motive for submission to the king is placed on religious grounds; in the present passage the ground is prudence, regard for personal safety, which might be compromised by plain speaking, especially when one has to do with such depraved and unscrupulous persons. We may compare David"s generous conduct to his cruel persecutor Saul, whom he spared because he was the Lord"s anointed; (1Sa_24:6, l0; 26:9, etc. 2Sa_1:14) Madda, "thought," "consciousness," is rare, and is supposed to belong to late Hebrew. (see 2Ch_1:10, 2Ch_1:11, 2Ch_1:12; Dan_1:4, Dan_1:17) The Septuagint translates it suneidhsiv: Vulgate, cogitatio. To encourage such thoughts in the mind is to run the risk of openly expressing them at some unguarded moment; for "out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh." Curse not the rich in thy bedchamber. In ability to injure, the rich stand in the same category as the king. You are not safe ejn tanieioiv koitwnwn sou, "in your very bedchamber," where, if anywhere, you would fancy yourself free from espionage. But "walls have ears," says the proverb (comp. Hab_2:11; Luk_19:40) and the King of Syria is warned, "Elisha, the prophet that is in Israel, telleth the King of Israel the words thou speakest in thy bedchamber". (2Ki_6:12) "That which ye have spoken in the ear in closets (ejn toiv tamieioiv) shall be proclaimed upon the housetops". (Luk_12:3) For a bird of the air shall carry the voice. A proverbial saying, common to all languages, and not to be referred especially to the story of the cranes of Ibycus (see Erasmus," Adag.," s.v. "Ultio malefacti") or to the employment of carrier pigeons. We say of secret information, "a little bird told me." Plumptre quotes Aristophanes, "Aves," 575

Oujdeiv oiden ton qhsauron ton ejmon plhn ei tiv ar orniv

No one knows of my treasure, save, it may be, a bird.

On which the Scholiast notes, "There is a proverb extant, No one observes me but the passing bird" (comp. Erasmus, "Adag.," s.v. "Occulta"). In Koheleth"s day informers evidently plied their trade industriously, and here meet, not only with notice, but ironically with reprobation. On the general sentiment of the verse, we may quote Juvenal, "Sat.," 9:102, "O Corydon, Corydon," thus versified in Ginsburg"s commentary

And dost thou seriously believe, fond swain, The actions of the great unknown remain? Poor Corydon! even beasts would silence break, And stocks and stones, if servants did not, speak. Bolt every door, stop every cranny tight, Close every window, put out every light; Let not a whisper reach the listening ear, No noise, no motion; let no soul be near; Yet all that passed at the cock"s second crow, The neighboring vintner shall, ere day-break, know.

That which hath wings (compare Latin ales); the possessor (haul) of a pair of wings, a periphrasis for "a bird," as in Pro_1:17. We had "master of the tongue," ver. 11; so in Dan_8:6, Dan_8:20, "having horns," is "master ( haul) of horns."

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

Thy thought - In the most secret manner. The rich - Princes or governors. A bird - The king will hear of it by unknown and unsuspected hands, as if a bird had heard and carried the report of it.

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

"Curse not the king even in thy thought; and in thy bed-chamber curse not the rich; for the birds of the air carry away the sound, and the winged creature telleth the matter." In the Books of Daniel and Chronicles, מדּע, in the sense of γνῶσις, is a synon. of השׂכּל and חכמה; here it is rightly translated by the lxx by συνείδησις; it does not correspond with the moral-religious idea of conscience, but yet it touches it, for it designates the quiet, inner consciousness (Psychol. p. 134) which judges according to moral criteria: even (gam, as e.g., Deu 23:3) in the inner region of his thoughts

(Note: Hengst., not finding the transition from scientia to conscientia natural, gives, after Hartmann, the meaning of "study-chamber" to the word מדּע; but neither the Heb. nor the Aram. has this meaning, although Psa 68:13 Targ. touches it.)

one must not curse the king (cf. Ecc 7:4.) nor the rich (which here, as at 6b, without distinction of the aristocracy of wealth and of birth, signifies those who are placed in a high princely position, and have wealth, the nervus rerum, at their disposal) in his bed-chamber, the innermost room of the house, where one thinks himself free from treachery, and thus may utter whatever he thinks without concealment (Kg2 6:12): for the birds of the air may carry forth or bring out (Lat. deferrent, whence delator) that which is rumoured, and the possessor of a pair of wings (cf. Pro 1:17), after the Chethı̂b (whose ה of the art. is unnecessarily erased by the Kerı̂,

(Note: הכּן with unpointed He, because it is not read in the Kerı̂; similarly החנית (Sa1 26:22). Cf. Mas. fin. f. 22, and Ochla veochla, No. 166.)

as at Ecc 3:6, Ecc 3:10): the possessor of wings (double-winged), shall further tell the matter. As to its meaning, it is the same as the proverb quoted by the Midrash: "walls have ears."

(Note: Vid., Tendlau's Sprichwrter, No. 861.)

Geier thinks of the swallows which helped to the discovery of Bessus, the murderer of his father, and the cranes which betrayed the murderer of Ibycus, as comparisons approaching that which is here said. There would certainly be no hyperbole if the author thought of carrier-pigeons (Paxton, Kitto) in the service of espionage. But the reason for the warning is hyperbolical, like an hundred others in all languages:

"Aures fert paries, oculos nemus: ergo cavere

Debet qui loquitur, ne possint verba nocere."

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.)

not even in your mind

A person's thoughts are represented by the person's "mind." AT: "not even in your thoughts" (See: Metonymy)

rich people in your bedroom

"rich people when you are in your bedroom." This means that you should not curse rich people even when you are in a private place where no one else will hear.

For a bird of the sky ... can spread the matter

These two lines mean basically the same thing and are combined for emphasis. This speaks of people finding out what you have said as if a small bird would hear what you say and tell other people. AT: "For a bird may hear what you say and tell the matter to other people" (See: Parallelism and Metaphor)

translationWords

curse

mind

heaven

word

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

Even in your thought...a king even in your thoughts, without speech. גַּם means “even.”

You shall not curse a king; do not provoke the King of the World. Another interpretation is that this is a king, according to its apparent meaning, a mortal king.

the bird of the heaven the soul, which is placed within you, which will ultimately fly up to the heaven.

and the winged creature the angel who escorts you, as it is stated: (Ps. 91:11): “For He will command His angels on your behalf,” and according to its apparent meaning, the passersby. You should worry about every person, perhaps there are people listening, and they will tell the matter to others.

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.