Ecclesiastes 10:17

Blessed art thou, O land, when thy king is the son of nobles, and thy princes eat in due season, for strength, and not for drunkenness! SON OF NOBLES - not merely in blood, but in virtue, the true nobility. IN DUE SEASON - not until duty has first been attended to. FOR STRENGTH - to refresh the body, not for revelry (included in "drunkenness")....

16-20 The happiness of a land depends on the character of its rulers. The people cannot be happy when their princes are childish, and lovers of pleasure. Slothfulness is of ill consequence both to private and public affairs. Money, of itself, will neither feed nor clothe, though it answers the occasions of this present life, as what is to be had, may generally be had for money. But the soul, as it is not redeemed, so it is not maintained with corruptible things, as silver and gold. God sees what men do, and hears what they say in secret; and, when he pleases, brings it to light by strange and unsuspected ways. If there be hazard in secret thoughts and whispers against earthly rulers, what must be the peril from every deed, word, or thought of rebellion against the King of kings, and Lord of lords! He seeth in secret. His ear is ever open. Sinner! curse not THIS KING in thy inmost though...

Verse 17. _WHEN THY KING_ IS _THE SON OF NOBLES_] υιος ελευθερων, the son of freemen; persons well acquainted with the principles of civil liberty, and who rule according to them.-_Septuagint_. Such a one as comes to the throne in a legitimate way, from an ancient regal family, whose right to the throne is incontestable. It requires such a long time to establish a regal right, that the state is in continual danger from _pretenders_ and _usurpers_, where the king is not the son of nobles. _AND THY PRINCES EAT IN DUE SEASON_] All persons in places of trust for the public weal, from the king to the lowest public functionary, should know, that the public are exceedingly scandalized at repeated accounts of entertainments, where irregularity prevails, much money is expended, and no good done. These things are drawn into precedent, and quoted to countenance debauch in the inferior classes. Th...

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. Ecclesiastes 10:16 A CHILD - Rather, young. The word is applied to Rehoboam 2 Chronicles 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 Isaiah 5:11). Ecclesiastes 10:17...

EXPOSITION ECCLESIASTES 10:1 Section 11. _A little folly mars the effect of wisdom, _and is sure to make itself conspicuous. ECCLESIASTES 10:1 DEAD FLIES CAUSE THE OINTMENT OF THE APOTHECARY TO SEND FORTH A STINKING SAVOR. This is a metaphorical confirmation of the truth enunciated at the end of the last chapter, "One sinner destroyeth much good." It is like the apostle's warning to his converts, "A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump" (1 Corinthians 5:6). The Hebrew expression is literally, "flies of death," which may mean either "dead flies," as in our version and the Vulgate (muse

BLESSED [ART] THOU, O LAND, WHEN THY KING IS THE SON OF NOBLES,.... Or "heroes" z, called "Hhorim" in the Hebrew, which signifies "white"; either from the white garment they wore, or rather from the purity and ingenuity of their minds and manners; being illustrious persons, not only by birth and education, but in their lives and actions. Now a land is happy when it is governed by a king that is not only descended from a race of heroes and illustrious men, and has a princely and liberal education; but that imitates his ancestors, and treads in their steps, and is famous himself for wisdom, virtue, and real piety, in which true nobility consists; and so the Vulgate Latin version renders it, "whose king is noble"; who is of an ingenuous mind, has princely virtues and qualifications; who is wise and prudent, skilful in the affairs of government, and assiduous and industrious therein; for as,...

CHAPTER 10 This chapter contains a series of proverbs, expressing the wisdom and prudence of the natural man. Here are a number of observations and all show that there is a practical value in wisdom and that it has certain advantages. These maxims are of a different kind than the proverbs in the preceding book. There we are face to face with the wisdom which is from above, here it is the wisdom of man. The name of the Lord is not mentioned once, Similar philosophic utterances can be traced in the literature of other ancient nations. They need no detailed annotations....

ECCLESIASTES 9:17 TO ECCLESIASTES 10:15. EXPERIENCE CRYSTALLISED IN PROVERBS. Ecclesiastes 9:17 to Ecclesiastes 10:3 forms a series of proverbs perhaps due to the sage who worked over the original book. In Ecclesiastes 9:17 follow _mg.;_ the contrast is between the quiet but sure voice of the wise and the noisy pretentious clatter of an arch-fool. With Ecclesiastes 9:18, _cf._...

BLESSED. Happy. Hebrew. _'ashrey._ The only occurrence in this book....

_Blessed art thou, O land, when thy king is the son of nobles_ The epithet has been taken as instance of the Hebrew of expressing character by the phrase "the son of …," and hence as having a meaning here like that of the Latin _generosus_. Probably, however, the maxim reflects the thought of Greek political writers that they "are truly noble who can point to ancestors distinguished for both excellence and wealth" (Aristot. _Polit_. Ecclesiastes 10:17) that if there were any one family with an hereditary character for excellence, it was just that it should be recognised as kingly, and that the king should be chosen from it (_Ibid._iii. 16). Such, the writer may have meant covertly to imply, ought a true descendant of the Ptolemies to have been instead of sinking into a degenerate profligacy. _thy princes eat in due season_ The word "season" reminds us of t