Ecclesiastes 10:6

Folly is set in great dignity, and the rich sit in low place. THE RICH SIT IN LOW PLACE - not in mere wealth, but in wisdom, as the antithesis to "folly" (for "foolish men") shows. [So rich, `ashiyr (H6223), is here used, as the similar Greek word in Luke 12:21; James 2:5; Revelation 2:9.] Compare, as cases in point, Mordecai and Haman (Esther 3:1; Esther 6:6). God's people Israel, who were designed to be rich ...

4-10 Solomon appears to caution men not to seek redress in a hasty manner, nor to yield to pride and revenge. Do not, in a passion, quit thy post of duty; wait awhile, and thou wilt find that yielding pacifies great offences. Men are not preferred according to their merit. And those are often most forward to offer help, who are least aware of the difficulties, or the consequences. The same remark is applied to the church, or the body of Christ, that all the members should have the same care one for another....

The “evil” of Ecclesiastes 10:5 is here specified as that caprice of a king by which an unworthy favorite of low origin is promoted to successive dignities, while a noble person is degraded or neglected....

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

FOLLY IS SET IN GREAT DIGNITY,.... Or "in great heights" q; 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 Amalekite, and others; AND THE RICH SIT IN LOW PLACES; men not only of fortune and estates, and above doing mean and little actions, and so more fit for such high places; but men rich in wisdom and knowledge, of large capacities and of great endowments of mind, and so abundantly qualified for posts in the administration of government; and, above all, men rich in grace, fearing God, and hating coveteousness, as rulers ought to be, Exodus 18:21; and yet these sometimes are neglected, live in obscurity, who might otherwise be very useful in public life. The Targum interprets this and the following verse of

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....

FOLLY. a great dullard. Hebrew. _sakal,_ as in verses: Ecclesiastes 10:1; Ecclesiastes 10:3; Ecclesiastes 10:3; Ecclesiastes 10:14. IN GREAT DIGNITY. in many high positions....

_Folly is set in great dignity, and the rich sit in low place_ For "great dignity," literally GREAT HEIGHTS. The "rich" here are those who by birth and station are looked on as the natural rulers of mankind. Such men, like the ἀρχαιόπλουτοι (the "men of ancestral wealth") of Greek political writers, (Aristot. _Rhet_. ii. 9; Aesch. _Agam_. 1043) a wise ruler associates with himself as counsellors. The tyrant, on the other hand, like Louis XI. exalts the baseborn to the place of honour, or like Edward II. or James I. of England, or Henry III. of France, lavishes dignities on his minions. So the writer may have seen Agathoclea and her brother; all-powerful, as mistress and favourite, in the court of Ptolemy Philopator (Justin xxx. 1)....

2. Foolishness leads to humiliation. Ecclesiastes 10:5-7 TEXT 10:5-7 5 There is an evil I have seen under the sun, like an error which goes forth from the ruler 6 folly is set in many exalted places while rich men sit in humble places. 7 I have seen slaves riding on horses and princes walking like slaves on the land. THOUGHT QUESTIONS 10:5-7 378. What is the reason given why folly is set in many exalted places? 379. Where did the error originate? 380. Identify the two illustrations of folly. PARAPHRASE 10:5-7 When the ruler in the land makes a grave mistake, it results in evil doing under the sun. Folly itself is exalted in seats of dignity while the rich men sit in humble seats. Also, as a result of the error I have seen slaves riding on horses, and princes walking on the ground as if the