Ecclesiastes 10:17
Blessed is the land whose king is noble, and whose princes eat at the proper time, for refreshment and not for self-indulgence.
Catholic Public Domain Version
In The King James Version
In Context
16Woe to you, the land whose king is a boy, and whose princes consume in the morning.
Cross References
Deuteronomy 14:26And you shall buy with the same money whatever pleases you, either from the herds or from the sheep, and also wine and liquor, and all that your soul desires. And you shall eat in the sight of the Lord your God, and you shall feast: you and your household.
Proverbs 31:4Not to kings, O Lamuel, not to kings give wine. For there are no secrets where drunkenness reigns.
Isaiah 5:11Woe to you who rise up in the morning to pursue drunkenness, and to drink even until evening, so as to be inflamed with wine.
Matthew Henry on Ecclesiastes 10:17-20
Mutual Duties of Princes and Subjects. 16 Woe to thee, O land, when thy king is a child, and thy princes eat in the morning! 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! 18 By much slothfulness the building decayeth; and through idleness of the hands the house droppeth through. 19 A feast is made for laughter, and wine maketh merry: but money answereth all things. 20 Curse not the king, no not in thy thought; and curse… Read the whole commentary →