Bible Strands
Ecclesiastes 10:16
Woe to you, O land whose king is a youth, and whose princes feast in the morning.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The Teacher pronounces judgment upon a nation experiencing political instability, contrasting it with the stable land described in the following verse. The words — The Hebrew אִֽי־ ('i-) translates literally as "woe!" and functions as a direct declaration of disaster. The thread — This warning against immature rulers and early indulgence appears in Isaiah 3:4, Isaiah 3:12, and Isaiah 5:11. Why it lands — The text states that a land ruled by a youth and led by princes who feast in the morning faces disaster, demanding recognition that immature leadership brings national ruin.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
Woe to thee, O land, when thy king is a child, and thy princes eat in the morning!
Cross-references
- Isaiah 3:12 Youths oppress My people, and women rule over them. O My people, your guides mislead you; they turn you from your paths.
- Isaiah 5:11 Woe to those who rise early in the morning in pursuit of strong drink, who linger into the evening, to be inflamed by wine.
- Isaiah 3:4 “I will make mere lads their leaders, and children will rule over them.”
- Proverbs 20:1 Wine is a mocker, strong drink is a brawler, and whoever is led astray by them is not wise.
- 2 Chronicles 13:7 Then worthless and wicked men gathered around him to resist Rehoboam son of Solomon when he was young, inexperienced, and unable to resist them.
- Jeremiah 21:12 O house of David, this is what the LORD says: ‘Administer justice every morning, and rescue the victim of robbery from the hand of his oppressor, or My wrath will go forth like fire and burn with no one to extinguish it because of their evil deeds.
- 2 Chronicles 36:2 Jehoahaz was twenty-three years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem three months.
- 2 Chronicles 36:5 Jehoiakim was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem eleven years. And he did evil in the sight of the LORD his God.
- 2 Chronicles 36:9 Jehoiachin was eighteen years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem three months and ten days. And he did evil in the sight of the LORD.
- Isaiah 28:7 These also stagger from wine and stumble from strong drink: Priests and prophets reel from strong drink and are befuddled by wine. They stumble because of strong drink, muddled in their visions and stumbling in their judgments.