Ecclesiastes 10:6

6 Stupid people are given positions of authority while the rich are ignored.

Ecclesiastes 10:6 Meaning and Commentary

Ecclesiastes 10:6

Folly is set in great dignity
Or "in great heights" F17; 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 the Israelites in exile and poverty among the Gentiles for their sins; so Jarchi.


FOOTNOTES:

F17 (Mybr Mymwrmb) (en uqesi megaloiv) , Sept. "in celsitudinibus amplis", Piscator, Amama, Gejerus; "in sublimitatibus amplis", Cocceius; "in altitudinibus magnis", Rambachius; "in great height", Broughton.

Ecclesiastes 10:6 In-Context

4 If your ruler becomes angry with you, do not hand in your resignation; serious wrongs may be pardoned if you keep calm.
5 Here is an injustice I have seen in the world - an injustice caused by rulers.
6 Stupid people are given positions of authority while the rich are ignored.
7 I have seen slaves on horseback while noblemen go on foot like slaves.
8 If you dig a pit, you fall in it; if you break through a wall, a snake bites you.
Scripture taken from the Good News Translation - Second Edition, Copyright 1992 by American Bible Society. Used by Permission.