Ecclesiastes 10:7

7 I saw slaves upon horses, and princes walking as slaves upon the earth.

Ecclesiastes 10:7 Meaning and Commentary

Ecclesiastes 10:7

I have seen servants upon horses
Which being scarce in Judea, were only rode upon by princes and great personages, or such as were in affluent circumstances; and therefore it was an unusual and disagreeable sight to see servants upon them, which was a token of their being advanced upon the ruin and destruction of their masters; a reigning servant is not only uncomely, but one of the things by which the earth is disquieted, and it cannot bear, ( Proverbs 30:21 Proverbs 30:22 ) ; the Parthians and Persians distinguished their nobles and the vulgar, freemen and servants, by this; the servants went on foot, and the freemen rode on horses F18; and princes walking as servants upon the earth;
degraded from their honour; banished from their thrones and palaces, or obliged to leave them, and reduced to the lowest state and condition: so David, when his son rebelled against him, and he was forced to flee from him, and walk on foot, ( 2 Samuel 15:30 ) ; Alshech thinks it may be a prophecy of the captivity of Israel, when they walked as servants on the earth, and the Gentiles rode on horses.


FOOTNOTES:

F18 Justin. e Trogo, l. 41. c. 3. Alex. ab Alex. Genial. Dier. l. 5. c. 19.

Ecclesiastes 10:7 In-Context

5 There is another evil which I have seen under the sun, as an error which proceeds from the ruler:
6 Folly is set in great dignity, and the rich are seated in a low place.
7 I saw slaves upon horses, and princes walking as slaves upon the earth.
8 He that digs a pit shall fall into it, and whosoever breaks a hedge, a serpent shall bite him.
9 Whosoever moves the stones shall have tribulation along with it, and he that cuts the firewood shall be endangered by it.
The Jubilee Bible (from the Scriptures of the Reformation), edited by Russell M. Stendal, Copyright © 2000, 2001, 2010