Proverbs 19:10

10 Delights become not a fool; neither it becometh a servant to be (the) lord of princes.

Proverbs 19:10 Meaning and Commentary

Proverbs 19:10

Delight is not seemly for a fool
Such an one as Nabal, whose name and nature were alike; and whose prosperity ill became him, and the mirth and delight he had in it, ( 1 Samuel 25:25 1 Samuel 25:36 ) ; for, as the wise man elsewhere says, "the prosperity of fools shall destroy them", ( Proverbs 1:26 ) ; they do not know how to make a right use of their prosperity; nor to moderate their enjoyments, pleasures, and delights. Some understand this of spiritual delight in the Lord; in his ways and ordinances, which wicked men are strangers to: and a very uncomely thing it is for such persons to talk of spiritual joy and delight, and of their communion with God, when they live in sin; much less for a servant to have rule over princes;
this was a sight which Solomon had seen, but was very disagreeable to him; and was one of the four things the earth cannot bear; the insolence of a servant, when he becomes master over his superiors, is intolerable; see ( Proverbs 30:22 ) ( Ecclesiastes 10:7 ) . It may be spiritually applied to such who are servants of sin; to whose sensual appetites and carnal affections the more noble and princely powers of the soul, the understanding and mind, become subject; which is very improper and unseemly.

Proverbs 19:10 In-Context

8 but he that holdeth stably the mind, loveth his soul, and the keeper of prudence shall find goods. (but he who keepeth his mind stable, loveth, or helpeth, his own life, and the keeper of understanding, or of discernment, shall obtain good things.)
9 A false witness shall not be unpunished; and he that speaketh leasings, shall perish. (A lying witness shall not go unpunished; and he who speaketh lies, shall perish.)
10 Delights become not a fool; neither it becometh a servant to be (the) lord of princes.
11 The teaching of a man is known by patience; and his glory is to pass over wicked things. (Patience showeth a person's wisdom, or the lack of it; and a person's glory is to overlook a wrong.)
12 As the gnashing of a lion, so and the ire of the king; and as dew on herb, so and the gladness of the king. (Like the gnashing of a lion, is the king's anger; and like the dew on the grass, is the king's gladness.)
Copyright © 2001 by Terence P. Noble. For personal use only.