Ecclesiastes 10:7

7 I have even seen slaves [riding] on horses and princes walking like slaves on 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 an evil I have seen under the sun-- [it is] an error that proceeds from a ruler!
6 The fool is set in many high places, but the rich sit in lowly places.
7 I have even seen slaves [riding] on horses and princes walking like slaves on the earth!
8 Whoever digs a pit will fall into it. Whoever breaks through a wall, a snake will bite him.
9 Whoever {quarries} stones will be wounded by them. Whoever splits logs will be endangered by them.
Scripture quotations marked (LEB) are from the Lexham English Bible. Copyright 2012 Logos Bible Software. Lexham is a registered trademark of Logos Bible Software.