Proverbs 19:10

10 It is not fitting for a fool to live in luxury, much less for a slave to rule over 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 To get wisdom is to love oneself; to keep understanding is to prosper.
9 A false witness will not go unpunished, and the liar will perish.
10 It is not fitting for a fool to live in luxury, much less for a slave to rule over princes.
11 Those with good sense are slow to anger, and it is their glory to overlook an offense.
12 A king's anger is like the growling of a lion, but his favor is like dew on the grass.
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.