Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Ecclesiastes 10:5
There is an evil [which] I have seen under the sun, as an error which proceedeth from the ruler:
5. as an error which proceedeth from the ruler ] The last word serves as a link connecting this verse with the preceding. It might be wise at times to bow to the temper of a despotic ruler, but the ruler was not always right. What the Debater had seen was to him a blot upon the government of him who allowed it. There lies below the surface the half-suppressed thought that this anomaly, stated in the next verse, was as a blot in the government of the supreme Ruler of the Universe. Technically the word was used in the Mosaic Law of the involuntary sins of ignorance (Lev 4:22; Lev 4:27; Lev 5:18). The unequal distribution of honours seemed to men as a blunder of Providence.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Verse 5. An error which proceedeth from the ruler] What this error in the ruler is, the two following verses point out: it is simply this – an injudicious distribution of offices, and raising people to places of trust and confidence, who are destitute of merit, are neither of name nor family to excite public confidence, and are without property; so that they have no stake in the country, and their only solicitude must naturally be to enrich themselves, and provide for their poor relatives. This is frequent in the governments of the world; and favouritism has often brought prosperous nations to the brink of ruin. Folly was set in dignity; the man of property, sense, and name, in a low place. Servants – menial men, rode upon horses – carried every thing with a high and proud hand; and princes, – the nobles of the people, were obliged to walk by their sides, and often from the state of things to become in effect their servants. This was often the case in this country, during the reign of Thomas a Becket, and Cardinal Woolsey. These insolent men lorded it over the whole nation; and the people and their gentry were raised or depressed according as their pride and caprice willed. And, through this kind of errors, not only a few sovereigns have had most uncomfortable and troublesome reigns, but some have even lost their lives.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
I have observed another great vanity and misdemeanour amongst men.
As an error which proceedeth from the ruler; so the sense is, like those errors which rulers commonly commit. Or rather, which is indeed an error proceeding from the ruler; for the following miscarriage must needs come from those who have power of conferring honour and power, &c. So the Hebrew caph is not a note of likeness, but of reality, as it is Jdg 13:23; Neh 7:2; Hos 4:4; 5:10, and oft elsewhere.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
5. asrather, “byreason of an error” [MAURERand HOLDEN].
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
There is an evil [which] I have seen under the sun,…. Which Solomon had observed in the course of his life, practised in some kingdoms and by some princes on earth, under the sun; for there is nothing of the like kind, as after mentioned, done in heaven, above the sun;
as an error [which] proceedeth from the ruler; from the supreme ruler of a nation, the king of it; and it is not only as an error, or like one, a seeming one; but it is a real error, bestowing places of honour and profit on undeserving persons: which error proceeds from ignorance of the persons; or from affection to them, and from friendship cultivated with them in the younger time of life, being educated with them; or through the misrepresentation and imposition of those about him, who have ends to serve by their promotion; or through his own lusts and passions, which these men indulge him in. It may be understood of God, the supreme ruler, who suffers such things to be; and which may seem to some an error in providence, though it is not: but the other sense is best.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
“There is an evil which I have seen under the sun, like an error which proceedeth from the ruler.” The introduction by the virtual relative raithi is as at Ecc 5:12; Ecc 6:1. Knobel, Hengst., and others give to the of the meaning of “according to,” or “in consequence of which,” which harmonizes neither with ra’ah nor with raithi . Also Kleinert’s translation: “There is a misery – I have seen it under the sun – in respect of an error which proceedeth from the ruler,” is untenable; for by this translation ra’ah is made the pred. while it is the subj. to , and kishgagah the unfolding of this subject. Hitzig also remarks: “as [ wie ein ] an error, instead of which we have: in respect to [ um einen ] an error;” for he confounds things incongruous. Hitz., however, rightly recognises, as also Kleinert, the as Caph veritatis , which measures the concrete with the idea. Isa 13:6, compares the individual with the general which therein comes to view, Eze 26:10; Neh 7:2; cf. 2Sa 9:8. Koheleth saw an evil under the sun; something which was like an error, appeared to him altogether like an error which proceedeth from the ruler. If we could translate by quod exiit , then would be the usual Caph similitudinis ; but since it must be translated by quod exit , places the observed fact under a comprehensive generality: it had the nature of an error proceeding from the ruler. If this is correct, it is so much the less to be assumed that by God is to be understood (Dan 5:21), as Jerome was taught by his Hebraeus: quod putent homines in hac inaequalitate rerum illum non juste et ut aequum est judicare . It is a governor in a state that is meant, by whom an error might easily be committed, and only too frequently is committed, in the promotion of degradation of persons. But since the world, with its wonderful division of high and low, appears like as it were an error proceeding from the Most High, there certainly falls a shadow on the providence of God Himself, the Governor of the world; but yet not so immediately that the subject of discourse is an “error” of God, which would be a saying more than irreverent. = is the metaplastic form for or (for which at Deu 28:57 incorrectly ), not an error of transcription, as Olsh. supposes; vid., to the contrary. (Symm. ) with is the old usus loq. There now follows a sketch of the perverted world.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
CRITICAL NOTES.
Ecc. 10:5. As an error which proceedeth from the ruler.] Not a mere error, as such, but one which is manifest by its consequencescaprices of despotism like those described in Ecc. 10:6-7.
Ecc. 10:6. Folly.] To be understood, in the concrete form, of mean and ignoble persons, having no title to dignity and advancement. The rich.] Men of noble birth and bearing, inheriting an honourable name and patrimony, and qualified to fill exalted positions in the state. This unnatural inversion of the orders of society was not infrequent under the despotism of Eastern monarchs.
Ecc. 10:7. Servants.] Not merely in condition, but servile in character, destitute of all noble aims and purposes. Princes.] Both in regard of outward rank, and having a corresponding elevation of character and bearing. They are princely minded.
Ecc. 10:8. He that diggeth a pit shall fall into it.] It was the custom, where lions and other wild animals abounded, to dig pits overlaid with branches of trees, in order to entrap them. Hence a man might unwittingly fall into a pit which he had himself digged (Psa. 7:15; Psa. 57:6; Pro. 26:27). And whoso breaketh an hedge, a serpent shall bite him.] Serpents and other reptiles were often found hiding in old walls. Hence he who broke through them ran the risk of being bitten (Amo. 5:19).
Ecc. 10:9. Removeth stones cleaveth wood, shall be endangered thereby.] As such employments required violent exertion, they were the more dangerous.
MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.Ecc. 10:5-10
THE PROMOTION OF FOOLS
The excellencies of wisdom, and the practical uses of it, are evident to all who can feel the force of moral reasoning. Yet the wise often fail of attaining their true place in the world, or having attained it, they are thrust out, and fools set up in their stead. He who is conscious of superior gifts, and rectitude of purpose, is condemned to witness the promotion of men, contemptibly poor in mind and morals, to places of authority and power. How does this perverse disposition of things arise, and wherewith shall good men console themselves in this disappointment?
I. It arises from the Interference of Human Caprice with the Proper Tendencies of Social Forces. The setting up of folly in great dignity, and casting down the wise and noble from their seats, is here ascribed to an error which proceedeth from the ruler. (Ecc. 10:5.) Such an unnatural inversion can only proceed from the caprice of some arbitrary authority. It is only possible through those accidents of history when folly and wickedness gain a temporary advantage. That wisdom which is made up of justice, goodness, and practical sagacity in human affairs, is a social force which has a known direction. But it may be turned aside from this direction by some disturbing causes. The fitness of things, their true tendencies and results, must be acknowledged, though they may be interrupted for a while by some disorder.
1. It is fitting that the wisest and best should rule. Such ought to have the highest social influence and powerthe chiefest authority in the state. Nations can only maintain their place in the worlds history by means of their noblest and wisest men. Their natural decay sets in when these are displaced, and the sovereignty given to fools. There are conditions of national stability that must not be violated, and it is impossible to preserve the social pyramid poised upon its apex.
2. The most sacred rights of man may be held in abeyance. Wisdom and goodness ought to secure their proper results, and enjoy with dignity their quiet triumphs. But the existence of moral evil introduces a source of complication. It is a disquieting factor in our reckoning of human things. Hence, in this world, what is right does not always prevail. It is the property of evil to hold continual warfare against all orderto rebel against all just dignitiesto undo the work of goodness in the world. Thus the progress of humanity towards perfection is retarded.
II. It is an Unstable Condition of Things. The wise man may be consoled when he reflects that such social disorder cannot last long. There are certain fundamental principles of national prosperity, and these cannot be long violated with impunity. Retribution comes at length, and the true order returns. There are certain chemical preparations which are said to be unstable, because they are held together by a slender bond, and the slightest force is sufficient to decompose them. In like manner, there are conditions of society brought about by the irrational caprice of wilful men; but such conditions are unstable. They are always upon the point of rupture. Providence, which permits so much, has yet reserves of force by which these evils find correction. In the disorders of human government, fools may be suddenly raised to rank and authority; but they must at length fall to their true level. They can but, as it were, snatch at greatness: they cannot retain it in their grasp. No power can give their unnatural assumption any fixity or permanence.
1. The devices which procure their promotion may be turned against themselves. (Ecc. 10:8-9.) They were raised to their dignities by flattery, intrigueby a ruthless trampling upon the rights of others. They employed dangerous weapons which may, at any moment, be snatched from their hands and used against themselves. He who breaks through the boundaries of truth and right runs the risk of arousing indignant justice. The breakers of old wallsmoral, socialshall be avenged by the startled serpents sting.
2. Human caprice is not to be trusted. When men are not governed by great principles, but by passion and folly, they are ever unsteady. You cannot reckon upon them, for nothing can be trusted that does not rest upon the sure foundations of truth and right. The fools which the wilful monarch promotes to power may soon excite his disgust, and give place to other fools who are likely to meet with the same capricious fate.
3. They lack that fitness which alone can give dignity and efficiency to office. Wisdom imparts an intellectual and a moral fitness for every duty and trust; and without it, no man can fulfil the highest offices in the community.
(1.) He cannot maintain the dignity proper to them. Men hold in admiration those who possess wisdom and knowledge. Even the most ignorant learn to regard, with a feeling akin to adoration, those who are more knowing and wiser than they. Men may pay court to the outward splendour of the fool; they may adore the greatness which is thrust upon him, but they despise himself. The pomp and glory of outward circumstance cannot impart true dignity where the solid endowments of moral worth and wisdom are not found.
(2.) He cannot maintain the efficiency of it. (Ecc. 10:10.) Physical strength, or the power of authority, may accomplish much, but wisdom is necessary for the finest and most ingenious workfor the framing of all purposes that are far-reaching, and the richest in their consequences to man. Human destiny cannot be shaped to the noblest issues by rough tools, though they be wielded with savage strength. There must be the cunning handthe skilful devicethe sharp edge. These are the gifts of wisdom to man, without which he cannot accomplish any work of enduring worth. The power of office and authority is impotent and vain where the highest faculties are blunt.
SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS ON THE VERSES
Ecc. 10:5. St. Cyril observeth that in the law whereas if others did sin, God appointed a sacrifice and remedy for them, whether they sinned through ignorance or else with knowledge. In the sin of the High Priest there is not appointed any sacrifice for him if that he sinned by ignorance, as if by no means there were to be admitted in them that do rule ignorance, or defect of that wisdom required for their position. Besides there had need to be a great care in the ruler that shall choose others to rule and command, because it is a hard thing to discharge it. Nazianzene saith, It is a hard thing for a man to rule, a most hard thing to instruct and teach men. It seemeth to me to be an art of arts, a science of sciences, to rule man, who is of all creatures most various and changeable [Jermin].
It is hard for ordinary men to conceive of the full nature and strength of those temptations which beset one who is invested with absolute rule. There are positions in which it is hard for ordinary virtue to stand upright. It is no wonder, therefore, that such monarchs have erred.
The most exalted station and complete investiture of authority cannot confer infallibility.
We must not allow errors to pass unheeded because they are connected with great names.
The errors of the mightiest are the most destructive. There is an energy of position in things moral and social, as well as in the region of matter. When power is wrongly directed, the disaster is proportioned to its magnitude.
Ecc. 10:6. There is no function belonging to rulers which they are bound to exercise with greater impartiality, prudence, and caution, than that of selecting men who are to fill the great offices of the state. These men have oftentimes the destinies of a nation in their hands. To place, out of mere favouritism or caprice, or even from a want of sufficient care and enquiry, an unrighteous or incompetent judge in the seat of justice; an ignorant or dishonest administration in charge of the revenues of a country; a cruel or rapacious governor at the head of the province of the kingdom; an unskilful or inexperienced leader in the command of an army;for rulers to do such things is to trifle with interests of the greatest magnitude, and to betray a trust of the most solemn and responsible kind [Buchanan].
The highest honours and dignities must sit ungainly upon those who are not prepared for them by sufficient training and capacity. In the obscurest station, folly is a disadvantage, a noticeable evil; but in the most exalted station, it becomes conspicuous and most fully exposed to the eye of ridicule.
When a fool is set in dignity, it is as when a handful of hay is set up to give light, which with smoke and smell offendeth all that are near it. When the worthy sit in a low place, it is as when a goodly candle, that on a table would give a comfortable and comely light, is put under a bushel [Jermin].
When men of true nobility of mind and character are pushed from their seats, they still adorn the lowliest place where they are constrained to sit. They suffer most who cast them down.
Ecc. 10:7. No change of outward condition can alter what is essential in the character. The servile mind is not destroyed by the elevation from poverty to grandeur, nor do royal minds cease to be such when they are stripped of all outward marks of greatness.
It was far from being a very uncommon case, under the despotic government of the East; slaves of the palace being not unfrequently, from caprice, partiality, or secret selfishness, advanced to the highest ranks, to look down in haughty superciliousness on their natural and deserving superiors [Wardlaw].
Ecc. 10:8. He who seeks prosperity and distinction by treacherous ways, or by breaking through the bounds of moral restraint, tempts the vengeance of Heaven.
He who frames designs for the destruction of others is working on the utmost edge of danger.
There are proper boundaries to knowledge as well as to the courses of conduct. He who by needless curiosity adventures to break through them, only prepares misery for himselfthe anguish of a restless and unsatisfied mind.
When ambitious heads break through hedges to get to high places, there is a serpent lurking secretly, which bites them by the heel and either stops them from going on, or else bringeth by it some great mischief upon them. Or else the serpent that biteth these ambitious subtle workers is some other more subtle than they, by whom they are undermined in their plots. Indeed, when ambition is set upon it, no hedge, no wall is able to hold it, but it breaks through, and leaps over all. What hedges did Athaliah break, killing all the royal progeny that herself might reign? What hedges did Abimelech break, killing seventy of his brethren that himself might rule? What hedges did Absalom break that he might be king in Israel? But did not the serpent bite them all? [Jermin.]
Ecc. 10:9. The man who sets himself to pull down or to alter the fabric of the constitution of a country, undertakes a work of no light or trifling difficulty, and a work always of hazard to himself, and very often of fearfully doubtful benefit to others. It is a vast deal easier to find fault than to mend; to complain of what is wrong, than to substitute what is right [Wardlaw].
Most men have penetration enough to discover the faults in things that are established, but the knowledge of the deep principles upon which they rest, and by which they are held together, is the possession of only a few. He who attempts the work of a reformer, without sufficient knowledge and prudence, is likely to meet with ill-success and to bring trouble upon himself.
There are times when the corruptions of existing things have grown so great as to demand violent measures for their reformation. But the zeal thus aroused is a dangerous weapon in the hands of frail man.
Ecc. 10:10. A little skill expended in sharpening the edge, will save a great deal of strength in wielding the hatchet. But, just as the unskilful labourer who cannot handle the whetstone must belabour the tree with a blunt instrument, and after inflaming his palms and racking his sinews, achieves less result than his neighbour whose knowledge and whose knack avail instead of brute force, so the servant who does not know the right way to do his work, after all his fatigue and fluster will give less satisfaction than one who has learned the best and easiest methods; and the householder who knows nothing of the mechanic arts, or who knows not what to do when sickness or emergencies occur, must compensate by the depth of his purse, or by the strength of his arm, for the defects of his skill. A blunt axe implies heavy blows and an aching arm; coarse work with a blistered hand. But wisdom is profitable to direct. Intelligence is as good as strength, and a little skill will save both time and materials, money and temper [Dr. J. Hamilton].
Even in the most righteous cause, great strength and determination of character will lead a man into many evils unless he has skill and prudence to guide him.
Mere force is blind, and must be directed to proper ends and uses by those who have the power to see.
The triumphs of man over the fierceness and strength of the brute creation, and over all the difficulties which nature places in his way, are the triumphs of mind.
Wisdom gives that fine edge to effort by which many difficulties, that otherwise offer a complete resistance, are easily cleft through.
Wisdom is the director of all forces which can be brought under the control of man. Without intelligent guidance, they cannot become effective for the best ends.
Fuente: The Preacher’s Complete Homiletical Commentary Edited by Joseph S. Exell
2. Foolishness leads to humiliation. Ecc. 10:5-7
TEXT 10:57
5
There is an evil I have seen under the sun, like an error which goes forth from the ruler
6
folly is set in many exalted places while rich men sit in humble places.
7
I have seen slaves riding on horses and princes walking like slaves on the land.
THOUGHT QUESTIONS 10:57
378.
What is the reason given why folly is set in many exalted places?
379.
Where did the error originate?
380.
Identify the two illustrations of folly.
PARAPHRASE 10:57
When the ruler in the land makes a grave mistake, it results in evil doing under the sun. Folly itself is exalted in seats of dignity while the rich men sit in humble seats. Also, as a result of the error I have seen slaves riding on horses, and princes walking on the ground as if they were the slaves.
COMMENT 10:57
Ecc. 10:5 The reader is now given a concrete example of the foolishness of the ruler. When power or authority falls into the hands of unwise men, errors are committed and injustice reigns. In verse four the ruler is a man whose spirit or temper is raised against his subjects. Jerome has erroneously suggested that the Ruler is God. He did not hold that God is capable of error or sin, but that men think his judgments at times are unequal. The context, however, rules out this possibility. Those who argue that God is meant as the Ruler base their reasoning, partly at least, on the fact that the term for ruler in verse four is moshel but in this verse it is shallet. However, one literary technique of Solomon in Ecclesiastes is the interaction of synonyms: e.g., the use of adam lo (man) (Cf. Ecc. 7:20; Ecc. 9:14), and ish lo (man) (Cf. Ecc. 6:2; Ecc. 7:5; Ecc. 9:15). Delitzsch says that the author wished simply to avoid repetition.
Ecc. 10:6-7 Words which capture the sense of both verses are found in Pro. 19:10 : Luxury is not fitting for a fool; much less for a slave to rule over princes. Verses six and seven are intended as an amplification of the truth stated in verse five.
It has been suggested that folly is to be understood as an abstract term for the more concrete fools. Thus the fools are in juxtaposition to the rich. The social order is out of joint. The incongruity is a result of an incompetent ruler (Ecc. 10:4-5). It is not that the Preachers own standard is violated or that His criticism betrays his prejudice. It is undoubtedly a violation of general principle. Folly should not be exalted, and the rich, most likely representing the godly of Israel (Cf. Deu. 15:4) should not be humiliated. In addition, slaves should not rule over princes. The lesson before the reader teaches that when men fail to follow the direction of wisdom, folly reigns and injustice permeates the entire society.
FACT QUESTIONS 10:57
501.
What two things happen when authority falls into the hands of unwise men?
502.
Explain why ruler is not a reference to God.
503.
What has happened to the social order? Is this good? Explain.
504.
Identify the lesson taught in this section.
Fuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series
(5) Error.The word is the same as at Ecc. 10:6.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
5. An evil Koheleth speaks of this as occurring in his day and before his own eyes, (which could hardly have happened in the just reign of Solomon.) As an error, etc. That is, such an outrage as only a despot could perpetrate; such as many a caliph, sultan, and emperor has committed.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Ecc 10:5 There is an evil [which] I have seen under the sun, as an error [which] proceedeth from the ruler:
Ver. 5. As an error which proceedeth from the ruler. ] Or, An ignorance, as Jerome renders it; – so the Septuagint – as a thing unwillingly done. An error, an infirmity it must be called, because committed by great ones; but in true account it is a gross evil, the very pest of virtue and cause of confusion – viz., the advancement of most unworthy and incapable persons, and that for the prince’s pleasure sake, because he will seem absolute. An earl of Kildare was complained of to our Henry VIII, and when his adversary concluded his invective with, Finally, all Ireland cannot rule this earl, the king replied, Then shall this earl rule all Ireland; and so, for his jest sake, made him deputy. a
a Heyl. Geog., p. 506.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Ecc 10:5-7
5There is an evil I have seen under the sun, like an error which goes forth from the ruler6folly is set in many exalted places while rich men sit in humble places. 7I have seen slaves riding on horses and princes walking like slaves on the land.
Ecc 10:5-7 This literary unit also speaks to rulers and the wealthy. As so often in Wisdom Literature, a role reversal occurs (cf. Ecc 9:13-18; Pro 29:2).
Ecc 10:5 I have seen This is a recurrent VERB (BDB 906, KB 1157, used 47 times), which highlights Qoheheth’s method of personal observation. He focuses on wisdom as practical and observable in daily life. He primarily (not exclusively) uses natural revelation instead of special revelation (i.e., Scripture) to make his points.
error This term (BDB 993) implies an inadvertent action or word (e.g., Lev 4:2; Lev 4:22; Lev 4:27).
Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley
evil. Hebrew. ra’a’. App-44.
under the sun. See note on Ecc 1:3.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Ecc 10:5-7
Ecc 10:5-7
“There is an evil which I have seen under the sun, as it were an error which proceedeth from the ruler: folly is set in great dignity, and the rich sit in a low place. I have seen servants upon horses, and princes walking like servants upon the earth.”
The teaching of these verses regards the proper conduct of kings and rulers, who should exercise the greatest care in the choice of men whom they elevate to high office. Rehoboam was guilty of the very error cited here. He chose as his advisors and appointees the senseless young fools with whom he had grown up in Solomon’s harem; and they promptly lost the kingdom.
The very fact of this advice regarding the way king’s should rule would hardly have been addressed by Solomon to any others than to the children and young men of his own harem, another strong indication that Solomon is indeed the author. Adam Clarke cited the government (in England) of Cardinal Woolsey and Thomas a Becket as a wanton violator of what is taught here.
Any government, especially that of an autocratic ruler, that elevates unworthy men to positions of honor and compels the true nobility of the land to stand as their inferiors is headed for disaster. As Clarke said, “Not only have a few sovereigns who did such things had very uncomfortable and troublesome reigns; but some have even lost their lives, or their kingdoms.
Ecc 10:5 The reader is now given a concrete example of the foolishness of the ruler. When power or authority falls into the hands of unwise men, errors are committed and injustice reigns. In verse four the ruler is a man whose spirit or temper is raised against his subjects. Jerome has erroneously suggested that the Ruler is God. He did not hold that God is capable of error or sin, but that men think his judgments at times are unequal. The context, however, rules out this possibility. Those who argue that God is meant as the Ruler base their reasoning, partly at least, on the fact that the term for ruler in verse four is moshel but in this verse it is shallet. However, one literary technique of Solomon in Ecclesiastes is the interaction of synonyms: e.g., the use of adam lo (man) (Cf. Ecc 7:20; Ecc 9:14), and ish lo (man) (Cf. Ecc 6:2; Ecc 7:5; Ecc 9:15). Delitzsch says that the author wished simply to avoid repetition.
Ecc 10:6-7 Words which capture the sense of both verses are found in Pro 19:10 : Luxury is not fitting for a fool; much less for a slave to rule over princes. Verses six and seven are intended as an amplification of the truth stated in verse five.
It has been suggested that folly is to be understood as an abstract term for the more concrete fools. Thus the fools are in juxtaposition to the rich. The social order is out of joint. The incongruity is a result of an incompetent ruler (Ecc 10:4-5). It is not that the Preachers own standard is violated or that His criticism betrays his prejudice. It is undoubtedly a violation of general principle. Folly should not be exalted, and the rich, most likely representing the godly of Israel (Cf. Deu 15:4) should not be humiliated. In addition, slaves should not rule over princes. The lesson before the reader teaches that when men fail to follow the direction of wisdom, folly reigns and injustice permeates the entire society.
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
an evil: Ecc 4:7, Ecc 5:13, Ecc 6:1, Ecc 9:3
as an: Ecc 3:16, Ecc 4:1
from: Heb. from before
Reciprocal: Pro 19:10 – much Pro 26:1 – so Pro 29:2 – when the wicked Ecc 8:14 – a vanity Isa 3:5 – base
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Ecc 10:5-7. There is an evil, &c. I have observed another great vanity and misdemeanour among men; as an error which proceedeth, &c. Or rather, as the Hebrew may be translated, which is indeed an error proceeding from the ruler: for the following erroneous conduct must needs come from those who have power of conferring honour and authority. Folly is set in great dignity Foolish and unworthy persons are frequently advanced by the favour or humour of princes into places of great trust and dignity, which is at once a great reproach to the prince, and a sore calamity to his people. And the rich sit in a low place Wise and worthy men, rich in endowments of the mind, are neglected and despised, or removed from those places to which their merits had raised them. I have seen servants on horses Men of a servile condition and disposition riding in pomp and state as princes; and princes Men of noble birth and qualities, fit to rule a kingdom, walking as servants In a state of poverty and degradation, despised and disregarded.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
10:5 There is an evil [which] I have seen under the sun, as an {d} error [which] proceedeth from the ruler:
(d) Meaning that it is an evil thing when they who are in authority fail and do not do their duty.