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Ecclesiastes
Chapter Four
New King James Version (NKJV)
INTRODUCTION TO ECCLESIASTES 4
In
this chapter the wise man reassumes the consideration of the case of the abuse
of power
to show that there is no happiness in this world
in grandeur and
authority enjoyed; since
as he had observed before
on the one hand
the
oppressor shall be judged and condemned at the great day of account; so
on the
other hand
the oppressed have their lives made so uncomfortable
that the dead
are preferred unto them
and unborn persons to them both
Ecclesiastes 4:1;
Another vanity he observes
that whereas men expect to be happy by their diligence
and industry
this brings upon them the envy of others
Ecclesiastes 4:4;
hence some
on the other hand
place their happiness in sloth and ease
which
is another vanity
Ecclesiastes 4:5;
and others again in covetousness; who are described by their unsocial life
toilsome labour
unsatisfied desires
and withholding good things from
themselves
Ecclesiastes 4:7;
upon which some things are said
to show the benefits of a social life
Ecclesiastes 4:9.
And the chapter is concluded with exposing the vanity of the highest instance
of worldly power and grandeur
royal dignity
through the folly of a king; the
effects of which are mentioned
Ecclesiastes 4:13;
and through the fickleness of the people
who are soon weary of a prince on the
throne
and court his successor
Ecclesiastes 4:15
Ecclesiastes 4:1 Then I returned
and considered all the oppression that is done under the sun: And look! The
tears of the oppressed
But they have no comforter— On the side of their
oppressors there is power
But they have no comforter.
YLT 1And I have turned
and I
see all the oppressions that are done under the sun
and lo
the tear of the
oppressed
and they have no comforter; and at the hand of their oppressors [is]
power
and they have no comforter.
So I returned
and considered all the oppressions that are done
under the sun
.... The wise man
according to Aben Ezra
returned from the
thought
which he had expressed in the latter part of the preceding chapter
that it was good for a man to rejoice in his works
and called it in; since he
could not rejoice
when he considered the oppression and violence that were in
the world; but it does not appear that he did call it in
for he afterwards
repeats it: or rather he returns to his former subject
the abuse of power and
authority
mentioned Ecclesiastes 3:16;
and from whence he had digressed a little by the above observation; and takes a
review of all kinds of oppressions which are done
and of all sorts of
"oppressed"F24העשקים
"oppressos"
Montanus
Junius & Tremellius
Drusius
Schmidt
Rambachius
so Broughton; "fraudatos"
Cocceius. ones
as some render
it
which become so
under the sun; subjects by their prince; the stranger
widow
and fatherless
by unjust judges; the poor by the rich; servants and
labourers by their masters; and the like. Moreover
he saw by the Holy Ghost
as Jarchi paraphrases it
all oppressions by a spirit of prophecy; he foresaw
all the oppressions that would be done under the sun; as all the injuries done
to the people of Israel in their several captivities; so to the church of
Christ in Gospel times; all the persecutions of Rome Pagan
and also of Rome
Papal; all that has or will be done by antichrist
the man of the earth
who
before long will oppress no more
Psalm 10:18; the
Targum restrains these oppressions to those which are done to the righteous in
this world: and it is well observed by the wise man
that they are such as are
under the sun
for there are none above it
nor any beyond the grave
Job 3:17;
and behold the tears of such as were oppressed; which their
eyes poured out
and which ran down their cheeks
and were all they could do
having no power to help themselves: it is in the singular number
"and
behold the tear"F25דמעת
"lachryma"
Montanus
Tigurine version
Cocceius
Rambachius. ; as if
it was one continued stream of tears
which
like a torrent
flowed from them;
or as if they had so exhausted the source of nature by weeping
that the
fountain of tears was dried up
and scarce another could drop; or it was as
much as could be
that another should drop from them: and this the wise man
could not well behold
without weeping himself; it being the property of a good
man to weep with them that weep
especially with good men oppressed;
and they had no comforter; to speak a comfortable
word to them; not so much as to do that which would be some alleviation of
their sorrow
much less to help them
no human comforter; and this is a very
deplorable condition
Lamentations 1:2;
indeed
when this is the case
good men under their oppressions have a divine
Comforter; God comforts them under all their tribulations; one of the names of
the Messiah is "the Consolation of Israel"
Luke 2:25; and the
Spirit of God is "another Comforter"
John 14:16; and
such are well off
when all other comforters are miserable ones
or other men
have none;
and on the side of their oppressors there was power; to crush them
and keep them under
or to hinder others from helping or comforting them: or
there was no "power to deliver them out of the hand of their
oppressors"F26ומיד עשקיהם כח "et quia deest
facultas se vindicandi e manu opprimentium ipsos"
Tigurine version;
"aut evadendi e manu opprimentium se virtus"
Junius &
Tremellius; "nec vires ad evadendum a manu opprimentium ipsos"
Piscator. ; so some render and supply the words; with which sense agrees the
Targum
"and
there is none to redeem them out of the hand of their oppressors
by strength
of hand and by power.'
It
may be rendered
"out of the hand of their oppressors comes
power"
or violence; such as the oppressed are not able to withstand; so
the Arabic version;
but they had no comforter: which is repeated
not
so much for confirmation
as to excite attention and pity
and to express the
affliction of the oppressed
and the cruelty of others; and this following on
the other clause
leads to observe
that the power of the oppressor is what
hinders and deters others from comforting. Jarchi interprets this whole verse
of the damned in hell
punished for their evil works
weeping for their souls
oppressed by the destroying angels; and so
he says
it is
explained in an
ancient book of theirs
called Siphri.
Ecclesiastes 4:2 2 Therefore
I praised the dead who were already dead
More than the living who are still
alive.
YLT 2And I am praising the dead
who have already died above the living who are yet alive.
Wherefore I praised the dead
which are already dead
.... Truly and
properly so; not in a figurative sense
as dead sinners
men dead in trespasses
and sins; nor carnal professors
that have a name to live
and are dead; nor in
a civil sense
such as are in calamity and distress
as the Jews in captivity
or in any affliction
which is sometimes called death: but such who are dead in
a literal and natural sense
really and thoroughly dead; not who may and will
certainly die
but who are dead already and in their graves
and not all these;
not the wicked dead
who are in hell
in everlasting torments; but the
righteous dead
who are taken away from the evil to come
and are free from all
the oppressions of their enemies
sin
Satan
and the world. The Targum is
"I
praised those that lie down or are asleep
who
behold
are now dead;'
a
figure by which death is often expressed
both in the Old and New Testament;
sleep being
as the poetF1"Stulte
quid est semnus gelidae nisi
mortis imago?" Ovid. Plato in Ciceron. Tuscul. Quaest. l. 1. c. 58. says
the image of death; and a great likeness there is between them; HomerF2Iliad.
16. v. 672
682. Vid. Pausan. Laconica
sive l. 3. p. 195. calls sleep and
death twins. The same paraphrase adds
"and
see not the vengeance which comes upon the world after their death;'
see
Isaiah 57:1. The
wise man did not make panegyrics or encomiums on those persons
but he
pronounced them happy; he judged them in his own mind to be so; and to be much
more happy
than the living which are yet alive: that live under the
oppression of others; that live in this world in trouble until now
as the Targum;
of whom it is as much as it can be said that they are alive; they are just
alive
and that is all; they are as it were between life and death. This is
generally understood as spoken according to human sense
and the judgment of
the flesh
without any regard to the glory and happiness of the future state;
that the dead must be preferred to the living
when the quiet of the one
and
the misery of the other
are observed; and which sense receives confirmation
from Ecclesiastes 4:3
otherwise it is a great truth
that the righteous dead
who die in Christ and
are with him
are much more happy than living saints; since they are freed from
sin; are out of the reach of Satan's temptations; are no more liable to
darkness and desertions; are freed from all doubts and fears; cease from all
their labours
toil
and trouble; and are delivered from all afflictions
persecutions
and oppressions; which is not the case of living saints: and
besides
the joys which they possess
the company they are always in
and the
work they are employed about
give them infinitely the preference to all on
earth; see Revelation 14:13.
Ecclesiastes 4:3 3 Yet
better than both is he who has never existed
Who has not seen the evil
work that is done under the sun.
YLT 3And better than both of
them [is] he who hath not yet been
in that he hath not seen the evil work that
hath been done under the sun.
Yea
better is he than both they which hath not yet been
.... That is
an unborn person; who is preferred both to the dead that have seen oppression
and to the living that are under it; see Job 3:10. This
supposes a person to be that never was
a mere nonentity; and the judgment made
is according to sense
and regards the dead purely as such
and so as free from
evils and sorrows
without any respect to their future state and condition; for
otherwise an unborn person is not happier than the dead that die in Christ
and
live with him: and it can only be true of those that perish
of whom indeed it
might be said
that it would have been better for them if they had never been
born
according to those words of Christ
Matthew 26:24; and
is opposed to the maxim of some philosophers
that a miserable being is better
than none at all. The Jews
from this passage
endeavour to prove the
pre-existence of human souls
and suppose that such an one is here meant
which
though created
was not yet sent into this world in a body
and so had
never seen evil and sorrow; and this way some Christian writers have gone. It
has been interpreted also of the Messiah
who in Solomon's time had not yet
been a man
and never known sorrow
which he was to do
and has
and so more
happy than the dead or living. But these are senses that will not bear; the
first is best; and the design is to show the great unhappiness of mortals
that
even a nonentity is preferred to them;
who hath not seen the evil work that is done under the sun? the evil
works of oppressors
and the sorrows of the oppressed.
Ecclesiastes 4:4 4 Again
I saw that for all toil and every skillful work a man is envied by his
neighbor. This also is vanity and grasping for the wind.
YLT 4And I have seen all the
labour
and all the benefit of the work
because for it a man is the envy of
his neighbour. Even this [is] vanity and vexation of spirit.
Again I considered all travail
and every right work
.... The pains
that men take to do right works. Some apply themselves
with great diligence
and industry
to the study of the liberal arts and sciences; and to attain the
knowledge of languages; and to writing books
for the improvement of those
things
and the good of mankind: and others employ themselves in mechanic arts
and excel in them
and bring their works to great perfection and accuracy; when
they might expect to be praised and commended
and have thanks given them by
men. But instead thereof
so it is
that for this a man is envied of his neighbour; who will be
sure to find fault with what he has done
speak contemptibly of him and his
work
and traduce him among men. This is also true of moral works; which are
right
when done from a right principle
from love to God
in faith
and with a
view to the glory of God; and which when done
and ever so well done
draw upon
a man the envy of the wicked
as may be observed in the case of Cain and Abel
1 John 3:12; though
some understand this
not passively
of the envy which is brought upon a man
and he endures
for the sake of the good he excels in; but actively
of the
spirit of emulation with which he does it; though the work he does
as to the
matter of it
is right; yet the manner of doing it
and the spirit with which
he does it
are wrong; he does not do it with any good affection to the thing
itself
nor with any good design
only from a spirit of emulation to outdo his
neighbour: so the Targum paraphrases it
"this
is the emulation that a man emulates his neighbour
to do as he; if he emulates
him to do good
the heavenly Word does good to him; but if he emulates him to
do evil
the heavenly Word does evil to him;'
and
to this sense Jarchi; compare with this
Philemon 1:15.
This is also vanity
and vexation of spirit; whether it be
understood in the one sense or the other; how dissatisfying and vexatious is
it
when a man has taken a great deal of pains to do right works for public
good
instead of having thanks and praise
is reproached and calumniated for
it? and if he does a right thing
and yet has not right ends and views in it
it stands for nothing; it has only the appearance of good
but is not truly so
and yields no solid peace and comfort.
Ecclesiastes 4:5 5 The
fool folds his hands And consumes his own flesh.
YLT 5The fool is clasping his
hands
and eating his own flesh:
The fool foldeth his hands together
.... In order to get more
sleep
or as unwilling to work; so the Targum adds
"he
folds his hands in summer
and will not labour;'
see
Proverbs 6:10. Some
persons
to escape the envy which diligence and industry bring on men
will not
work at all
or do any right work
and think to sleep in a whole skin; this is
great folly and madness indeed:
and eateth his own flesh; such a man is starved
and famished for want of food
so that his flesh is wasted away; or he is so
hungry bitten
that he is ready to eat his own flesh; or he hereby brings to
ruin his family
his wife
and children
which are his own flesh
Isaiah 58:7. The
Targum is
"in
winter he eats all he has
even the covering of the skin of his flesh.'
Some
understand this of the envious man
who is a fool
traduces the diligent and
industrious
and will not work himself; and not only whose idleness brings want
and poverty on him as an armed man
but whose envy eats up his spirit
and is
rottenness in his bones
Proverbs 6:11. Jarchi
out of a book of theirs called Siphri
interprets this of a wicked man in hell
when he sees the righteous in glory
and he himself judged and condemned.
Ecclesiastes 4:6 6 Better
a handful with quietness Than both hands full
together with toil
and grasping for the wind.
YLT 6`Better [is] a handful
[with] quietness
than two handfuls [with] labour and vexation of spirit.'
Better is a handful with quietness
.... These are
the words of the fool
according to Aben Ezra; and which is the sense of other
interpreters
particularly Mr. Broughton
who connects this verse with Ecclesiastes 4:5 by
adding at the end of that the word "saying"; making an excuse or an
apology for himself and conduct
from the use and profitableness of his sloth;
that little had with ease
and without toil and labour
is much better
than both the hands full with travail and vexation of
spirit; than large possessions gotten with a great deal of trouble
and
enjoyed with much vexation and uneasiness; in which he mistakes slothful ease
for true quietness; calls honest labour and industry travail and vexation; and
supposes that true contentment lies in the enjoyment of little
and cannot be
had where there is much; whereas it is to be found in a good man in every
state: or else these words express the true sentiments of Solomon's mind
steering between the two extremes of slothfulness
and too toilsome labour to
be rich; that it is much more eligible to have a competency
though it is but
small
with a good conscience
with tranquillity of mind
with the love and
fear of God
and a contented heart
than to have a large estate
with great
trouble and fatigue in getting and keeping it
especially with discontent and
uneasiness; and this agrees with what the wise man says elsewhere
Proverbs 15:16. The
Targum is
"better
to a man is a handful of food with quietness of soul
and without robbery and
rapine
than two handfuls of food with robbery and rapine;'
or
with what is gotten in an ill way.
Ecclesiastes 4:7 7 Then
I returned
and I saw vanity under the sun:
YLT 7And I have turned
and I
see a vain thing under the sun:
Then I returned
and I saw vanity under the sun. Another vanity
besides what he had taken notice of
and is as follows. Aben Ezra's note is
"I
turned from considering the words of this fool
and I saw another fool
the reverse
of the former.'
Ecclesiastes 4:8 8 There
is one alone
without companion: He has neither son nor brother. Yet there
is no end to all his labors
Nor is his eye satisfied with riches.
But he never asks
“For whom do I toil and deprive
myself of good?” This also is vanity and a grave misfortune.
YLT 8There is one
and there is
not a second; even son or brother he hath not
and there is no end to all his
labour! His eye also is not satisfied with riches
and [he saith not]
`For
whom am I labouring and bereaving my soul of good?' This also is vanity
it is
a sad travail.
There is one alone
and there is not a second
.... According
to Aben Ezra
either no friend or companion
or no servant
or no wife
which
last sense he prefers; no friend or companion he chooses
because friendship
and fellowship lead to expenses; and no servant who would be chargeable to him;
and no wife
which would be more expensive
and bring on a family of children;
wherefore
to save charges
he chooses to have neither of these; for this is a
covetous man who is here desert bed;
yea
he hath neither child nor brother; to inherit
his substance
as the Targum adds; some worldly men
whose bellies are filled
with hidden treasures
having enjoyed much
when they die
leave the rest of
their substance to their babes; but the man here described has no children
nor
any relations to leave his wealth unto;
yet is there no end of all his labour; when he has
executed one scheme to get riches
he forms another; and having finished one work
he enters upon another; he rises early and sits up late
and works and toils
night and day
as if he was not worth a dollar
and had a large and numerous
family to provide for; or there is no end of what he labours for
or gets by
his labour; there is no end of his treasures
Isaiah 2:7; he is
immensely rich
so Aben Ezra interprets it;
neither is his eye satisfied with riches: with seeing
his bags of gold and silver
though he takes a great deal of sure in looking
upon them too
without making use of them; yet he is not satisfied with what he
has
he wants more
he enlarges his desire as hell
and like the grave never
has enough; see Ecclesiastes 5:10;
neither saith he
for whom do I labour? having
neither wife nor child
nor relation
nor friend
and yet so wretchedly stupid
and thoughtless as never once to put this question to himself
Who am I toiling
for? I am heaping up riches
and know not who shall gather them; it is a
vexation to a worldly man to leave his substance behind him
and even to a man
that has an heir to inherit it
when he knows not whether he will be a wise man
or a fool; but for a man that has no heir at all
and yet to be toiling and
labouring for the world
is gross stupidity
downright madness
and especially
when he deprives himself of the comfort of what he is possessed of;
and bereave my soul of good? instead of richly
enjoying what is given him
he withholds it from himself
starves his back and
belly
lives in pinching want amidst the greatest plenty; has not power to eat
of what he has
and his soul desireth; see Ecclesiastes 6:2.
This is also vanity
yea
it is a sore travail; a very vain
and wicked thing; "an evil business"
as it may be rendered; a very
great sin and folly indeed; it is thought by some divines to be the worst
species of covetousness
most cruel and unnatural.
Ecclesiastes 4:9 9 Two
are better than one
Because they have a good reward for their labor.
YLT 9The two [are] better than
the one
in that they have a good reward by their labour.
Two are better than one
.... The wise man takes
occasion
from the solitariness Of the covetous man before described
to show
in this and some following verses the preferableness and advantages of social
life; which
as it holds true in things natural and civil
so in things
spiritual and religious; man is a sociable creature
was made to be so; and it
was the judgment of God
which is according to truth
and who can never err
that it was not good for man to be alone
Genesis 2:18. It is
best to take a wife
or at least to have a friend or companion
more or less to
converse with. Society is preferable to solitariness; conversation with a friend
is better than to be always alone; the Targum is
"two
righteous men in a generation are better than one;'
such
may be helpful to each other in their counsels and comforts
and mutual aids
and assistances in things temporal and spiritual. The Midrash interprets this
of the study in the law together
and of two that trade together
which is
better than studying or trading separately;
because they have a good reward for their labour; the pleasure
and profit they have in each other's company and conversation; in religious
societies
though there is a labour in attendance on public worship
in praying
and conferring together
in serving one another in love
and bearing one
another's burdens
yet they have a good reward in it all; they have the presence
of Christ with them
for
where two or three are met together in his name
he
is with them; and whatsoever two of them agree to ask in his name they have it;
and if two of them converse together about spiritual things
it is much if he
does not make a third with them; besides they have a great deal of pleasure in
each other's company
and much profit in their mutual instructions
advices
and reproofs; they sharpen each other's countenances
quicken and comfort each
other's souls
establish one another in divine truth
and strengthen each
other's hands and hearts.
Ecclesiastes 4:10 10 For
if they fall
one will lift up his companion. But woe to him who is
alone when he falls
For he has no one to help him up.
YLT 10For if they fall
the one
raiseth up his companion
but wo to the one who falleth and there is not a
second to raise him up!
For if they fall
the one will lift up his fellow
.... That is
if anyone of them fall
the other will lift him up
as they are travelling
together
in whatsoever manner; if one falls from his horse
or out of his
carriage
or into a ditch
the other will endeavour to raise him up again:
this
as it is true in a natural
so in a figurative and metaphorical sense
with religious persons especially;
"if
one of them falls upon the bed
and lies sick
'
as
the Targum paraphrases it
his friend and brother in a religions community will
visit him
and sympathize with him
and speak a word of comfort to him
and
pray with him
which may issue in his restoration. So the Targum
"the
other will cause his friend to rise by his prayer;'
or
if he fall into outward distress
poverty
and want
his spiritual friend or
friends will distribute to his necessity; if he falls into errors
as a good
man may
such as are of the same religious society with him will take some
pains to convince him of the error of his way
and to convert him from it
and
to save a soul from death
and cover a multitude of sins; and if he falls into
sin
to which the best of men are liable
such as are spiritual will endeavour
to restore him in a spirit of meekness;
but woe to him that is alone when he falleth! for he
hath not another to help him up; no companion to raise
him up when fallen; no Christian friend to visit and comfort him when sick
to
relieve him under his necessities
when poor and afflicted
or to recover him
from errors in judgment
or immoralities in practice; and especially if he has
not Christ with him to raise him up
keep
and uphold him.
Ecclesiastes 4:11 11 Again
if two lie down together
they will keep warm; But how can one be warm alone?
YLT 11Also
if two lie down
then
they have heat
but how hath one heat?
Again
if two lie together
then they have heat
.... The
Targum adds
in the winter; when it is a cold season
they warm one another by
lying together. The Targum interprets it of a man and his wife; it is true of
others; see 1 Kings 1:1;
but how can one be warm alone? not soon
nor
easily
in time of cold weather. This is true in a spiritual sense of persons
in a Christian communion and religious society; when they are grown cold in
their love
lukewarm in their affections
and backward and indifferent to
spiritual exercises
yet by Christian conversation may be stirred up to love
and good works: so two cold flints struck against each other
fire comes out of
them; and even two cold Christians
when they come to talk with each other
about spiritual things
and feel one another's spirits
they presently glow in
their affections to each other
and to divine things; and especially if Christ
joins them with his presence
as he did the two disciples going to Emmaus
then
their hearts burn within them.
Ecclesiastes 4:12 12 Though
one may be overpowered by another
two can withstand him. And a threefold cord
is not quickly broken.
YLT 12And if the one strengthen
himself
the two stand against him; and the threefold cord is not hastily
broken.
And if one prevail against him
two shall withstand him
.... If an
enemy
or a thief
or a robber
attack anyone of them
in friendship and
fellowship together
and is more than a match for him; both joined together
will be able to resist him; so that he shall not succeed in his enterprise
and
do the mischief he designed; see 2 Samuel 10:11;
Thus
when Satan attacks a single believer
which he chooses to do when alone;
so he tempted Eve in the garden
and Christ in the wilderness; and one or more
fellow Christians know of it
they are capable of helping their tempted friend
by their advice and counsel
they not being ignorant of Satan's devices; and by
striving together in their prayers to God for him: so when false teachers make
their efforts
as they usually do
Satan like
upon the weaker sex
and
when
alone
they too often succeed; but when saints stand fast in one spirit
and
strive together for the faith of the Gospel
they stand their ground
withstand
the enemy
and maintain truth;
and a threefold cord is not quickly broken; or "in
haste"F3במהרה "in
festinatia"
Montanus; "in celeritate"
Vatablus; "in
festinatione"
Rambachius. ; as two are better than one
so three or more
united together
it is the better still; they are able to make head against an
enemy; and to conquer him
"vis unita fortior est": if a family
community
city
or kingdom
are divided against themselves
they cannot stand;
but
if united
in all probability nothing can hurt them. This doctrine is
taught in the fable of the bundle of sticks the old man gave to his sons to
break; which
while fastened together
could not be done; but
when art bound
and took out singly
were easily snapped asunder; teaching them thereby unity among
themselves
as their greatest security against their common enemy. The same
instruction is given by this threefold cord; while it remains twisted together
it is not easily broke
but if the threads are untwisted and unloosed
they are
soon snapped asunder: so persons in religious fellowship
be they more or
fewer
while they keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace
they are
terrible
as an army with banners
and the gates of hell cannot prevail against
them. And if this is true of the united love and affections of saints
it must
be much more so of the love of Father
Son
and Spirit; that threefold cord
with which the saints are drawn and held; and of which it may be said
that it
not only is not quickly broken
but that it cannot be broken at all; and
therefore those who are held by it are in the utmost safety. Some apply this to
the three principal graces
faith
hope
and love
which are abiding ones; and
though they may sometimes be weak and low in their acts and exercise
can never
be lost.
Ecclesiastes 4:13 13 Better
a poor and wise youth Than an old and foolish king who will be admonished no
more.
YLT 13Better is a poor and wise
youth than an old and foolish king
who hath not known to be warned any more.
Better is a poor and a wise child than an old and foolish
king
.... The wise man proceeds to show the vanity of worldly power
and dignity
in the highest instance of it
which is kingly; and
in order to
illustrate and exemplify this
he supposes
on the one hand
a person possessed
of royal honour; who has long enjoyed it
is settled in his kingdom
and
advanced in years; and who otherwise
for his gravity and dignity
would be
venerable; but that he is foolish
a person of a mean genius and small
capacity; has but little knowledge of government
or but little versed in the
arts of it
though he has held the reins of it long in his hand; and
which is
worst of all
is vicious and wicked: on the other hand
he supposes one that is
in his tender years
not yet arrived to manhood; and so may be thought to be
giddy and inexperienced
and therefore taken but little notice of; and
especially being poor
becomes contemptible
as well as labours under the
disadvantage of a poor education; his parents poor
and he not able to get
books and masters to teach him knowledge; nor to travel abroad to see the
world
and make his observations on men and things; and yet being wise
having
a good genius
which he improves in the best manner he can
to his own profit
and to make himself useful in the world; and especially if he is wise and
knowing in the best things
and fears God
and serves him; he is more happy
in
his present state and circumstances
than the king before described is in his
and is fitter to take his place
and be a king
than he is; for though he is
young
yet wise
and improving in knowledge
and willing to be advised and
counselled by others
older and wiser than himself; he is much to be preferred
to one that is old and foolish;
who will no more be admonished; or
"knows not to
be admonished any more"F4לא ידע להזהר עוד
"non novit moneri adhuc"
Montanus; "nescit admoneri
amplius"
Junius & Tremellius
Piscator
Drusius
Rambachius. : he
neither knows how to give nor take advice; he is impatient of all counsel;
cannot bear any admonition; is stubborn and self-willed
and resolved to take
his own way. The Jews
in their Midrash
Jarchi
and others
interpret it
allegorically
of the good and evil imagination in men
the principle of grace
and the corruption of nature; the one is the new man
the other the old man;
the new man is better than old Adam: the Targum applies it to Abraham and
Nimrod; the former is the poor and wise child
that feared God
and worshipped
him early; the latter
the old and foolish king
who was an idolater
and
refused to be admonished of his idolatry; and so the Midrash.
Ecclesiastes 4:14 14 For
he comes out of prison to be king
Although he was born poor in his kingdom.
YLT 14For from a house of
prisoners he hath come out to reign
for even in his own kingdom he hath been
poor.
For out of prison he cometh to reign
.... That is
this is sometimes the case of a poor and wise child; he rises out of a low
mean
abject
obscure state and condition
to the highest dignity; from a
prison house
or a place where servants are
to sit among princes
and even to
have the supreme authority: so Joseph
to whose case Solomon is thought to have
respect
and which is mentioned in the Midrash; who was but a young man
and
poor and friendless
but wise; and was even laid in prison
though innocent and
guiltless
from whence he was fetched
and became the second man in the kingdom
of Egypt; so David
the youngest of Jesse's sons
was taken from the sheepfold
and set upon the throne of Israel: though GussetiusF5Ebr. Comment.
p. 553. interprets this of the old and foolish king
who comes out of the house
or family
הסודים
of degenerate persons
as he
translates the word
with a degenerate genius to rule; the allusion being to a
degenerate vine; which sense agrees with Ecclesiastes 4:13
and with what follows;
whereas also he that is born in his kingdom becometh poor; who is born
of royal parents
born to a kingdom; is by birth heir to one
has it by
inheritance
and has long possessed it; and yet
by his own misconduct
or by
the rebellion of his subjects
he is dethroned and banished; or by a foreign
power is taken and carried captive
and reduced to the utmost poverty
as
Zedekiah
Nebuchadnezzar
and others: or if born poor
so Gussetius; with a
poor genius
not capable of ruling
and so loses his kingdom
and comes to
poverty. Or it may be rendered
"although in his kingdom he is born
poor"F6כי גם
"quamvis etiam"
Gejerus. ; that is
though the poor and wise child
is born poor in the kingdom of the old and foolish king; yet
out of this low
estate
in which he is by birth
he comes and enjoys the kingdom in his room to
such a strange turn of affairs are the highest honours subject: or
"for
in his kingdom he is born poor"F7"Nam etiam"
Tigurine version
Cocceius; "quia etiam"
Pagninus
Montanus
Schmidt
Rambachius
so Aben Ezra. ; even the person that is born heir to a
crown is born a poor man; he comes as naked out of his mother's womb as the
poorest man does; the conditions of both are equal as to birth; and therefore
it need not seem strange that one out of prison should come to a kingdom. But
the first sense seems best.
Ecclesiastes 4:15 15 I
saw all the living who walk under the sun; They were with the second youth who
stands in his place.
YLT 15I have seen all the living
who are walking under the sun
with the second youth who doth stand in his
place;
I considered all the living which walk under the sun
.... All men
that were then alive
who were capable of walking upon the earth; even all of
them that were under the heavens
in every land and nation
under whatsoever
dominion or government: these
and their manners
Solomon had particularly
observed
and made his remarks upon
by which it appeared how fickle the minds
of the populace were under every government
and how precarious and uncertain
were the honour and dignity of princes;
with the second child that shall stand up in his stead: the heir and
successor or every prince
that shall rise up and take the throne of his father
or predecessor
and reign in his stead. The wise man observed how the people
commonly behaved towards him; how that they generally stood best affected to
him
than to the reigning prince; worshipped the rising sun
courted his favour
and friendship
soothed and flattered him; expressing their wishes to see him
on the throne
and treated with neglect and contempt their lawful sovereign.
Some
contrary to the accents
connect this with the word "walk"F8So
the Tigurine version
Vatablus
Cocceius
Gejerus. ; that walk with the second
child
join themselves to him
converse with him
and show him great respect
and honour: and there are others that
by this second child
understand the
poor and wise child
that succeeds the old and foolish king
whom yet
in time
the people grow weary of; such is the levity and inconstancy of people
that
they are not long pleased with princes
old or young
wise or foolish. The
Targum interprets this of the foresight Solomon had
by a spirit of prophecy
of those that rebelled against his son Rehoboam
and of those that cleaved unto
him
who was his second
and reigned in his stead. NoldiusF9Concord.
Part. Ebr. No. 1023. thinks Solomon refers to the history of his friend Hiram
king of Tyre
whose kingdom
in his and in his son's time
was very large
flourishing
and opulent
but in a following reign not so; and he renders and
paraphrases the words thus
""I
saw all the works under the sun; with Baleazarus
the son of a
friend" (Hiram
for שני
rendered
"second"
is the same as חבר
"a
friend")
"who shall stand" or "reign after him: there is
no end of all the people"
' &c.
the
kingdom in those two reigns being flourishing; yet posterity shall not rejoice
in him
in Abdastratus
the grandson of Hiram
destroyed by the four sons of
his nurseF11Meander apud Joseph. Contr. Apion. l. 1. s. 18. .
Ecclesiastes 4:16 16 There was no end of all the people
over whom he was made king; Yet those who come afterward will not rejoice in
him. Surely this also is vanity and grasping for the wind.
YLT 16there is no end to all the
people
to all who were before them; also
the latter rejoice not in him.
Surely this also is vanity and vexation of spirit.
There is no end of all
the people
even of all that have been before them
.... Before
the present generation
the living that walked under the sun; a vast number
they were that lived before them
and they were of the same restless temper and
disposition; changeable in their affection and behaviour towards their
governors; no end of their number
nor any stable affection for
nor settled
satisfaction in
their rulers; but this itch of novelty
of having new princes
over them
went from age to age
from generation to generation. Some understand
this of the king and his son
the predecessor and successor
and of those that
went before them; and of their behaviour to the kings that reigned before them;
the people have not their end or satisfaction in their governors
but are restless:
which comes to the same sense;
they also that come after shall not rejoice in him; that come
after the present generation
and after both the reigning prince
and even
after his successor; they will not rejoice long in him that shall be upon the
throne after them
any more than the present subjects of the old king
or those
that now pay their court to the heir apparent; they will be so far from
rejoicing in him
that they will loath and despise him
and wish him dead or
dethroned
and another in his room.
Surely this also is vanity and vexation of spirit; to a king
to
see himself thus used by his subjects; for a short time extolled and praised
and then despised and forsaken.
──《John Gill’s
Exposition of the Bible》