Verse (Click for Chapter) New International Version Blessed is the land whose king is of noble birth and whose princes eat at a proper time— for strength and not for drunkenness. New Living Translation Happy is the land whose king is a noble leader and whose leaders feast at the proper time to gain strength for their work, not to get drunk. English Standard Version Happy are you, O land, when your king is the son of the nobility, and your princes feast at the proper time, for strength, and not for drunkenness! Berean Standard Bible Blessed are you, O land whose king is a son of nobles, and whose princes feast at the proper time—for strength and not for drunkenness. King James Bible Blessed art thou, O land, when thy king is the son of nobles, and thy princes eat in due season, for strength, and not for drunkenness! New King James Version Blessed are you, O land, when your king is the son of nobles, And your princes feast at the proper time— For strength and not for drunkenness! New American Standard Bible Blessed are you, land whose king is of nobility, and whose princes eat at the appropriate time—for strength and not for drunkenness. NASB 1995 Blessed are you, O land, whose king is of nobility and whose princes eat at the appropriate time— for strength and not for drunkenness. NASB 1977 Blessed are you, O land, whose king is of nobility and whose princes eat at the appropriate time—for strength, and not for drunkenness. Legacy Standard Bible Blessed are you, O land, whose king is of nobility and whose princes eat at the appropriate time—for might and not for drinking. Amplified Bible Blessed [prosperous and admired] are you, O land, when your king is a man of noble birth, and your princes and officials feast at the proper time—for strength and not for drunkenness. Christian Standard Bible Blessed are you, land, when your king is a son of nobles and your princes feast at the proper time — for strength and not for drunkenness. Holman Christian Standard Bible Blessed are you, land, when your king is a son of nobles and your princes feast at the proper time— for strength and not for drunkenness. American Standard Version Happy art thou, O land, when thy king is the son of nobles, and thy princes eat in due season, for strength, and not for drunkenness! Aramaic Bible in Plain English Your blessing, oh city, when your King is a son of the free and your Princes in their time eat with diligence and not with drunkenness! Brenton Septuagint Translation Blessed art thou, O land, whose king is a son of nobles, and whose princes shall eat seasonably, for strength, and shall not be ashamed. Contemporary English Version But a nation will prosper when its ruler is mature, and its leaders don't party too much. Douay-Rheims Bible Blessed is the land, whose king is noble, and whose princes eat in due season for refreshment, and not for riotousness. English Revised Version Happy art thou, O land, when thy king is the son of nobles, and thy princes eat in due season, for strength, and not for drunkenness! GOD'S WORD® Translation A country is blessed when the king is from a noble family and when the high officials eat at the right time in order to get strength and not to get drunk. Good News Translation But a country is fortunate to have a king who makes his own decisions and leaders who eat at the proper time, who control themselves and don't get drunk. International Standard Version That land is blessed whose king is of noble birth, whose princes feast at the right time, for strength, and not to become drunk. JPS Tanakh 1917 Happy art thou, O land, when thy king is a free man, And thy princes eat in due season, In strength, and not in drunkenness! Literal Standard Version Blessed are you, O land, | When your king [is] a son of nobles, | And your princes eat in due season, | For might, and not for drunkenness. Majority Standard Bible Blessed are you, O land whose king is a son of nobles, and whose princes feast at the proper time—for strength and not for drunkenness. New American Bible Happy are you, O land, whose king is of noble birth, and whose princes dine at the right time— for vigor and not in drinking bouts. NET Bible Blessed are you, O land, when your king is the son of nobility, and your princes feast at the proper time--with self-control and not in drunkenness. New Revised Standard Version Happy are you, O land, when your king is a nobleman, and your princes feast at the proper time— for strength, and not for drunkenness! New Heart English Bible Blessed are you, land, when your king is the son of nobles, and your princes eat in due season, for strength, and not for drunkenness. Webster's Bible Translation Blessed art thou, O land, when thy king is the son of nobles, and thy princes eat in due season, for strength, and not for drunkenness! World English Bible Happy are you, land, when your king is the son of nobles, and your princes eat in due season, for strength, and not for drunkenness! Young's Literal Translation Happy art thou, O land, When thy king is a son of freemen, And thy princes do eat in due season, For might, and not for drunkenness. Additional Translations ... Audio Bible Context Wisdom and Folly…16Woe to you, O land whose king is a youth, and whose princes feast in the morning. 17Blessed are you, O land whose king is a son of nobles, and whose princes feast at the proper time— for strength and not for drunkenness. 18Through laziness the roof caves in, and in the hands of the idle, the house leaks.… Cross References Proverbs 31:4 It is not for kings, O Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine, or for rulers to crave strong drink, Isaiah 5:11 Woe to those who rise early in the morning in pursuit of strong drink, who linger into the evening, to be inflamed by wine. Treasury of Scripture Blessed are you, O land, when your king is the son of nobles, and your princes eat in due season, for strength, and not for drunkenness! when Ecclesiastes 10:6,7 Folly is set in great dignity, and the rich sit in low place… Proverbs 28:2,3 For the transgression of a land many are the princes thereof: but by a man of understanding and knowledge the state thereof shall be prolonged… Jeremiah 30:21 And their nobles shall be of themselves, and their governor shall proceed from the midst of them; and I will cause him to draw near, and he shall approach unto me: for who is this that engaged his heart to approach unto me? saith the LORD. and thy Proverbs 31:4,5 It is not for kings, O Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine; nor for princes strong drink: … Jump to Previous Appropriate Blessed Chiefs Drunkenness Due Eat Feast Feasting Food Free Freemen Happy Nobility Noble Nobles Princes Proper Right Ruler Season Strength TimeJump to Next Appropriate Blessed Chiefs Drunkenness Due Eat Feast Feasting Food Free Freemen Happy Nobility Noble Nobles Princes Proper Right Ruler Season Strength TimeEcclesiastes 10 1. observations of wisdom and folly7. death in life 9. and the day of judgment in the days of youth, are to be thought on Verse 17. - Blessed art thou, O land, when thy king is the son of nobles! cujus rex nobilis est (Vulgate), υἱὸς ἐλευθέρων, "son of free men" (Septuagint). Some would regard "son of nobles" as a periphrasis expressive of character, equivalent to the Latin generous, as "son of strength," equivalent to "strong man;" "son of wickedness," equivalent to "wicked man;" but the phrase may well be taken literally. Koheleth (ver. 7) has expressed his disgust at the exaltation of unworthy slaves to high positions; he here intimates his adherence to the idea that those who descend from noble ancestors, and have been educated in the higher ranks of society, are more likely to prove a blessing to their land than upstarts who have been placed by caprice or favoritism in situations of trust and eminence. Of course, it is not universally true that men of high birth make good rulers; but proverbs of general tenor must not be pressed in particulars, and the author must be understood to affirm that the fact of having distinguished ancestors is an incentive to right action, stirs a worthy emulation in a man, gives him a motive which is wanting in the lowborn parvenu. The feeling, noblesse oblige, has preserved many from baseness (comp. John 8:39). Thy princes eat in due season; not like those mentioned in ver. 16, but in tempore, πρὸς καιρόν, at the right time, the "season" which appertains to all mundane things (Ecclesiastes 3:1-8). For strength, and net for drunkenness. The preposition here is taken as expressing the object - they eat to gain strength, not to indulge sensuality; but it is more in accordance with usage to translate "in, or with, manly strength," i.e. as man's strength demands, and not degenerating into a carouse. If it is thought incongruous, as Ginsburg deems, to say, "princes eat for drunkenness," we may take drunkenness as denoting excess of any kind The word in the form here used occurs nowhere else. The Septuagint, regarding rather the consequences of intoxication than the actual word in the text, renders, Καὶ οὐκ αἰσχυνθήσονται, "And they shall not be ashamed." Thus, too, St. Jerome, Et non in confusione. St. Augustine ('De Civit.,' 17:20) deduces from this passage that there are two kingdoms - that of Christ and that of the devil, and he explains the allegory at some length, going into details which are of homiletic utility. Another interpretation is given by St. Jerome, quoted at length by Corn. a Lapide, in his copious commentary. Parallel Commentaries ... Hebrew Blessed are you,אַשְׁרֵ֣יךְ (’aš·rêḵ) Interjection | second person feminine singular Strong's 835: Happiness, interjection, how happy! O land אֶ֔רֶץ (’e·reṣ) Noun - feminine singular Strong's 776: Earth, land whose king שֶׁמַּלְכֵּ֖ךְ (šem·mal·kêḵ) Pronoun - relative | Noun - masculine singular construct | second person feminine singular Strong's 4428: A king is a son בֶּן־ (ben-) Noun - masculine singular construct Strong's 1121: A son of nobles, חוֹרִ֑ים (ḥō·w·rîm) Noun - masculine plural Strong's 2715: White, pure, noble and whose princes וְשָׂרַ֙יִךְ֙ (wə·śā·ra·yiḵ) Conjunctive waw | Noun - masculine plural construct | second person feminine singular Strong's 8269: Chieftain, chief, ruler, official, captain, prince feast יֹאכֵ֔לוּ (yō·ḵê·lū) Verb - Qal - Imperfect - third person masculine plural Strong's 398: To eat at the proper time— בָּעֵ֣ת (bā·‘êṯ) Preposition-b, Article | Noun - common singular Strong's 6256: Time, now, when [to be] strong בִּגְבוּרָ֖ה (biḡ·ḇū·rāh) Preposition-b | Noun - feminine singular Strong's 1369: Force, valor, victory rather than וְלֹ֥א (wə·lō) Conjunctive waw | Adverb - Negative particle Strong's 3808: Not, no to become drunk. בַשְּׁתִֽי׃ (ḇaš·šə·ṯî) Preposition-b, Article | Noun - masculine singular Strong's 8358: A drinking, drinking bout Links Ecclesiastes 10:17 NIVEcclesiastes 10:17 NLT Ecclesiastes 10:17 ESV Ecclesiastes 10:17 NASB Ecclesiastes 10:17 KJV Ecclesiastes 10:17 BibleApps.com Ecclesiastes 10:17 Biblia Paralela Ecclesiastes 10:17 Chinese Bible Ecclesiastes 10:17 French Bible Ecclesiastes 10:17 Catholic Bible OT Poetry: Ecclesiastes 10:17 Happy are you land when your king (Ecclesiast. 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