There is an evil which I have seen under the sun, as an error which proceedeth from the ruler:
Parallel translations
- WEB There is an evil which I have seen under the sun, the sort of error which proceeds from the ruler.
- BSB There is an evil I have seen under the sun—an error that proceeds from the ruler:
- NKJV There is an evil I have seen under the sun, As an error proceeding from the ruler:
- NASB There is an evil I have seen under the sun, like a mistake that proceeds from the ruler:
- NLT There is another evil I have seen under the sun. Kings and rulers make a grave mistake
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
The Preacher has seen an evil under the sun: an error that comes from those who rule. Even leaders make grievous mistakes that disorder society.
Overview
Qoheleth introduces a critique of misrule, naming a flaw that originates with rulers themselves. The examples that follow show the resulting social disorder. This honest look at flawed human authority deepens the longing for the perfect, righteous government of the Messiah, on whose shoulder the rule rests (Isaiah 9:6-7).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 6
- Eccl 5:13There is a sore evil which I have seen under the sun, namely, riches kept for the owners thereof to their hurt.
- Eccl 6:1There is an evil which I have seen under the sun, and it is common among men:
- Eccl 4:1So I returned, and considered all the oppressions that are done under the sun: and behold the tears of such as were oppressed, and they had no comforter; and on the side of their oppressors there was power; but they had no comforter.
- Eccl 3:16And moreover I saw under the sun the place of judgment, that wickedness was there; and the place of righteousness, that iniquity was there.
- Eccl 4:7Then I returned, and I saw vanity under the sun.
- Eccl 9:3This is an evil among all things that are done under the sun, that there is one event unto all: yea, also the heart of the sons of men is full of evil, and madness is in their heart while they live, and after that they go to the dead.
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Christ at the center
The search that finds everything 'under the sun' to be vapor exposes the emptiness of life without God and drives us to the one who alone gives meaning, the resurrection that makes our labor not in vain.
How Ecclesiastes 10:5 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.