for he has come out of prison to become king, even though he was born poor in his kingdom.
Parallel translations
- WEB For out of prison he came out to be king; yes, even in his kingdom he was born poor.
- KJV For out of prison he cometh to reign; whereas also he that is born in his kingdom becometh poor.
- BSB For the youth has come from the prison to the kingship, though he was born poor in his own kingdom.
- NKJV For he comes out of prison to be king, Although he was born poor in his kingdom.
- NLT Such a youth could rise from poverty and succeed. He might even become king, though he has been in prison.
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 wise youth can rise from prison or poverty to kingship, showing fortune's surprising reversals. It matters because earthly position is unstable and provides no lasting security.
Overview
Continuing the parable, the Preacher notes that the lowly can ascend even from prison to a throne, as Joseph once did (Genesis 41). The point is the changeability of human fortunes 'under the sun.' Such reversals reveal that no earthly standing is secure, directing hope away from shifting circumstances toward the unchanging God whose kingdom does not pass away.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 13
- Gen 41:14Then Pharaoh sent and called Joseph, and they brought him hastily out of the dungeon. He shaved himself, changed his clothing, and came in to Pharaoh.
- Ps 113:7–8He raises up the poor out of the dust. Lifts up the needy from the ash heap;
- Lam 4:20The breath of our nostrils, the anointed of Yahweh, was taken in their pits; Of whom we said, Under his shadow we shall live among the nations.
- Job 5:11so that he sets up on high those who are low, those who mourn are exalted to safety.
- 2 Kgs 24:6So Jehoiakim slept with his fathers, and Jehoiachin his son reigned in his place.
- Gen 41:33–44“Now therefore let Pharaoh look for a discreet and wise man, and set him over the land of Egypt.
- 2 Kgs 24:12and Jehoiachin the king of Judah went out to the king of Babylon, he, and his mother, and his servants, and his princes, and his officers; and the king of Babylon captured him in the eighth year of his reign.
- 2 Kgs 25:7They killed Zedekiah’s sons before his eyes, then put out Zedekiah’s eyes, bound him in fetters, and carried him to Babylon.
- Dan 4:31While the word was in the king’s mouth, a voice came from the sky, saying, “O king Nebuchadnezzar, to you it is spoken: The kingdom has departed from you.
- 2 Kgs 25:27–30In the thirty-seventh year of the captivity of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the twelfth month, on the twenty-seventh day of the month, Evilmerodach king of Babylon, in the year that he began to reign, lifted up the head of Jehoiachin king of Judah out of prison;
- 1 Kgs 14:26–27and he took away the treasures of Yahweh’s house, and the treasures of the king’s house. He even took away all of it, including all the gold shields which Solomon had made.
- 2 Kgs 23:31–34Jehoahaz was twenty-three years old when he began to reign; and he reigned three months in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Hamutal the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah.
- 2 Kgs 24:1–2In his days Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up, and Jehoiakim became his servant three years. Then he turned and rebelled against him.
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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 4:14 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.