Ecclesiastes 5:9

Moreover, the profit of the earth is for all,.... Or, "the excellency of the earth in" or "above all things [is] this" (y); that God most high rules over all the earth, and is higher than the kings

Moreover the profit of the earth is for all: the king himself is served by the field. The profit (produce) of the earth is (ordained) for (the common good of) all: (even) the king (himself) is served by (the fruits of) the field.

The profit of the earth, the fruits procured from the earth by the skill and labour of the husbandman, is for all; are necessary and beneficial to all men whatsoever. The wise man, after some interruption, returns to his former subject, to discourse of the vanity of great riches, one argument or evidence whereof he seems to mention in this verse, to wit, that the poor labourer enjoyeth the fruits of the earth as well as the greatest monarch, and that the richest man in the world depends as much upon them as the poorest. Is served by the field; is supported by the fruits of the field; or, as many others render it, serves or is a servant to the field, depends upon it, is obliged to see that his fields be tilled and dressed, that he may have subsistence for himself, and for his servants and subjects.

Ecclesiastes 5:9 Moreover the profit of the earth is for all: the king [himself] is served by the field.Ver. 9. Moreover, the profit of the earth is for all,] viz., For all sorts of men, and for all kind of uses. Alma mater, terra ferax. "Then shall the earth yield her increase; and (therein) God, even our own God, shall bless us." "Can any of the vanities of the heathens give rain," or grain? No, neither. Can the earth bring forth fruit of herself? So, indeed, our Saviour seems to say, "First the blade, then the ear, after that the full corn in the ear"; but then it is after the good husbandman hath sowed it, and God by his blessing given the increase. The drift of the Preacher here is to set forth the excellence of tillage first, and then to show the vanity of it. Tillage is the life and blood of a commonwealth; it is beyond all pecuniary possessions. Jacob had money and other fruits of the earth, and yet if Egypt, the world’ s granary, as one calls it, had not supplied them with grain, he and his might have perished. The king himself is served by the field.] Not the lion, dragon, unicorn, &c. But the plough aud the ship are the supporters of a crown. Some read it thus: Rex agro servit, The king is a servant to the field. It concerns him to have care of tillage, plantation of fruits, breeding of cattle, &c., or else all will soon run to wrack and ruin. King Uzziah loved husbandry, and used it much. In Amos 7:1, we read of "the king’ s mowings." And Pliny hath observed that grain was never so plentiful, good and cheap at Rome as when the same men tilled the land that ruled the commonwealth, Quasi gauderet terra laureato vomere scilicet et aratore triumphali. αυτοματως. Rex agro fit servus. - Ar. Montan.

(9) Is served by.—Or, is servant to. Many eminent interpreters connect this verse with what precedes, and translate, “and on the whole the profit of the land is a king devoted to agriculture,” an observation which it is hard to clear of the charge of irrelevance. I prefer, as in our version, to connect with the following verses, and the best explanation I can give of the connection of the paragraph is that it contains a consideration intended to mitigate the difficulty felt at the sight of riches acquired by oppression, namely, that riches add little to the real happiness of the possessors.

Verse 9. The profit of the earth is for all] The earth, if properly cultivated, is capable of producing food for every living creature; and without cultivation none has a right to expect bread. The king himself is served by the field.] Without the field he cannot have supplies for his own house; and, unless agriculture flourish, the necessary expenses of the state cannot be defrayed. Thus, God joins the head and feet together; for while the peasant is protected by the king as executor of the laws, the king himself is dependent on the peasant; as the wealth of the nation is the fruit of the labourer's toil.

9. Moreover the profit of the earth is for all] The verse is difficult and has been very variously interpreted. The most satisfactory renderings follow: But the profit of a land every way is a king for the field under tillage, or, as some take the words, a king devoted to the field. In either case the main sense is the same. The writer contrasts the misery of the Oriental government of his time with the condition of Judah under the model kings who gave themselves chiefly to the development of the resources of the country by agriculture, such e.g. as Uzziah who “loved husbandry” (2 Chronicles 26:10). This gives, it is obvious, a much better sense than the rendering that “the king is served by the field” or “is subject to the field,” i.e. dependent on it. Assuming the Alexandrian origin of the book, we may perhaps see in the maxim a gentle hint to the Ptolemy of the time being to improve his agricultural administration and to foster the growing export-trade in corn.

The king himself is served by the field - Rather, the king is subject to the field, i. e., is dependent on its cultivation. The higher ranks, if they oppress the lower, lose thereby their own means of subsistence.

9. Profit of the earth is for all — It would seem as if Koheleth had adopted the maxim subsequently expressed by Solon, that “A damage to the meanest citizen is a damage to the whole State.” This