The Meaning of Ecclesiastes 10:20 Explained

Ecclesiastes 10:20

KJV: Curse not the king, no not in thy thought; and curse not the rich in thy bedchamber: for a bird of the air shall carry the voice, and that which hath wings shall tell the matter.

YLT: Even in thy mind a king revile not, And in the inner parts of thy bed-chamber Revile not the rich: For a fowl of the heavens causeth the voice to go, And a possessor of wings declareth the word.

Darby: Curse not the king, no, not in thy thought; and curse not the rich in thy bedchamber: for the bird of the air will carry the voice, and that which hath wings will tell the matter.

ASV: Revile not the king, no, not in thy thought; and revile not the rich in thy bedchamber: for a bird of the heavens shall carry the voice, and that which hath wings shall tell the matter.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

Curse  not the king,  no not in thy thought;  and curse  not the rich  in thy bedchamber:  for a bird  of the air  shall carry  the voice,  and that which hath  wings  shall tell  the matter. 

What does Ecclesiastes 10:20 Mean?

Verse Meaning

In spite of such bad leadership, Solomon urged restraint. If you complain, those in authority may eliminate you. Corrupt officials often have supporters in the most private places who take the names and words of complainers back to their masters. As the old saying goes, "Walls have ears."
Was Solomon saying that people should submit to governmental corruption and oppression without ever speaking out? The practices of Jesus, the prophets, and the apostles cast doubt on this interpretation. Probably Solomon had conditions in view in which there was no possibility that speaking out would produce any change for the better. In this section he was addressing the fact that wise people may lose their influence because of the actions of others ( Ecclesiastes 10:12-20). His point was, do not endanger your future unnecessarily. He was not speaking about how to effect change in a crooked government (cf. Isaiah 5:11-12; Amos 6:4-6; 2 Peter 2:13-19).
"Everything that has been said about wisdom and folly points again to the main lesson of Ecclesiastes: the need to face life as it really Isaiah , and take our life day by day from the hand of a sovereign God." [1]

Chapter Summary: Ecclesiastes 10

1  observations of wisdom and folly
7  death in life
9  and the day of judgment in the days of youth, are to be thought on

What do the individual words in Ecclesiastes 10:20 mean?

Even in your thought the king not do curse and even in your bedroom do curse the rich for a bird of the air may carry - your voice and - a [bird] in flight may tell the matter
גַּ֣ם בְּמַדָּֽעֲךָ֗ מֶ֚לֶךְ אַל־ תְּקַלֵּ֔ל וּבְחַדְרֵי֙ מִשְׁכָּ֣בְךָ֔ תְּקַלֵּ֖ל עָשִׁ֑יר כִּ֣י ע֤וֹף הַשָּׁמַ֙יִם֙ יוֹלִ֣יךְ אֶת־ הַקּ֔וֹל וּבַ֥עַל [הכנפים] (כְּנָפַ֖יִם) יַגֵּ֥יד דָּבָֽר

גַּ֣ם  Even 
Parse: Conjunction
Root: גַּם  
Sense: also, even, indeed, moreover, yea.
בְּמַדָּֽעֲךָ֗  in  your  thought 
Parse: Preposition-b, Noun, masculine singular construct, second person masculine singular
Root: מַדָּע  
Sense: knowledge, thought.
מֶ֚לֶךְ  the  king 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: מֶלֶךְ 
Sense: king.
תְּקַלֵּ֔ל  do  curse 
Parse: Verb, Piel, Imperfect, second person masculine singular
Root: קָלַל  
Sense: to be slight, be swift, be trifling, be of little account, be light.
וּבְחַדְרֵי֙  and  even  in 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Preposition-b, Noun, masculine plural construct
Root: חֶדֶר  
Sense: chamber, room, parlour, innermost or inward part, within.
מִשְׁכָּ֣בְךָ֔  your  bedroom 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct, second person masculine singular
Root: מִשְׁכָּב  
Sense: a lying down, couch, bier, act of lying.
תְּקַלֵּ֖ל  do  curse 
Parse: Verb, Piel, Imperfect, second person masculine singular
Root: קָלַל  
Sense: to be slight, be swift, be trifling, be of little account, be light.
עָשִׁ֑יר  the  rich 
Parse: Adjective, masculine singular
Root: עָשִׁיר  
Sense: rich, wealthy n.
ע֤וֹף  a  bird 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: עֹוף  
Sense: flying creatures, fowl, insects, birds.
הַשָּׁמַ֙יִם֙  of  the  air 
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine plural
Root: שָׁמַיִם  
Sense: heaven, heavens, sky.
יוֹלִ֣יךְ  may  carry 
Parse: Verb, Hifil, Imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: הָלַךְ  
Sense: to go, walk, come.
אֶת־  - 
Parse: Direct object marker
Root: אֹות 
Sense: sign of the definite direct object, not translated in English but generally preceding and indicating the accusative.
הַקּ֔וֹל  your  voice 
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: קֹול 
Sense: voice, sound, noise.
[הכנפים]  - 
Parse: Article, Noun, fd
(כְּנָפַ֖יִם)  a  [bird]  in  flight 
Parse: Noun, fd
Root: כָּנָף  
Sense: wing, extremity, edge, winged, border, corner, shirt.
יַגֵּ֥יד  may  tell 
Parse: Verb, Hifil, Imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: נָגַד  
Sense: to be conspicuous, tell, make known.
דָּבָֽר  the  matter 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: דָּבָר  
Sense: speech, word, speaking, thing.