Ecclesiastes 4:14

NET Bible® (New English Translation)

For he came out of prison to become king, even though he had been born poor in what would become his kingdom.

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Referenced Verses

  • Gen 41:14 : 14 Then Pharaoh summoned Joseph. So they brought him quickly out of the dungeon; he shaved himself, changed his clothes, and came before Pharaoh.
  • Gen 41:33-44 : 33 “So now Pharaoh should look for a wise and discerning man and give him authority over all the land of Egypt. 34 Pharaoh should do this– he should appoint officials throughout the land to collect one-fifth of the produce of the land of Egypt during the seven years of abundance. 35 They should gather all the excess food during these good years that are coming. By Pharaoh’s authority they should store up grain so the cities will have food, and they should preserve it. 36 This food should be held in storage for the land in preparation for the seven years of famine that will occur throughout the land of Egypt. In this way the land will survive the famine.” 37 This advice made sense to Pharaoh and all his officials. 38 So Pharaoh asked his officials,“Can we find a man like Joseph, one in whom the Spirit of God is present?” 39 So Pharaoh said to Joseph,“Because God has enabled you to know all this, there is no one as wise and discerning as you are! 40 You will oversee my household, and all my people will submit to your commands. Only I, the king, will be greater than you. 41 “See here,” Pharaoh said to Joseph,“I place you in authority over all the land of Egypt.” 42 Then Pharaoh took his signet ring from his own hand and put it on Joseph’s. He clothed him with fine linen clothes and put a gold chain around his neck. 43 Pharaoh had him ride in the chariot used by his second-in-command, and they cried out before him,“Kneel down!” So he placed him over all the land of Egypt. 44 Pharaoh also said to Joseph,“I am Pharaoh, but without your permission no one will move his hand or his foot in all the land of Egypt.”
  • 1 Kgs 14:26-27 : 26 He took away the treasures of the LORD’s temple and of the royal palace; he took everything, including all the golden shields that Solomon had made. 27 King Rehoboam made bronze shields to replace them and assigned them to the officers of the royal guard who protected the entrance to the royal palace.
  • 2 Kgs 23:31-34 : 31 Jehoahaz’s Reign over Judah Jehoahaz was twenty-three years old when he became king, and he reigned three months in Jerusalem. His mother was Hamutal the daughter of Jeremiah, from Libnah. 32 He did evil in the sight of the LORD as his ancestors had done. 33 Pharaoh Necho imprisoned him in Riblah in the land of Hamath and prevented him from ruling in Jerusalem. He imposed on the land a special tax of one hundred talents of silver and a talent of gold. 34 Pharaoh Necho made Josiah’s son Eliakim king in Josiah’s place, and changed his name to Jehoiakim. He took Jehoahaz to Egypt, where he died.
  • 2 Kgs 24:1-2 : 1 During Jehoiakim’s reign, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon attacked. Jehoiakim was his subject for three years, but then he rebelled against him. 2 The LORD sent against him Babylonian, Syrian, Moabite, and Ammonite raiding bands; he sent them to destroy Judah, just as in the LORD’s message that he had announced through his servants the prophets.
  • 2 Kgs 24:6 : 6 He passed away and his son Jehoiachin replaced him as king.
  • 2 Kgs 24:12 : 12 King Jehoiachin of Judah, along with his mother, his servants, his officials, and his eunuchs surrendered to the king of Babylon. The king of Babylon, in the eighth year of his reign, took Jehoiachin prisoner.
  • 2 Kgs 25:7 : 7 Zedekiah’s sons were executed while Zedekiah was forced to watch. The king of Babylon then had Zedekiah’s eyes put out, bound him in bronze chains, and carried him off to Babylon.
  • 2 Kgs 25:27-30 : 27 Jehoiachin in Babylon In the thirty-seventh year of the exile of King Jehoiachin of Judah, on the twenty-seventh day of the twelfth month, King Evil-Merodach of Babylon, in the first year of his reign, pardoned King Jehoiachin of Judah and released him from prison. 28 He spoke kindly to him and gave him a more prestigious position than the other kings who were with him in Babylon. 29 Jehoiachin took off his prison clothes and ate daily in the king’s presence for the rest of his life. 30 He was given daily provisions by the king for the rest of his life until the day he died.
  • Job 5:11 : 11 he sets the lowly on high, that those who mourn are raised to safety.
  • Ps 113:7-8 : 7 He raises the poor from the dirt, and lifts up the needy from the garbage pile, 8 that he might seat him with princes, with the princes of his people.
  • Lam 4:20 : 20 ר(Resh) Our very life breath– the LORD’s anointed king– was caught in their traps, of whom we thought,“Under his protection we will survive among the nations.”
  • Dan 4:31 : 31 While these words were still on the king’s lips, a voice came down from heaven:“It is hereby announced to you, King Nebuchadnezzar, that your kingdom has been removed from you!

Similar Verses (AI)

These verses are found using AI-powered semantic similarity based on meaning and context. Results may occasionally include unexpected connections.

  • 13 Labor Motivated by Prestige-Seeking A poor but wise youth is better than an old and foolish king who no longer knows how to receive advice.

  • 15 I considered all the living who walk on earth, as well as the successor who would arise in his place.

  • 14 If a king judges the poor in truth, his throne will be established forever.

  • Eccl 5:14-15
    2 verses
    71%

    14 Then that wealth was lost through bad luck; although he fathered a son, he has nothing left to give him.

    15 Just as he came forth from his mother’s womb, naked will he return as he came, and he will take nothing in his hand that he may carry away from his toil.

  • Ps 113:7-8
    2 verses
    70%

    7 He raises the poor from the dirt, and lifts up the needy from the garbage pile,

    8 that he might seat him with princes, with the princes of his people.

  • 16 The one who oppresses the poor to increase his own gain and the one who gives to the rich– both end up only in poverty.

  • 6 A poor person who walks in his integrity is better than one who is perverse in his ways even though he is rich.

  • Eccl 9:15-16
    2 verses
    69%

    15 However, a poor but wise man lived in the city, and he could have delivered the city by his wisdom, but no one listened to that poor man.

    16 So I concluded that wisdom is better than might, but a poor man’s wisdom is despised; no one ever listens to his advice.

  • 4 The LORD says,“I will make youths their officials; malicious young men will rule over them.

  • 11 A rich person is wise in his own opinion, but a discerning poor person can evaluate him properly.

  • 21 If his sons are honored, he does not know it; if they are brought low, he does not see it.

  • 68%

    16 The Problem with Foolish Rulers Woe to you, O land, when your king is childish, and your princes feast in the morning!

    17 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.

  • 7 The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender.

  • 15 Like a roaring lion or a roving bear, so is a wicked ruler over a poor people.

  • Eccl 10:6-7
    2 verses
    68%

    6 Fools are placed in many positions of authority, while wealthy men sit in lowly positions.

    7 I have seen slaves on horseback and princes walking on foot like slaves.

  • 7 for it is better for him to say to you,“Come up here,” than to put you lower before a prince, whom your eyes have seen.

  • Ps 107:40-41
    2 verses
    68%

    40 He would pour contempt upon princes, and he made them wander in a wasteland with no road.

    41 Yet he protected the needy from oppression, and cared for his families like a flock of sheep.

  • 1 For the music director; a psalm of David. How blessed is the one who treats the poor properly! When trouble comes, may the LORD deliver him.

  • 4 Surely the king’s authority is absolute; no one can say to him,“What are you doing?”

  • Prov 13:7-8
    2 verses
    67%

    7 There is one who pretends to be rich and yet has nothing; another pretends to be poor and yet possesses great wealth.

    8 The ransom of a person’s life is his wealth, thus the poor person has never heard a threat.

  • 1 Sam 2:7-8
    2 verses
    67%

    7 The LORD impoverishes and makes wealthy; he humbles and he exalts.

    8 He lifts the weak from the dust; he raises the poor from the ash heap to seat them with princes– he bestows on them an honored position. The foundations of the earth belong to the LORD– he placed the world on them.

  • Job 3:14-16
    3 verses
    67%

    14 with kings and counselors of the earth who built for themselves places now desolate,

    15 or with princes who possessed gold, who filled their palaces with silver.

    16 Or why was I not buried like a stillborn infant, like infants who have never seen the light?

  • 21 If someone pampers his servant from youth, he will be a weakling in the end.

  • 22 under a servant who becomes king, under a fool who becomes stuffed with food,

  • 4 His children are far from safety, and they are crushed at the place where judgment is rendered, nor is there anyone to deliver them.

  • 11 and your poverty will come like a robber, and your need like an armed man.

  • 34 and your poverty will come like a bandit, and your need like an armed robber.”

  • 19 Small and great are there, and the slave is free from his master.

  • 1 Better is a poor person who walks in his integrity than one who is perverse in his speech and is a fool.

  • 2 Pay attention, all you people, both rich and poor!

  • 1 The Brevity of Life“Man, born of woman, lives but a few days, and they are full of trouble.

  • 1 Now I mean that the heir, as long as he is a minor, is no different from a slave, though he is the owner of everything.

  • 15 The wealth of a rich person is like a fortified city, but the poor are brought to ruin by their poverty.

  • 10 His sons must recompense the poor; his own hands must return his wealth.

  • 16 Your sons will carry on the dynasty of your ancestors; you will make them princes throughout the land.

  • 13 The labor pains of a woman will overtake him, but the baby will lack wisdom; when the time arrives, he will not come out of the womb!

  • 2 When a country is rebellious it has many princes, but by someone who is discerning and knowledgeable order is maintained.

  • 19 until the time when his prediction came true. The LORD’s word proved him right.

  • 28 A king’s glory is the abundance of people, but the lack of subjects is the ruin of a ruler.

  • 4 Though the stillborn child came into the world for no reason and departed into darkness, though its name is shrouded in darkness,