Ecclesiastes 5:9 Cross References

Ecclesiastes 5:9

9: Even the king milks the land for his own profit!

You cause grass to grow for the cattle. You cause plants to grow for people to use. You allow them to produce food from the earth--
wine to make them glad, olive oil as lotion for their skin, and bread to give them strength.

Solomon also had twelve district governors who were over all Israel. They were responsible for providing food from the people for the king's household. Each of them arranged provisions for one month of the year.
These are the names of the twelve governors: Ben-hur, in the hill country of Ephraim.
Ben-deker, in Makaz, Shaalbim, Beth-shemesh, and Elon-bethhanan.
Ben-hesed, in Arubboth, including Socoh and all the land of Hepher.
Ben-abinadab, in Naphoth-dor. (He was married to Taphath, one of Solomon's daughters.)

And God said, "Look! I have given you the seed-bearing plants throughout the earth and all the fruit trees for your food.
And I have given all the grasses and other green plants to the animals and birds for their food." And so it was.

Some will be commanders of his troops, while others will be slave laborers. Some will be forced to plow in his fields and harvest his crops, while others will make his weapons and chariot equipment.
The king will take your daughters from you and force them to cook and bake and make perfumes for him.
He will take away the best of your fields and vineyards and olive groves and give them to his own servants.
He will take a tenth of your harvest and distribute it among his officers and attendants.
He will want your male and female slaves and demand the finest of your cattle and donkeys for his own use.

Ezri son of Kelub was in charge of the field workers who farmed the king's lands.
Shimei from Ramah was in charge of the king's vineyards. Zabdi from Shepham was responsible for the grapes and the supplies of wine.
Baal-hanan from Geder was in charge of the king's olive groves and sycamore-fig trees in the foothills of Judah. Joash was responsible for the supplies of olive oil.
Shitrai from Sharon was in charge of the cattle on the Sharon Plain. Shaphat son of Adlai was responsible for the cattle in the valleys.
Obil the Ishmaelite was in charge of the camels. Jehdeiah from Meronoth was in charge of the donkeys.

And to Adam he said, "Because you listened to your wife and ate the fruit I told you not to eat, I have placed a curse on the ground. All your life you will struggle to scratch a living from it.
It will grow thorns and thistles for you, though you will eat of its grains.
All your life you will sweat to produce food, until your dying day. Then you will return to the ground from which you came. For you were made from dust, and to the dust you will return."

Know the state of your flocks, and put your heart into caring for your herds,
for riches don't last forever, and the crown might not be secure for the next generation.
After the hay is harvested, the new crop appears, and the mountain grasses are gathered in,
your sheep will provide wool for clothing, and your goats will be sold for the price of a field.
And you will have enough goats' milk for you, your family, and your servants.

As for me, I will stay at Mizpah to represent you before the Babylonians who come to meet with us. Settle in any town you wish, and live off the land. Harvest the grapes and summer fruits and olives, and store them away."
When the Judeans in Moab, Ammon, Edom, and the other nearby countries heard that the king of Babylon had left a few people in Judah and that Gedaliah was the governor,
they began to return to Judah from the places to which they had fled. They stopped at Mizpah to discuss their plans with Gedaliah and then went out into the Judean countryside to gather a great harvest of grapes and other crops.

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