(16.) Woe to thee, land, whose king is a lad, and thy princes in the morning eat (i.e. ‘feast,’ the morning being the proper time for work, and not for feasting. Compare Isaiah v. 11).
17 ¶ Blessed art thou, O land, when thy king is the son of nobles, and thy princes eat in due season, for strength, and not for drunkenness!
Blessed art thou, O country, whose king is the son of nobles, and thy princes eat in due season, for strength and not for drunkenness.
(17.) Blessings on thee, land, whose king is a son of nobles (ἐλευθέρου, LXX.), and thy princes in season eat, and not in drunkenness (but the LXX. render καὶ οὐκ αἰσχυνθήσονται——‘and shall not be ashamed’——reading the בשתי as though the ב were radical, and deriving the word from בוש, ‘to be ashamed.’ Thus is probably preserved an intentional equivoke.)
18 ¶ By much slothfulness the building decayeth; and through idleness of the hands the house droppeth through.
When they are idle, there is a slender support, and when both hands hang down, the roof-tree will weep.