Ecclesiastes 10 Commentary

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THE BOOK OF ECCLESIASTES The Search for Significance The Quest for Contentment The Pursuit of Purpose
Exploration			Exhortation
All is Vanity	Vanity of Doing	Vanity of Having	Vanity of Being	Using Life Well	Source of True Living
Eccl 1:1-18	Eccl 2:1-26	Eccl 3:1-6:12	Eccl 7:1-9:18	Eccl 10:1-11:10	Eccl 12:1-14
Declaration of Vanity	Demonstration of Vanity		Deliverance from Vanity
Subject	Sermons		Summary
Fickleness of Life Versus Fear of the Lord
Place: "Under the Sun"
Decades of Searching (in the days of King Solomon) circa 936BC
King Solomon Author

Ecclesiastes 10:1  Dead flies make a perfumer's oil stink, so a little foolishness is weightier than wisdom and honor.

• the ointment: Ex 30:34,35 
• a little: 2Ch 19:2 Ne 6:13 13:26 Mt 5:13-16 Ga 2:12-14 

Dead flies make a perfumer's oil stink, so a little foolishness is weightier than wisdom and honor.

Ecclesiastes 10:2  A wise man's heart directs him toward the right, but the foolish man's heart directs him toward the left.

• wise: Ec 9:10 Pr 14:8 Lu 14:28-32 
• but: Ec 10:10,14 Pr 17:16 Lu 12:18-20 

A wise man's heart directs him toward the right, but the foolish man's heart directs him toward the left.

Ecclesiastes 10:3  Even when the fool walks along the road, his sense is lacking and he demonstrates to everyone that he is a fool.

• and he: Ec 5:3 Pr 13:16 18:2,6 1Pe 4:4 

Even when the fool walks along the road, his sense is lacking and he demonstrates to everyone that he is a fool.

Ecclesiastes 10:4  If the ruler's temper rises against you, do not abandon your position, because composure allays great offenses.

• leave: Ec 8:3 
• for: 1Sa 25:24-44 Pr 25:15 

If the ruler's temper rises against you, do not abandon your position, because composure allays great offenses

Ecclesiastes 10:5  There is an evil I have seen under the sun, like an error which goes forth from the ruler--

• an evil: Ec 4:7 5:13 6:1 9:3 
• as an: Ec 3:16 4:1 

There is an evil I have seen under the sun, like an error which goes forth from the ruler

Ecclesiastes 10:6  folly is set in many exalted places while rich men sit in humble places.

• Folly: Judges 9:14-20 1Ki 12:13,14 Es 3:1 Ps 12:8 Pr 28:12,28 
• the rich: Jas 2:3-5 

 folly is set in many exalted places while rich men sit in humble places.

Ecclesiastes 10:7  I have seen slaves riding on horses and princes walking like slaves on the land.

• Pr 19:10 30:22 

 I have seen slaves riding on horses and princes walking like slaves on the land.

Ecclesiastes 10:8  He who digs a pit may fall into it, and a serpent may bite him who breaks through a wall.

• that: Judges 9:5,53-57 2Sa 17:23 18:15 Es 7:10 Ps 7:15,16 9:15,16 Pr 26:27 
• a serpent: Am 5:19 9:3 

He who digs a pit may fall into it, and a serpent may bite him who breaks through a wall.

Ecclesiastes 10:9  He who quarries stones may be hurt by them, and he who splits logs may be endangered by them.

• none

He who quarries stones may be hurt by them, and he who splits logs may be endangered by them.

Ecclesiastes 10:10  If the axe is dull and he does not sharpen its edge, then he must exert more strength. Wisdom has the advantage of giving success.

• wisdom: Ec 10:15 9:15-17 Ge 41:33-39 Ex 18:19-23 1Ki 3:9 1Ch 12:32 2Ch 23:4-11 Mt 10:16 Ac 6:1-9 15:2-21 Ro 16:19 1Co 14:20 Eph 5:15-17 Col 4:5 Jas 1:5 

 If the axe is dull and he does not sharpen its edge, then he must exert more strength. Wisdom has the advantage of giving success.

Ecclesiastes 10:11  If the serpent bites before being charmed, there is no profit for the charmer.

• the serpent: Ps 58:4,5 Jer 8:17 
• a babbler: Heb. the master of the tongue, Ps 52:2 64:3 Pr 18:21 Jas 3:6 

If the serpent bites before being charmed, there is no profit for the charmer.

Ecclesiastes 10:12  Words from the mouth of a wise man are gracious, while the lips of a fool consume him;

• words: Job 4:3,4 16:5 Ps 37:30 40:9,10 71:15-18 Pr 10:13,20,21,31,32 Pr 12:13,14,18 15:2,23 16:21-24 22:17,18 25:11,12 31:26 Mt 12:35 Lu 4:22 Eph 4:29 Col 4:6 
• gracious: Heb. grace
• but: 2Sa 1:16 1Ki 20:40-42 Ps 64:8 140:9 Pr 10:8,10,14 18:6-8 19:5 Pr 26:9 Lu 19:22 

Words from the mouth of a wise man are gracious, while the lips of a fool consume him;

Ecclesiastes 10:13  the beginning of his talking is folly and the end of it is wicked madness.

• beginning: Jud 14:15 1Sa 20:26-33 22:7,8,16-18 25:10,11 2Sa 19:41-43 2Sa 20:1 2Ki 6:27,31 Pr 29:9 Mt 2:7,8,16 Lu 6:2,11 Lu 11:38,53,54 Joh 12:10 Ac 5:28-33 6:9-11 7:54-59 19:24-28 

the beginning of his talking is folly and the end of it is wicked madness.

Ecclesiastes 10:14  Yet the fool multiplies words. No man knows what will happen, and who can tell him what will come after him?

• fool: Ec 5:3 Pr 10:19 15:2 
• is full of words: Heb. multiplieth words, Job 34:37 35:16 
• a man: Ec 3:22 6:12 8:7 Jas 4:13,14 

Yet the fool multiplies words. No man knows what will happen, and who can tell him what will come after him

Ecclesiastes 10:15  The toil of a fool so wearies him that he does not even know how to go to a city.

• labour: Ec 10:3,10 Isa 44:12-17 47:12,13 55:2 57:1 Hab 2:6 Mt 11:28-30 
• because: Ps 107:4,7 Isa 35:8-10 Jer 50:4,5 

The toil of a fool so wearies him that he does not even know how to go to a city

Ecclesiastes 10:16  Woe to you, O land, whose king is a lad and whose princes feast in the morning.

• when: 2Ch 13:7 33:1-20 36:2,5,9,11 Isa 3:4,5,12 
• and: Pr 20:1,2 Isa 5:11,12 28:7,8 Ho 7:5-7 
• in the: Jer 21:12 

Woe to you, O land, whose king is a lad and whose princes feast in the morning

Ecclesiastes 10:17  Blessed are you, O land, whose king is of nobility and whose princes eat at the appropriate time--for strength and not for drunkenness.

• when: Ec 10:6,7 Pr 28:2,3 Jer 30:21 
• and thy: Pr 31:4,5 

Blessed are you, O land, whose king is of nobility and whose princes eat at the appropriate time--for strength and not for drunkenness.

Ecclesiastes 10:18  Through indolence the rafters sag, and through slackness the house leaks.

• Pr 12:24 14:1 20:4 21:25 23:21 24:30,31 Heb 6:11 2Pe 1:5-10 

Through indolence the rafters sag, and through slackness the house leaks.

Ecclesiastes 10:19  Men prepare a meal for enjoyment, and wine makes life merry, and money is the answer to everything.

• feast: Ec 2:1,2 7:2-6 Ge 43:34 Da 5:1-12 1Pe 4:3 
• and wine: Ec 9:7 Ps 104:15 Isa 24:11 1Sa 25:36 2Sa 13:28 Lu 12:19 Eph 5:18,19 
• maketh merry: Heb. maketh glad the life
• but: Money which would have answered every good purpose, and served for every emergency, is too often spent in feastings and revellings. Ec 7:11,12 1Ch 21:24 29:2-9 2Ch 24:11-14 Ezr 1:6 7:15-18 Ne 5:8 Ps 112:9 Isa 23:18 Mt 17:27 19:21 Lu 8:3 16:9 Ac 2:45 11:29 Php 4:15-19 1Ti 6:17-19 

Men prepare a meal for enjoyment, and wine makes life merry, and money is the answer to everything

Ecclesiastes 10:20  Furthermore, in your bedchamber do not curse a king, and in your sleeping rooms do not curse a rich man, for a bird of the heavens will carry the sound and the winged creature will make the matter known.

• Curse: Ex 22:28 Isa 8:21 Ac 23:5 
• thought: or, conscience, Ec 7:21,22 Lu 19:40 
• in thy bedchamber: Lu 10:40 12:2,3 

Furthermore, in your bedchamber do not curse a king, and in your sleeping rooms do not curse a rich man, for a bird of the heavens will carry the sound and the winged creature will make the matter known.