10 "Dead flies make the perfumer's ointment give off a stench;
so a little folly outweighs wisdom and honour.
2 A wise man's heart inclines him to the right,
but a fool's heart to the left.
3 Even when the fool walks on the road, he lacks sense,
and he says to everyone that he is a fool.
4 If the anger of the ruler rises against you, do not leave your place,
for calmness will lay great offences to rest.
5 There is an evil that I have seen under the sun, as it were an error proceeding from the ruler: 6 folly is set in many high places, and the rich sit in a low place. 7 I have seen slaves on horses, and princes walking on the ground like slaves.
8 He who digs a pit will fall into it,
and a serpent will bite him who breaks through a wall.
9 He who quarries stones is hurt by them,
and he who splits logs is endangered by them.
10 If the iron is blunt, and one does not sharpen the edge,
he must use more strength,
but wisdom helps one to succeed.
11 If the serpent bites before it is charmed,
there is no advantage to the charmer.
12 The words of a wise man's mouth win him favour,
but the lips of a fool consume him.
13 The beginning of the words of his mouth is foolishness,
and the end of his talk is evil madness.
14 A fool multiplies words,
though no man knows what is to be,
and who can tell him what will be after him?
15 The toil of a fool wearies him,
for he does not know the way to the city.
16 Woe to you, O land, when your king is a child,
and your princes feast in the morning!
17 Happy are you, O land, when your king is the son of the nobility,
and your princes feast at the proper time,
for strength, and not for drunkenness!
18 Through sloth the roof sinks in,
and through indolence the house leaks.
19 Bread is made for laughter,
and wine gladdens life,
and money answers everything.
20 Even in your thoughts, do not curse the king,
nor in your bedroom curse the rich,
for a bird of the air will carry your voice,
or some winged creature tell the matter."
Ecclesiastes 10:1-20
The familiar theme of wisdom and folly is taken up once again in this chapter, but the chapter division would have been better made at the end of 9:16, for 9:17, 18 form an introduction to what follows. The meaning of 17 appears to be that even when a wise man is speaking quietly, he speaks to more effect than one who shouts like a ruler among fools. There is an inherent power in wise words, which can get through to people, almost in spite of themselves. Yet, paradoxically, although the qualities of wisdom are so outstanding (18), they are so often at a discount compared with human folly. One fool can do so much harm and undo so much wisdom simply by opening his mouth. As the Good News Bible renders 10:1, 'A little stupidity can cancel out the greatest wisdom'. As one commentator has put it 'Wisdom is excellent, but it is at a disadvantage in comparison with folly, which produces proportionately large effects. A little leaven of folly can vitiate a whole lump of wisdom, and a single fool can undo the work of many wise men'. Yet, while this is, alas, humanly speaking, true, it is only the whole truth 'under the sun'. There is another standpoint from which it is seen that folly does not have the last or decisive word. 'Above the sun', there is a higher power at work that can overrule the folly of men unto good. There is a ready illustration of this truth in 2 Kings 4:38-44 and 6:1-7, in the accounts of two miraculous happenings in the ministry of Elisha, in which the foolishness and mistakes of God's people were wonderfully overruled by the power of God. These stories are a great encouragement to us. Who among us has not been a victim to over-zealousness on occasion, and even stupidity, that has been like to mar a great deal of work! How thankful we should be that our Lord can overrule both accidental mistakes and ill-advised foolishness!