Ecclesiastes 10:1
in Ecclesiastes 10As dead flies bring a stench to the perfumer’s oil, so a little folly outweighs wisdom and honor.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Dead flies cause the oil of the perfumer to send forth an evil odor; so doth a little folly outweigh wisdom and honor.
KJV
Dead flies cause the ointment of the apothecary to send forth a stinking savour: so doth a little folly him that is in reputation for wisdom and honour.
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This verse in Ecclesiastes 10
Commentary
13 notes on this verseA commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
So the higher a man's religious character is, the more hurt is caused by a sinful folly in him. Bad savor is endurable in oil, but not in what professes to be, and is compounded by the perfumer ("apothecary") for, fragrance. "Flies" answer to "a little folly" (sin), appropriately, being small (1Co 5:6); also, "Beelzebub" means prince of flies.
This site's exposition
As dead flies bring a stench
on Ecclesiastes 10:1-3
As dead flies bring a stench to the perfumer’s oil, so a little folly outweighs wisdom and honor, the chapter's rule of disproportion. The right and left of verse 2 are readiness against awkwardness, in the older commentators' reading of the idiom. Verse 3 shows the fool advertising himself.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers5 voices
"Dead flies putrefy the perfumer's oil; a little folly outweighs wisdom and honour. "Here he gives an example to illustrate the idea expressed above, in which he says that many good things can be outweighed by one fool, since one evil mixed with good in this way will pollute the greater part of it, just as flies if they die in oil, make it lose its colour and smell. And since wisdom is often mixed with cleverness and prudence has wickedness, he teaches that we must search out wisdom alone, or that it be mixed with the innocence of doves.
Indeed, it is said that Beelzebub means prince of flies; and it has been written of them, "Dying flies spoil the sweetness of the oil."
A commentator
Apostolic ConstitutionsCONSTITUTIONS OF THE HOLY APOSTLES 2:3.17 · Written before 380.
proposed
"Dead flies spoil the whole pot of sweet ointment," and "when a king hearkens to unrighteous counsel, all the servants under him are wicked." So one scabbed sheep, if not separated from those that are whole, infects the rest with the same distemper; and a person infected with the plague is to be avoided by all; and a mad dog is dangerous to everyone that it touches. If, therefore, we neglect to separate the transgressor from the church of God, we shall make the "Lord's house a den of thieves."
These flies bring death as well as life. For example there is a divinized fly about which Elijah has said, "Is there no God in Israel that you are sending to inquire of the fly, the God of Ekron?" I would be astonished if they …
What is called the prince of flies is shown to be prince of the wicked; another text of Scripture refers to him by saying, "Dead flies destroy the perfumer's sweet ointment." Who destroy except those who grieve the Holy Spirit either by the crime of …
6 more voices on this verse
The Church Fathers2 voices
Moreover, flies falling into myrrh, and suffocated therein, make both the appearance of that pleasant ointment and the anointing therewith an unseemly thing; and to be mindful of wisdom and of folly together is in no way proper. The wise man, indeed, is his own …
A commentator
Gregory of NeocaesareaA Metaphrase of the Book of Ecclesiastes, Chapter X · Written before 270.
proposed
Moreover, flies falling into myrrh, and suffocated therein, make both the appearance of that pleasant ointment and the anointing therewith an unseemly thing; and to be mindful of wisdom and of folly together is in no way proper.
The Medieval Church1 voice
A commentator
BonaventureCommentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 10 · Written in the 13th century.
proposed
Therefore he adds: dying flies, that is, the thoughts of sinners succeeding one another and inclining toward mortal sin, destroy the sweetness of the ointment, that is, they destroy the anointing, and thus many good things, because First John 2: "The anointing teaches you about …
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
Dead flies cause the ointment of the apothecary to send forth a stinking savour,....
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
This verse is by its meaning so closely connected with Ecc 9:18 that the selection of it for the beginning of a new chapter seems unfortunate. Apothecary - Rather: a dealer in spices and perfumes (compare Exo 30:25). The swarms of flies in the East very soon corrupt and destroy any moist unguent or mixture left uncovered, and pollute a dish of food in a few minutes. So doth ... - literally, more weighty than wisdom, than honor, is a little folly.
Dead flies - Any putrefaction spoils perfume; and so a foolish act ruins the character of him who has the reputation of being wise and good. Alas! alas! in an unguarded moment how many have tarnished the reputation which they were many years in acquiring! Hence, no man can be said to be safe, till he is taken to the paradise of God.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
Chapter 10 targum. And the yetzer hara (evil inclination ) which dwells at the gates of the heart is like a fly and causes death in the world because it betrays the wise when he sins and wounds the good name which had resembled anointing oil scented by perfumes, and how much more beautiful and precious than the wisdom of the wise and the wealth of the wealthy is a man whose folly is little and light.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 3 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
11 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| זְב֣וּבֵי | zevuvei | flies of | H2070 → | |
| מָ֔וֶת | mavet | death | H4194 → | 156 times |
| יַבְאִ֥ישׁ | yavish | it causes to stink | H887 → | |
| יַבִּ֖יעַ | yabia' | it ferments | H5042 → | |
| שֶׁ֣מֶן | shemen | [the] oil of | H8081 → | 193 times |
| רוֹקֵ֑חַ | rokeach | a perfumer | H7543 → | |
| יָקָ֛ר | yakar | [is] weighty | H3368 → | |
| מֵחָכְמָ֥ה | mechakhemah | more than wisdom | H2451 → | 153 times |
| מִכָּב֖וֹד | mikavod | more than honor | H3519 → | |
| סִכְל֥וּת | sikhlut | folly | H5531 → | 7 times |
| מְעָֽט׃ | meat | a little | H4592 → | 101 times |
זְב֣וּבֵיflies of
zevuveiH2070 →
מָ֔וֶתdeath
mavetH4194 →156 times
יַבְאִ֥ישׁit causes to stink
yavishH887 →
יַבִּ֖יעַit ferments
yabia'H5042 →
שֶׁ֣מֶן[the] oil of
shemenH8081 →193 times
רוֹקֵ֑חַa perfumer
rokeachH7543 →
יָקָ֛ר[is] weighty
yakarH3368 →
מֵחָכְמָ֥הmore than wisdom
mechakhemahH2451 →153 times
מִכָּב֖וֹדmore than honor
mikavodH3519 →
סִכְל֥וּתfolly
sikhlutH5531 →7 times
מְעָֽט׃a little
meatH4592 →101 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Exodus 30:25Prepare from these a sacred anointing oil, a fragrant blend, the work of a perfumer; it will be a sacred anointing oil.
it leads to
- Exodus 37:29
He also made the sacred anointing oil and the pure, fragrant incense, the work of a perfumer.
- 1 Chronicles 9:30
And some of the sons of the priests mixed the spices.
- Psalms 89:20
I have found My servant David; with My sacred oil I have anointed him.
- Exodus 37:29
Through
2 Chronicles 19:2Jehu son of Hanani the seer went out to confront him and said to King Jehoshaphat, “Should you help the wicked and love those who hate the LORD? Because of this, the wrath of…
it leads to
- Psalms 139:21–22
Do I not hate those who hate You, O LORD, and detest those who rise against You?
- 2 John 1:10–11
If anyone comes to you but does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your home or even greet him.
- 2 Chronicles 18:3
Ahab king of Israel asked Jehoshaphat king of Judah, “Will you go with me against Ramoth-gilead?” And Jehoshaphat replied, “I am like you, and my people are your people; we will join you in…
- Ephesians 5:11
Have no fellowship with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them.
- Psalms 139:21–22
Through
Nehemiah 13:26Did not King Solomon of Israel sin in matters like this? There was not a king like him among many nations, and he was loved by his God, who made him king over all…
it leads to
- 1 Kings 11:1–8
King Solomon, however, loved many foreign women along with the daughter of Pharaoh—women of Moab, Ammon, Edom, and Sidon, as well as Hittite women.
- 1 Kings 11:1–8
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About Ecclesiastes
This page draws on 14 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Apostolic Constitutions, CONSTITUTIONS OF THE HOLY APOSTLES 2:3.17; Augustine of Hippo, TRACTATES ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 1:14.3; Bonaventure, Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 10; Charles Bridges, An Exposition of the Book of Ecclesiastes; Didymus the Blind, COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES 291:3; Fulgentius of Ruspe, LETTER 48, TO SCARILA; Gregory of Neocaesarea, Commentary (church-history corpus); Gregory of Neocaesarea, A Metaphrase of the Book of Ecclesiastes, Chapter X; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Ecclesiastes; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.