Ecclesiastes 10:13
in Ecclesiastes 10The beginning of his talk is folly, and the end of his speech is evil madness.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
The beginning of the words of his mouth is foolishness; and the end of his talk is mischievous madness.
KJV
The beginning of the words of his mouth is foolishness: and the end of his talk is mischievous madness.
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This verse in Ecclesiastes 10
Commentary
6 notes on this verse"His talk begins as foolishness and ends as evil madness. The fool prates on and on, but man does not know what will be; and who can tell him what will be after him? "So far the discussion has been about the fool, whose lips teach the wise man, or according to another interpretation, his lips make himself corrupt. The beginning and the end of his speech are foolishness and evil madness; or as Symmachus has translated it, confusion, or some kind of inconsistency of words.
This site's exposition
The words of a wise man’s mouth are gracious
on Ecclesiastes 10:12-15
The fool's words are traced as a progression: The words of a wise man’s mouth are gracious, but the lips of a fool consume him. His talk begins in folly and ends in evil madness, and the fool multiplies words about a future no one can know.
This site's exposition
The beginning of his talk
The fool's speech runs downhill from folly to evil madness. Bonaventure traces the start to haste, a man who speaks before he considers, as Proverbs 29 warns. Symmachus, as Jerome reports, rendered the end as confusion, a talk that falls into incoherence.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
The church was admonished to shun the beginning of sin. Which is that beginning of sin, like the head of a serpent? The beginning of all sin is pride.
The Medieval Church1 voice
A commentator
BonaventureCommentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 10 · Written in the 13th century.
proposed
And the reason for precipitousness is indiscretion, because he indiscreetly inclines: whence he says: The beginning of his words is folly. And the reason for this is that he does not consider, whence Proverbs twenty-nine: "Have you seen a man swift to speak? Folly is …
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
The beginning of the words of his mouth is foolishness,....
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
The beginning of his words is foolishness. When the Holy One, Blessed Is He, said to him [Bilam], “Who are these men with you?” 23 Bamidbar:9.
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
The words of a wise man find favor. In the eyes of their listeners, and they listen to him, and it is good for him that he assumes greatness over them.
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
8 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| תְּחִלַּ֥ת | techilat | [the] beginning of | H8462 → | |
| דִּבְרֵי־ | divrei- | [the] words of | H1697 → | 1440 times |
| פִ֖יהוּ | fihu | mouth his | H6310 → | 498 times |
| סִכְל֑וּת | sikhlut | [is] folly | H5531 → | 7 times |
| וְאַחֲרִ֣ית | veacharit | and [the] end of | H319 → | |
| פִּ֔יהוּ | pihu | mouth his | H6310 → | 498 times |
| הוֹלֵל֖וּת | holelut | [is] madness | H1948 → | |
| רָעָֽה׃ | raah | evil | H7451 → | 662 times |
תְּחִלַּ֥ת[the] beginning of
techilatH8462 →
דִּבְרֵי־[the] words of
divrei-H1697 →1440 times
פִ֖יהוּmouth his
fihuH6310 →498 times
סִכְל֑וּת[is] folly
sikhlutH5531 →7 times
וְאַחֲרִ֣יתand [the] end of
veacharitH319 →
פִּ֔יהוּmouth his
pihuH6310 →498 times
הוֹלֵל֖וּת[is] madness
holelutH1948 →
רָעָֽה׃evil
raahH7451 →662 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
Proverbs 29:9If a wise man goes to court with a fool, there will be raving and laughing with no resolution.
it leads to
- Proverbs 26:4
Do not answer a fool according to his folly, or you yourself will be like him.
- Proverbs 26:4
Through
Luke 6:2But some of the Pharisees asked, “Why are you doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath?”
it leads to
- Matthew 12:2
When the Pharisees saw this, they said to Him, “Look, Your disciples are doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath.”
- John 5:16
Now because Jesus was doing these things on the Sabbath, the Jews began to persecute Him.
- Matthew 12:2
Through
John 12:10So the chief priests made plans to kill Lazarus as well,
it leads to
- Luke 16:31
Then Abraham said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the prophets, they will not be persuaded even if someone rises from the dead.’”
- Genesis 4:4–10
while Abel brought the best portions of the firstborn of his flock. And the LORD looked with favor on Abel and his offering,
- John 11:47–53
Then the chief priests and Pharisees convened the Sanhedrin and said, “What are we to do? This man is performing many signs.
- Matthew 2:16
When Herod saw that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was filled with rage. Sending orders, he put to death all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years…
- Luke 16:31
Through
Luke 11:38But the Pharisee was surprised to see that Jesus did not first wash before the meal.
it leads to
- Matthew 15:2–3
“Why do Your disciples break the tradition of the elders? They do not wash their hands before they eat.”
- Matthew 15:2–3
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About Ecclesiastes
This page draws on Augustine of Hippo, EXPLANATIONS OF THE PSALMS 74:13; Bonaventure, Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 10; Charles Bridges, An Exposition of the Book of Ecclesiastes; Jerome, Commentary on Ecclesiastes; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament and John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763).